Camping Aux Mêmes
Europe France Midi-pyrénées Gers
CampingAux Mêmes, 32140, Bellegarde, Gers, France
Time seems to expand at Camping aux Mêmes. In days gone by the site was a traditional Gascony farm, set in the heart of the Gers countryside, with rolling hills and magnificent views of the Pyrénées. It was bought by Janet and Peter back in 2003, and they made a home from the farmhouse and opened the land to campers. The rolling hills and views are still there, of course, embellished by a lovely blue pool, a kids’ playground, and a bar area, where you can enjoy the site’s tranquillity.
Far enough away from the mountains to enjoy the warmer, more settled climate of the south of France, but close enough for days out in the peaks, it’s a simple, uncluttered site that’s perfect for anyone searching for peace and quiet. Young trees that Janet and Peter planted on their first arrival have now grown to provide spots of dappled shade, while a couple of pleasant pitches on a lower terrace are shielded by mature fig and plum trees. From both areas you get views of the local church and sunflower fields; classic features of the area. Traditional France, in other words, where you can leave behind the stresses and strains of everyday life, and have plenty of time to do all those other nice things.
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The Owner Says
'Aux Mêmes’ is the name of the farm on which we created our campsite. The name doesn't translate well but the old Occitan name ‘Los Memos’ or in English ‘the memories’ is more meaningful. Our aim is to provide a relaxed friendly environment where everyone can enjoy a stress free break and take home some wonderful memories of their own.
Campers and caravanners ourselves we have tried to incorporate all the best attributes and more, of the sites we've visited over many years.
We pride ourselves on the quality and cleanliness of our facilities and we are constantly updating and improving within the cosy atmosphere of a site with less than 30 pitches.
We serve food that is freshly cooked and where possible with local produce including eggs from our own hens and we have bread and patisserie delivered fresh each morning from a local baker.
We have a good selection of local French wines and beers on draught that we are proud to serve.
All our services, food and drinks are reasonably priced.
We love live music so each summer we host free open air concerts one or two evenings per week with local and touring artists of various nationalities and musical genres.
Please visit our website then come and visit us!
Peter & Janet
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If you've stayed at Camping Aux Mêmes campsite, please take a minute to tell us about your experience. Every month, one lucky reviewer will be picked at random to win a £100 voucher, courtesy of our recommended retailer Blacks. Each review counts as one entry, so get writing!
Reviews
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Tranquility, simplicity and just superb personal care.
We'd read the reviews. We knew that Jan & Pete were genuine dog lovers (Greyhound Gap!) and because of their generosity in donating a week of camping to an online charity auction, we ended up having the holiday of a life time. Yes this sounds a little gushing but it really was that special. We were on our first French expedition with two naughty and sometimes difficult rescue lurchers but from the moment we made contact with Jan & Pete our minds were put at rest. No question was too trivial for them to help us with. Jan & Pete had selected what they felt would be the most appropriate pitch for us, and it was! With shade until afternoon and away from most other campers it meant we could all relax. From the first visit to the lovely bar & restaurant (with dogs) we were put completely at ease by the wonderful hosts and chef Sam. Loved the bar food & beverages, the entertainment was superb (2 free music gigs whilst we were there) and even enjoyed the table tennis competition! The setting is also idyllic - Imagne walking up the gentle slope in the morning to collect your fresh bread, look to the left and see the sun rising over the entire range of the Pyrenees ! And then imagine walking slowly back to your pitch after live music, local food and wine inside you and the Milky Way arrayed above you. If you can imagine that then you can imagine Camping Aux Memes ! Alongside the simply perfect hosting, there is a wonderful pool, excellent shower & toilet facilities, endless local knowledge and reasonably priced bread & pastries delivered fresh every day! What more can we say? Just perfect, thank you Jan & Pete..
Heavenly
This is a really super site. It’s immaculate It’s is quiet It’s welcoming It’s in a brilliant location A mix of nationalities, big pitches and cold beer – Above all it’s friendly. We stopped for 10 nights after moving down from the Dordogne and I felt that once we arrived our holiday started – sitting in the peace watching the stars ( Milky Way was visible) was heavenly. Plenty to do locally or, as we chose for some of the time, plenty not to do. Of all the sites we have camped in this one stands out as ticking all our boxes – just don’t tell anyone else!
The twins really liked it!
Anna, myself and the twins, aged 7, stayed at Aux Meme for a week during August 2015. We stayed in Jan and Pete's Gite, so not camping and it was great. Next time we will camp though. The site is quiet, has a great swimming pool and the bar and 'fast food' Jan + Pete can provide is very good. I also thoroughly enjoyed the breads and croissants they ordered for us each day. Highly recommended.
