UKH

My friend and I are planning a five day trip to France later this year, we will be driving in a campervan and I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations as to where the best spots to go are?

We have climbed up to grade 7a+ so far so any places that can accommodate lines up to this grade would be good. 

I also welcome any suggestions around time of the year etc as we were told to maybe go in the first week of September to avoid the school summer holidays from July to August?

Thank you

I'm sure you will get many recommendations for fantastic locations.

With 5 days, you probably don't want to be driving too far. The crags between Dijon and Chalon-sur-Saone are very good, not too far and there is a lot of variety of styles of climbing as well as some fantastic wines.

There are better areas, around Buis les Baronnies, Gorge du Tarn, Ceuse etc, etc., but for 5 days, this would be a good intro to European sport climbing if you didn't want to drive too far.

CB.

Avoiding the French school holidays is a good plan, but a great many crags are very hot during that time anyway, so you'd be limited as to crags to visit if you were to go midsummer. I'd recommend leaving it until late September or October if you want comfortable temperatures on a wider range of crags. In general, unless you're in a notably high altitude area, the nearer to midsummer you are, the fewer options you'll have, as shady crags - particularly ones with easy routes - are often in short supply. Having said that, the usually quite settled weather patterns seen in much of the south of France in the Autumn start to break down in November.

As for area in France, there are many that will fit your requirements very well indeed, including my area which is Ariège.

You want to be thinking about avoiding the heat too. Five days isn’t very long if you’re driving - if you fly or take the train it will open up many more areas for you. France is big! I speak as someone who once drove to Toulon to climb for three days between Christmas and New Year. 

The classic short trip by car would be to Font, obviously. 

Boux is an 'oldie but goodie' although temperature and distance are the issues.

Get to Marseille and hire a car?

Thanks John, we haven't set a date yet so we're flexible with this so that's useful to know in regards to the heat.

Yeah we've just got the camper so we're keen to 'try it out' and France seemed the closest in terms of time driving time etc but if there's better places to go/drive to then we're happy to listen.

Thanks Sean, we're keen to sport climb but Font may be on the cards earlier this year. Chamonix was mentioned to us but we were also told it's not the best venue for sport.

There is also Freyr https://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crags/freyr-2018/ in Belgium, which is very close.

However, I haven't been since the late 80's and not too sure how polished it is by now. It was very good and we went a few times and really enjoyed it.

CB.

Chamonix has amazing alpine climbing but it’s probably not what you’re looking for. 
 

I think that your three criteria - sport climbing, campervan, five days - are not particularly compatible. 

Campervan, five days -> Font

Sport climbing, campervan -> tons of amazing places but they are all a long drive (10hrs + from Calais) so not for five days.

Sport climbing, five days -> tons of amazing places but you’ll need to fly/take the TGV and then hire a car. 

The exception to this might be Sassuois but I’ve never been and don’t know how good it is. I would suspect a bit old skool and very stiff grades. It’s probably a good day’s drive from London where I live so from Yorkshire… 

If your 5  days includes travel think about Normandy - not personally climbed there but there are several well known areas, eg Clécy (https://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crags/clecy-2228/ ).

Even if the 5 days doesn't include travel I'd recomend the crags around Dijon, there are several so you could visit a different crag each day.  The many areas further south are worth a visit but you risk spending more time travelling than climbing.

Thanks Sean, ok so maybe flying might be the best idea with the time we have it seems. We wanted to go abroad but I'm not sure given the time we have we're going to get the most out of the trip given we were planning on driving. 

Might have to be a driving trip to Dorset to do some sport? 

Just to check - have you been to France before? It's considerably bigger than the UK, which isn't perhaps that obvious until you start driving through it. The middle bits really do go on and on and on...!

I mean, it's not a bad destination and is often nice and climbable when the rest of the country is cold and grim.

Freyr’s still great from 6a

There's also Berdorf an hour further 

I’d strongly recommend other venues than Buoux in midsummer. The Verdon is hot but much higher and less humid. Or as you suggest, fly to Marseille and then hire a car. Coastal crags like Paroi des Toits, Les Calanques and La Loubière would accessible, as would Chateavert and the Verdon if prepared to drive a way.

As others have said, if you're only going 5 days in a campervan, consider how far you want to drive.

There's plenty of places not that far from Calais

Have a look at these

https://climbingaway.fr/en/rock-climbing-areas/find-20-rock-climbing-areas-...

https://www.ffme.fr/escalade/site-naturel/les-falaises-et-sites-naturels/si...

As you appear to be flexible,  keep an eye on the meteo and go where’s best

We've regularly stopped in Belgium and Luxembourg for a quick fix to break the journey further south, with crags like  Dave  Beez,  Marche les Dames all being good alternatives to the more famous  Freyr. They're all good for some "drive-by" cragging, but I'm not sure they're "drive-to" destinations - you'd get similar quality and less faff using your 5 days in Portland.

The BenNeLux exception which perhaps could be a focus for your 5-day trip would be  Berdorf which has a unique character, charming setting and some really interesting climbing. If your 5-day window is mid-week then so much the better, as you will miss the weekend crowds. There's even a well-appointed campsite that you can walk to the crag from. A few pics and a bit of beta here: https://rockaroundtheworld.co.uk/2018/09/22/berdorf-not-the-red-sandstone-w...

Yep, Berdorf is fabulous.  I must have spent over 60 days there.

For maximum amusement,  watch someone who can’t jam on 25eme Anniversaire (soft 6b if you can jam) 

If the OP (or anyone) goes there, get on Arrete Paulette: superb at 7a+

Berdorf sounds good. What’s the best time of year to go?

CB.

Dijon / Burgundy area is ideal.

Thank you, I've written this all down now. Super helpful.

Thanks Dominic, added to the list.

I think I’ve been mostly May to October though not much in August.

It faces different ways so can always choose sun or shade. It’s in a forest of tall trees.

Possibly worth booking a campsite (Martbusch or Belle Vue 2000) before arriving or at least ringing to check space. Belle Vue is massive but fully booked last time I was there

That’s great, thanks for the info. Definitely looking at a week this year.

CB.