Glamping has arrived in France - If you have a glamping website which relates to France and you would like to see it featured on this page please email camp@campingmobilehomesholidays.co.uk

Two years ago I hadn't heard of Yurts (well yes I had as in Attila, Nomads, Mongol Hordes etc but not as relating to the leisure industry), and it was only a few months ago that I heard of the new term Glamping, which apparently stands for glamourous camping. Nice. I could have done with some of that years ago when my sleeping arrangements were rather less than spartan (No I wasn't homeless, worse than that,  it was part of the job at that time). Tipis are also the rage these days and I guess they could come under the heading of Glamping the same as Yurts, but in my humble opinion they are not so glam if that makes sense.

So I really came into contact with Glamping in France earlier this year when I was in touch with someone who had some Yurts in Limousin,South West France; that was in April 2008 and even then she never mentioned Glamping at all; I had to suss it for myself later. These Yurts seem to be seriously good kit so my wife and tried a few days in one just before the height of the season this year, though sadly that time wasn't spent in France - that was to come slightly later on in the season (glamping) in a mobile home, and more than happy to be there because it rained for 10 days out of 14. I attract rain when on holiday like candles attract moths at night.

We have also stumbled across this lovely site which caters for Glamping in Aquitaine, south western France:
Simply Canvas say that your stay with them will be a "home away from home experience" in tastefully decorated safari tents (35m2) with wonderful comforts including comfortable beds, fluffy bath towels, privacy (they have 6 tents and maximum 20 people staying at any one time), and your personal veranda. Their philosophy is to be as ''green'' as possible, and their organic veggie garden supplies the ingredients for the delicious home cooked meals you will find on the dinner table each day.

Before we go any further, the owners of Melusine Camping invite you to stay in a fully equipped and Romantic medieval tent in St Germain de Longue Chaume which is a small village in Deux Sevres in South-West France, the closest town being Parthenay which is 12km's away. It is an intimate campsite set in 2 acres of land, surrounded by nature in a warm and sunny climate. Sounds good to me! Now this is the sort of Glamping holiday I like - nice and comfy surroundings in a very nice part of France and not at all expensive! This certainly shows that holidays in our beloved UK are a Rip Off, and that you don't need to be greedy to run a business.

So what makes these Yurts so glam? Well for a start they can be used and lived in Summer, Winter or all year round as the outside skin is a thick insulating layer of felt. Couple that with a wood burning stove set dead centre and you have some serious heat output. I've seen a documentary about the Laps living in these things when they moove their reindeer herds from one part of lapland to another and they look really cosy when it's 20 below and blowing a gale outside. The glam part is in the interior appointments such as a raised floor to combat damp and cold. Carpets are liberally spread on the floor and these Yurts ahev beds - I mean proper beds, not camp beds. Naturally no Glamping habitat would be complete without a cooker + cooking utensils and a fridge freezer for perishables and drinkies.

But just as we in the UK are really only now catching up with France in the camping part of the leisure industry (to be honest I still think the UK is a light year behind) we are similarly well in front of France when it comes down to Yurt camping and Glamping. My old bones need and deserve comfort these days and as we usually take our holidays in France it is no hardship at all to change from staying in a mobile home to a Yurt with a view to doing some serious Glamping!

Please take a look at our sister site which caters for luxury camping in France