Côte d'Azur - the south of France in October
Our October break might have been very different. We decided on the south of France as our destination only the night before we went. Twenty-four hours earlier we'd planned, and packed clothes, for a week in Scotland. The long-range weather forecast showed sun and temperatures up to 24°C in the Côte d'Azur and so rather than embrace autumn with a cold and damp break near Loch Ness, we decided to cling on to summer a week longer. Little research went into booking camping La Vieille Ferme on the coast between Nice and Cannes. There's not a great choice of sites still open after September. Photos and reviews of the campsite seemed promising and we didn't have time to do any further groundwork. After spending Friday night on an aire two hours south of Calais, another eight hours on the road saw us pull in to La Vieille Ferme at 6pm on Saturday. We'd paid only a deposit and, unusually, weren't asked for the balance upon checking in. Instead they kept