IT was only a little moment but for a parent it was massively reassuring.

I’d just picked up my two lads from the daily kids’ club at Siblu’s campsite at Les Charmettes in France and we were strolling out of the central plaza.

As a good father does, I was chatting away to Dylan, the eldest, about what activities there had been in Pirates Club, while young Alex was no more than four paces ahead.

Yet as we got to the exit, one of the entertainers – having obviously hurried from the activity centre – momentarily halted Alex to make sure he wasn’t wandering off alone.

No big dramas, no stresses in an over-officious health and safety way. Just a quick check that showed while the atmosphere is nice and relaxed, the staff were always observant – just how you want a family holiday to be.

Similarly, the next day there was a fire alarm in the adjoining main entertainment building that caused an evacuation. Again the entertainments staff were in complete control with the kids happily distracted.

Les Charmettes is Siblu’s flagship campsite, located on the Atlantic coast in south-west France.

The previous year we had been to a smaller Siblu village further north in Brittany, but Les Charmettes was a lot bigger and a lot more popular.

But despite the thousands there, it rarely felt too busy or rushed.

It has a large pool complex consisting of two outdoor pools, an indoor one, another for the toddlers and a slide. It was the one area of the site that did feel busy, unsurprisingly, but finding an area to set down just required a bit of ferreting.

It was the kids’ entertainments that were the real difference from the smaller site. There was plenty of variety each morning for Dylan and Alex in the Pirates Club (for five to nine-year-olds), while the evening show again occupied them enough for the parents to have a relaxing chalice of Leffe or two.

Les Charmettes is in Les Mathes, a hamlet populated by campsites and activity centres. A couple of miles down the road is the charming little seaside town of La Palmyre with lovely stretches of beach sheltered into a bay by a hook of land called Pointe de la Coubre.

La Palmyre is also home to one of France’s best zoos. You can easily spend a day there looking at its 1,600 animals housed across 44 acres. The entry prices of 15 euros for adults and 11 euros for children is reasonable.

The region is a hotbed for activities, whether you’re simply cycling down to La Palmyre, horseriding, or taking part in energetic water sports.

The boys’ highlight, though, was the Indian Forest highwire centre a mile away from the campsite in the La Coubre woods. There are miles of cables strung among the trees, catering for the little ones just a couple of feet off the ground, right up to the heavens for the adults.

Heights are never my forte so while the medium course of going on zipwires, shimmying along wires and climbing nets was fine, I was struggling a bit behind Dylan as he kept going higher. Again, it is reasonably priced for what it is.

Of course one of the main parts of a caravan holiday is the caravan, given it will be your base for a week. Siblu’s holiday homes are of a good standard.

This year we had the Esprit+ and there was nothing to complain about. However families with young children may want to look at going up to the next range, the Elegance, if Mum and Dad are likely to be spending the evenings in. It just gives you that little bit more room to stretch out.

While the service at Les Charmettes couldn’t be faulted, the staff at Brittany Ferries need praise too. Four different hold-ups on the seven-hour trip back to Caen meant a slightly late arrival for the boat, but the check-in staff were accommodating to help us squeeze back, very tired but happy, onboard as the third last car bound for Blighty.

  • Click here for information about Siblu's Les Charmettes camp.