Great site
My wife and daughter stayed at the site for 2 weeks during August 2014. We had never been to France camping before and chose this site as a base to explore the region. Jan and Pete were fantastic hosts who were extremely friendly and helpful, nothing was a bother to them! The site proved to be a good base for the Pyrenees with wonderful views. The facilities were excellent and we had a very relaxing holiday. We would definitely recommend camping Aux Memes.
Fantastic family campsite
We stayed at Aux memes in August this year and had such a relaxing and care free time. Jan and Peter are a lovely couple and really make you feel welcome from the minute you arrive. We had a huge pitch right by some fields with beautiful views out across to the Pyrenees. We would quite literally sit and stare at them. The children adored the site - making lots of other friends and loving the pool and cycling up and down the fields. Facilities were spotless and everything you need. In the evenings we would play table tennis - go for walks or hang out in the friendly bar area. One Saturday we ate there and the pizzas were homemade and delicious. It is lovely ordering pain and pastries to pick up the next morning - freshly made in the local boulangerie. You really feel like you have got away from it all at aux memes and the days can happily roll by. We had a couple of day trips - one over to Spain which was exciting and the other to some local caves. The children are still talking about them! Other people went walking in the Pyrennees or visited local artisan markets. Auch is worth a day trip for the food market. We would definitely like to go back to aux memes - it is a beautiful site and part of France. If you want to get away from it all this is just perfect.
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Wonderful site!
Stayed a week and could easily have stayed longer. The hosts couldn't be more welcoming or helpful. The cafe/bar area serves great coffee/beer/wine at sensible prices and the food is freshly prepared. On two of the evenings whilst we stayed there was live music during dinner by professional visiting groups...a really pleasant way to spend an evening. The pool and communal areas are spotless and cleaned throughout the day. The cool camping comment above is correct about shade but the trees are maturing so in a few years time this won't be a problem....but shade can be found around the site and near the pool (the hosts lent us a parasol during our stay). Offers a good spot for trips in to Marciac for the jazz or for day trips in to the Pyrenees or simply enjoy the many quiet towns and villages in the area. We'll be going again!
Hard to leave.
A perfectly tranquil spot for the family. The children made loads of friends and a beautifully relaxed and safe campsite. Janet and Peter are so welcoming and are fabulous hosts. The little bar has a terrific ambience, the confit de canard is to die for and the musical evening soirées are fabulous. We all struggled to leave even after 3 weeks. I would highly recommend this beautiful site and look forward to visiting again sometime in the future.
Camping aux Memes
We have recently returned from a 12 night stay at the delightful Camping aux Memes. The site certainly lives up to and deserves its wonderful reviews. Once you arrive at the entrance to the site, with its well tended planters and geraniums, nestling in the rolling countryside, all doubts about the wisdom of such a long drive are dispelled. The warm welcome from Janet and Peter further reassured us that we had chosen the right place! Pitches are large with amazing views over the countryside and the Pyrenees. There is a lovely central area encompassing an open air restaurant and bar (with free wifi), a reception area with access to maps and guide books, a lovely clean pool, a ping pong table, great trees for climbing and good shower and wash facilities. The facilities are clean and comfortable and though small in number, i.e. two showers, the small number of pitches on the site mean that there is never a queue. There is a personal touch to the camping here that we have never experienced before. Janet and Peter know all the campers by name and nothing seems too much trouble to them; for example when our daughter was poorly Janet efficiently set up an appointment with the GP that day. The restaurant is a laid back focus for the evening, with local musicians playing a couple of times a week. Janet's cooking is excellent, with a simple menu which is ideal for families. The local area presents lots of opportunities for activity, though our children loved the site so much that we didn't venture far from it! The consistently good reviews on UK camping websites means that Aux Memes is busy with lots of English families, a big plus for our children who made instant friends, with whom they were never short of a den to build or a tree to climb. Aux Memes is definitely on our, 'holiday heaven' list!
Camping aux Mêmes
We stayed at Aux Memes last summer and absolutely loved it. The campsite itself was relaxed, quiet and friendly and is set in a beautiful area which is great for walking and cycling. The kids loved the pool and we all loved the general chilled ambiance. However, it was the genuine kindness of Pete and Jan that made our stay so memorable. Having arrived with engine trouble with our campervan Jan acted as translator for us with the local garage and then really pulled out all the stops for us when our son was taken ill by driving us to the local doctors. We would whole heartedly recommend Aux Meme as a great campsite for chilling out in southern France and we’d certainly visit again if we were in the area.
