Camping de la Trye

Ours is a story that is perhaps not typical for a campsite review, but it must be told. Firstly, because I promised - but secondly, and most importantly, because it is richly deserved. Forgive the length, but sometimes the whole truth is instructive. In a mundane first segment, I will review the site itself. You will see why this is merely an entree later! It is a pleasant, reasonably small site on the quiet edge of Bresles, within easy walking distance to the patisserie and restaurants, but also moments from bucolic wooded strolls and so on in the other direction. A good location, then, with easy transport links to the larger Beauvais and its lake, a large supermarket nearby and with pretty villages and other things to see within a moderate drive. This could include anything from impressive Roman ruins and the place of WW1's armistice signing to the town where Van Gogh's lived out his last, highly productive if also highly troubled days [you can see some things he painted as well as his tomb, art fans]. The pitches are large, electric is available, the site is well-maintained. There is a bar that does some basic food – not as much as some places and asks you pre-order, but it is functional and certainly was a nice option. They also do cocktails and mocktails etc.; a nice little addition for some. They have themed nights and activities, particularly, though not exclusively, aimed at younger campers, which is a lovely touch because many places don’t do this. These include horse-riding, some kayaking, etc., as well as themed food evenings such as a paella night. For those who have bemoaned the facilities elsewhere, I can tell you that the pool is clearly a recent addition, and a great one - warm, a decent size and with the unexpected bonus [mostly for my children... mostly..!] of a genuinely good water-slide. The toilet and shower facilities are also clearly new and were immaculately clean throughout our time on site and well-provisioned. So far, so ‘good campsite’. --- Now onto the more interesting part. Good site though it was, it is set apart by our other experience. In short, we had a disaster on what was to be the last night there. Our vehicle had a catastrophic, engine-killing failure about a mile from the campsite, and it turned out that our breakdown cover was not set up correctly and so we were refused to help in this. Needless to say, this has been awful and costly, but this was tempered by a lovely human experience. We were in a desperate position for all sorts of reasons, as you can imagine - a perhaps unfixable vehicle stuck in France, two kids needing to return to the country, a dog who would need another vet visit if we didn’t return soon, jobs to return to, a medical issue meaning flying was not possible for the whole group… We’d already had a *lot* of help in sourcing a vet to do the appropriate pre-sailing verification from one of the owners, which was much appreciated – but we were now given more help. Despite this happening on a religious holiday during which many things shut, the owners desperately tried to help us in numerous ways. This is despite them being clearly very busy! 1. Taking us around garages in the area without being asked, to see if any were open 2. Driving us to the vehicle and having a look with another [also highly appreciated] guest, known by the owners to be a mechanic, who had been recruited to help 3. Arranging for the owner’s son to tow our vehicle back to a safe place where it could at least wait for a while 4. Arranging for someone I believe to have been either the mayor or a representative of them and a mechanic known from a local community business operator's group to come and have a look at the vehicle and have a chat with us (graciously gave us permission to leave the vehicle in situ for a period of time to get it sorted) 5. Flexed the booking to allow us the enforced longer stay required Honestly, the situation for us was and remains a real pain, but we did get home and the van also made its way back in the end (at hideous expense). But our spirits were warmed by the kindness of strangers, particularly those mentioned here – the owners and their son, the local mechanic and mayor (we think), etc. Even if our plight was an inconvenience to them, their hearts were of gold, and the assistance provided was just so kind. There was no obligation to do any of it, really. So we want to say again - thank you. Truly. It’s a good site– but imagine, if you will, a 6th star being added on simply by the above-and-beyond helpful actions taken by those running it.