Off on a high

10:48am Saturday 22nd March 2008

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IT STANDS 1,000 feet above the valley floor - higher than four York Minsters - and it's a true engineering wonder. No wonder the Millau Viaduct, designed by Sir Norman Foster, has become a tourist attraction in its own right, with many motorists parking up to stop and stare before paying their toll to cross it.

It is situated on the A75, an amazing motorway which twists and turns for scores of miles through the spectacular mountains of the Massif Central, with barely another vehicle in sight.

I came across the bridge during a two-day journey down through France to a camping holiday at Serignan Plage, near Beziers, on the south-west Mediterranean coast. Travelling with a friend and her son, our family had crossed the Channel from Dover to Calais with P&0, returning later on a wonderful overnight crossing from Zeebrugge to Hull. The journey down through France was a great way to see the country, as we stopped off to explore and eat in fascinating and historic villages and towns en route.

We stayed courtesy of Eurocamp at the Serignan Plage site, near Beziers, in a Comfort Mobile Home, which features a comfy double bedroom, a second bedroom with three single beds and a living area which converts into a couple of extra beds if needed. There's also a large and well-equipped kitchen, which makes cooking a pleasure, as well as a loo and separate shower room.

The campsite was superb, beautifully laid out in the way that the French do so well, with plenty of trees, shrubs and flowers, and swallows constantly skimming along the lanes between the caravans.

A range of facilities included a supermarket, bakery, bar, restaurant, takeaway, computers giving access to the internet, a cashpoint, tennis courts and table tennis tables.

The site was situated right next to a large sandy beach but with three pools, one of them a gigantic lagoon featuring waterslides. Another was a heated indoor pool, which proved useful as the weather was as windy as I've known it in the Med in June, with southern France catching the tail end of the storms which swept England last summer.

I also sampled a new waterspa fitness centre, which features Greco-Roman style pillars and a hydromassage whirlpool and "underwater massage path" in which jets of water shoot out at you to pummel your body.

Mind you, I waited until after lunch, as the centre is used on a morning by the residents of an adjacent naturist campsite.

The weather may not have been ideal for sunbathing, but it was ideal for those wanting to sightsee. And there is certainly plenty to see in this wonderful but little known area of France.

We explored several historic towns and villages along the coast and in the nearby mountains. There's the amazing fortified town of Carcassonne, used for the Kevin Costner film Robin Hood Prince of Thieves.

We especially enjoyed Pezenas, where we strolled through the narrow cobbled streets of the old quarter, full of period mansions with magnificent inner courtyards.

But the highlight for us was undoubtedly St Guilhem le Desert, possibly the most picturesque little village in France, set in a ravine with a peaceful Abbey, beautiful houses in yellow stone, and a shady square, with a gushing fountain.

Vive La France!

Fact file

Mike travelled with P&O from Dover to Calais, returning on an overnight crossing from Zeebrugge to Hull. Return crossings Dover-Calais for a family of four with one car could cost from £115 this May, with a charge of about £360 for return Hull- Zeebrugge crossings. For further information or to book, contact 08716 645 645 or visit www.poferries.com

Prices for seven nights in a Eurocamp 2 Bedroom Comfort mobile home with air conditioning and decking start from £511 for a family of five (two adults and three children) including a return Dover to Calais ferry crossing. Eurocamp has a choice of savings including 20 per cent discounts for couples and toddler families in early summer and £100 discounts for families travelling during Easter, May and Summer school holidays. For more information and to book, visit www.eurocamp.co.uk or call 0844 406 0552