Camping aux Mêmes
The first and by far the the most memorable campsite of our 1 month France holiday during August 2011. Ideal for Long/Short stay. We only planned on stopping for 1 night, but stayed for 3. The Dogs are very friendly and for a small camp site it offered a huge amount! Jan takes bread orders the night before so you can wake up to a nice fresh baguette from the local town. We arrived late afternoon after a 7 hour drive to find a well presented House, Reception & Bar with outdoor covered seating area and a ping-pong table close by. Jan & Pete welcomed us in and sorted us out a pitch and informed us of available amenities. Pitch sizes are large and have both running water and electricity, just looking out of our tent the views are breath taking! There is an extremely well looked after swimming pool a stones throw away from anywhere on the site and the toilet/shower/wash basins are extremely clean. If we are driving to Spain again we will definitively detour just for another night at this brilliant campsite!
Camping aux Mêmes
Aux Memes is in a most beautiful and tranquil part of France and your campsite and gite both reflect and epitomise this beauty and tranquillity. We feel that you have managed to combine both simplicity and high standards to provide a campsite that is welcoming, homely clean and well managed. Your own easy going and relaxed natures only help to make the experience of staying at Aux Memes more enjoyable. Your attention to detail is shown in the small things that you provide, for example: the bats and balls to go with the Table tennis table, the maps and books of the area over and above the norm, the bicycles, the daily bread service, washing line (with clothes pegs!!) and much more. Alongside this is your willingness to share your knowledge and love of the area. As hosts you were attentive to the needs of your guests, be that when a certain person was stung in the mouth or when a child needed a doctor or a family need an interpreter – all of these seem to be beyond the basic job description of running a campsite. It is in the details that Aux Memes excels and it is these details that make this site and gite so special. The food at the weekends was delicious, well presented and good value for money. We ate ‘out’ with you more often than we intended (or budgeted for!) On a practical point we felt that the pitches on the campsite are generously proportioned and there is no sense of being overcrowded. We suspect that those of us with tents could find some of the pitches restrictive due the slope of the ground. The only thing that causes us to hesitate recommending this site to others is that we want to keep this gem a secret. Not to share this site with others would be selfish and so we would, and have already, recommended Aux Memes to others.
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Pitches
20 large pitches (17 with water and electricity), some with partial shade and all with views over the Gascony countryside and of the Pyrenees.
Who's In
Tents, campervans, caravans, dogs (on leads) – yes. Groups – by arrangement only.
On Site
Hot showers, disabled facilities; children’s play area, table tennis, swimming pool, shop, WiFi, terrace café/bar open for lunchtime and evening meals in July and August. Campfires not allowed, but BBQs OK. Live music most weekends in July/August.
Off Site
Head to nearby Masseube (3.5km), where there are tennis courts, a nine-hole golf course (00 33 5 62 66 03 10) and a cinema. Sailing Lac de Thoux St-Cricq (00 33 5 62 65 75 45) is also nearby. At the right times in summer, you can catch live music at the Marciac Jazz Festival (00 33 5 62 09 31 98), Vic-Fezensac Latin Music Festival (00 33 5 62 06 56 66) and the Samatan African Music Festival.
Food & Drink
The onsite restaurant serves lunchtime and evening meals in July and August. L’Auberge d’Astarac (00 33 5 62 65 48 81) at Moncorneil-Grazan does great local food. O Mon Plaisir (00 33 5 62 66 02 14) at Masseube has good local set menus and, for something a little special, Les Quatre Saisons at Ornezan has slightly more pricey but excellent food.
Open
April–September.
The Damage
Pitch and 2 people €25, extra adults €10, children (up to 11yrs) €5. Electricity €4; extra vehicle €6.
Discounts: low season (April–June) €7 per night reduction; all season discount for 1 person €4 per night reduction.
Getting There
GPS Location - N43 25.688 E0 36.734
Via Autoroute: A62 or A20. At Masseube centre take the D27 towards Bellegarde. Past the Masseube sports stadiums and continue on up the hill through the trees. Take the first road on the left and Aux Mêmes is the first farm on the right. Aux Mêmes is well sign posted in the area and at the entrance.
Public Transport
Nearest Airports: Toulouse; Pau Pyrenees, Tarbes Lourdes
- Campervans permitted
- Children’s playground
- Disabled Facilities
- Dogs welcome
- Electrical hook-ups
- Exclusive Hire
- Good for kids
- Groups welcome
- Laundry
- Showers
- Swimming pool
- Wifi
- Bicycle routes nearby
- Good walks nearby
- Nice Views from Site
- Remote location
- Romantic retreat
- Gascony
- South of France
- South West France
- Cool Camping France
- Caravans permitted
- Europe
- France
- Midi-pyrénées
- Gers
