"Peaceful Holidays" Berny-Rivière by Keycamp-reveller

If you like peaceful holidays, choose Berny Riviere/Vic-sur-Aisne during September. Beauty of a French village mixed with peaceful village life.
Staying on the camp site La Croix du Vieux Pont, we had one of our best family holidays yet. There is plenty to see and do without the use of a car (ours broke down this year). On site the facilities are excellent and off site you can blend in with locals very easily - we shocked one Lincolnshire man when he said 'Bonjour' by reply 'All right mate' so we must have looked local :)
The area is not hilly so also suited to the more mature holiday maker but also great for children of all ages. There are few cars so the roads are much safer. The French are bike friendly so we hired bikes for one afternoon and rode into the local village which took about 5 minutes with our 3 year old in a 'pod' behind one of the adult bikes

Trip Date: Sept 2007

We arrived at the site at 15.00 on the dot and found our accommodation was ready! Keycamp reps were friendly and polite which was to continue throughout our holiday with extra help from them at a time when we needed it – more about that later. The sun was shining brightly and it was very warm on our arrival. The weather didn’t change for the week we were there. In fact, we all came home with a tan.

We had a Villagrand, 3 bed, one bathroom caravan which was actually larger than I thought it would be. It was light and airy and the mosquito nets and black out blinds in each bedroom were a definite advantage for keeping out bugs and the early morning / late evening light if you have children (we do!) Ample cupboard space, and a fully stocked kitchen including a full size fridge freezer although for full size freezer read a freezer that is about 3 x the size of a fridge freezer compartment. Big enough for 2 or 3 packets of mice, some chicken and other meats. If you decide to go fully self catering, then this is the van for you.

The site itself, pictures to be added later, was perfect. There are not many things in life that are, but the tranquillity and beauty of this site is one of them, for the price you are paying. Absolutely deserves a 5 star rating. Floral borders, large fir trees and fabulous fishing lakes are all part of this site. Although we went in mid September, it was busy with lots of children on site to make friends with others but not so busy as to be noisy. We had no trouble with noise from either the new bar or the disco as another reviewer did. With its well stocked borders and short lawns, La Croix du Vieux Pont is a well cared for, clean camp site in which everyone obviously takes great pride.

The on site restaurant is great for eating out, but if you’re expecting French cuisine you will be disappointed. Although tasty, the food is definitely catering for the English market, although you can get L’Escargot. It is all pre-prepared food heated as and when ordered but still edible and enjoyable although it’s chips with everything, almost literally. I’m not sure why, as using a masher would have added variety too the menu as well as our diets. The waiter/ress are all friendly too. The speed of the food coming to your table is very suited to the English with no long waits between courses – another plus if you have small children. There is a pizza place on site which is cheap and cheerful – make sure you ask for formaggio and not ‘cheese’ pizza or you’ll end up with a cheese burger lol. Don’t expect Pizza Hut type pizzas for your money and the chips have seen better days, but again edible food if you don’t want to cook. We tried to book at the much mentioned Chez Micheline but it must be very good as we couldn’t get a booking at all for any of our last 4 days – we go back for 10 days in April so we will try again when I shall write a review for Trip Advisor that is solely about this restaurant.

There is quite a lot to do on site though at this time of year the Fun Stations are closed but we sneaked a peak in the tents and it looked like there were lots of fun things to do from painting to game playing. There is fishing, of course, and it certainly seems to be a popular pastime; we saw a 21lb carp landed whilst there. The pools are ideal for all ages and the life guards do make sure the rules are adhered too. I would imagine in high season they get pretty chock a block. The new bar is great. You can see the pools from the outside seating area, so if you have older children you could drink whilst they swim :)

If you are thinking of going to this site you really will not be disappointed at all.

We went to Berny Riviere last year but Chez Micheline was fully booked so this year we made sure we got in and booked as soon as we got there! I had read about this place on here and other trip sites and wanted to try it out as the food was, apparently, good but cheap.

The food is better than good and better than cheap, it’s dirt cheap. And my goodness it tastes so good! The place is different. Imagine an old French 70's disco song video – all blue lame trousers, tight t-shirt and Freddie Mercury tash – and you have the owner. Then think you have seen Renee from ‘Allo ‘Allo – his double is behind the bar and then imagine gold chinz curtains, cobwebs on the lighting fixtures and wonky tables, very old light switches and even older light bulbs, gaudy table cloths, naff linen feel paper napkins and mix matched cutlery and you have Chez Micheline. It is in the back of a Tabac/pub (cigarette seller). The floor and walls have more nicotine stains than anywhere I have ever seen although it doesn’t smell of fags and it is non smoing, and seems to attract biker types into its drinking area, but the atmosphere is so good! And the biker types are friendly, not mean :). This, is Chez Micheline in all it's wonderful glory. You get the feeling that you are not going to like it here, but you couldn't be more wrong.

The owner is very French and very friendly. Speaks good English and is very welcoming. French air kisses galore but he doesn’t make you feel uncomfy at all. The food is just so delish. We had starter, steak and a pudding (all 3 of us) plus 2/3rds of a bottle of wine (50 cl which gave us 5 full glasses). The glasses were slightly smaller than UK ones but big enough. We ordered 2 cokes and 2 beers and we paid less than £50 for the lot. Steak and chips was €6 which is around £5.50. And it’s a decent sized steak too and very, very tasty!

They have a pretty varied menu for starters and mains but the desert menu was ice cream or ice cream. There was homemade Creme Brulee or Apple tart but the rest was from a Carte D’Or menu which seems to be pretty much staple of most eateries out there, or at least the cafe type places. (The cafe we ate in in Pierrefonds had a different menu although the children’s ice cream was, again, Carte D’Or). The chips are cooked as you order, not cooked then re-heated or kept warm, so they actually taste good. I even tried the frogs legs lol. Taste a bit like chicken. They were pretty good actually. There aren’t many Frenchmen who eat them regularly, and they are not on many menus but I think CM tries to cater for the English market as well as the locals. Lots of us heathen Brits when in France do, as they think, the French do and eat snails and frogs legs. The only food that the French do eat everyday and is part of the staple diet is bread, or more precisely, baguettes and lots of them too. They vary in quality, but the most expensive does not necessarily mean the best tasting.

If you are staying at La Croix du Vieux Pont or anywhere else in the area for that matter, you will not do better than to eat here every night rather than the on site restaurant. Not only is the food home cooked it is far tastier, excellent value for money and superior service with a smile every time.

• Pros:Peaceful, tranquil, clean, tidy, beautiful, friendly people
• Cons:None! Although nightlife is thin on the ground
• In a nutshell:The most wonderufl place on earth to go for a family holiday