We love taking our holidays in France and even though the first day is quite a long one because we live in the Midlands it is well worth while, and we much prefer the freedom that comes with having mobile home holidays as opposed to staying in an hotel. Being pampered and having to take meals at given times isn't for us at all. We like to go to a nice beach one day and take a picnic, go sightseeing another day and eat out, all the time having the freedom to do as we wish.

There's no finer feeling than when you drive off the ferry into France to spend a couple of weeks holiday in a mobile home in your favourite resort. Mobile home holidays are readily available all over France, all along the coastlines, in the centre and up the Eastern side. France is truly exceptional for the holidaymaker and the comfort and fittings of mobile homes these days make the holidays.

Our press in the UK always knocks the French, and I suspect that the reverse is true as well, but we have always had the most cordial relations with all the french people we have talked to: and I truly believe that is the key - talk to. France is not like Spain at all in that the Spanish have learned to speak English around the tourist areas, and they will readily talk to you in English which really makes us lazy and unwilling to learn their language. In France it is entirely different in that fewer people there speak good English but the ones who do won't speak it on principle - until that is you have tried to have a conversation with them in their language. Do that and then they are all over you like a rash!

Many years ago I believed that all mobile homes were pretty much the same, and wherever you went you stayed in one exactly like the one you were in the night before. There may have been a grain of truth in that back then but certainly not nowadays. The amount of different types, shapes and qualities of mobile homes now makes the mind boggle. There are still some of the very small ones about which were the norm 20 years or so ago, but in the main most tour operators have invested heavily in larger and more modern mobiles which have all the facilities of home - and more sometimes.

A for instance about the above: In 2006 we took our usual mobile home holiday in France and this time we decided to go with a French company on a 2 centre holiday. The first plus was that we could have 2 separate weeks in different resorts for no extra cost so the first week we stayed in Quiberon, and whilst the site was nice our mobile was tiny and nearly as old as me. There were only the two of us and neither carry much spare weight but there just wasn't enough room in the darn thing!

The second week we spent in St Jean de Monts, again with the same French company but this time we were showed to an enormous, brand new mobile home - seriously it was so nice that we took our shoes off before entering. It was A mazing! What a contrast! This thing was big enough for a family of Romanian immigrants with room to spare for their dogs.