Simon O'Neill and family discover camping in France is a little more stylish than it used to be - and doesn't even involve sleeping under canvas...

IT WAS the enormous, unwelcome elephant in the room.

I had gone to bed the night before at our campsite in southern France without a thought for the EU referendum, even though the votes were being counted as I hit the pillow.

The next morning brought a rude awakening, with the news that we had voted to quit the EU.

A few hours later, on Brexit day, I sat with Jean Marie Heger, owner of the Cala Gogo campsite near St Cyprien in Pyrenees-Orientlale, ostensibly for a jolly jaunt through the pleasures of camping a la France. But that was before Britain opted to self destruct (or enter a bright new future, depending on your point of view).

At the end of a pleasant conversation, in which the Anglophile Msr Heger had waxed lyrical about the British and outlined ambitious plans for improvements at his tranquil beachside site, I spoiled the mood by mentioning the elephant.

“Ah, Brexeet,”. Msr Heger’s shoulders slumped and he shook his head sadly. “It’s very bad. Very bad for Europe and very bad for the UK. But I knew that if the vote went ahead you would vote for out.”

He knew more than me then. But you don’t have to be an economist to work out that the exit vote could be terrible for the French tourist industry.

Msr Heger said. “We do not know what the effect (of the Brexit vote) could be yet, of course. But on top of everything else, it is worrying.”

English and Irish tourists were already in shorter supply this year due to ‘everything else’, a combination of the Euro 2016 football championships, terrorism, strikes and wildly overblown stories in the British press about fuel shortages. For the record, we did not see a single queue for fuel.

Brexit was just the last straw and the performance of our wobbly pound will have an enormous bearing on the holiday choices British people make this summer and in the years to come. And on the basis of our week in the sweltering, languid Languedoc, they will be missing a treat if they opt to stay at home.

Camping in France means generous pitches, pool complexes, bars, restaurants and immaculate shower and toilet blocks. Crucially, it also means sunshine and sweltering temperatures.

The family-owned Cala Gogo had all of the above with the added bonus of direct access to a spectacular sandy beach, dotted with bars and restaurants all the way down to pretty St. Cyprien port, a mile away.

This was classed as a large site, with 648 pitches catering for package tourists and independent travellers in tents, caravans or camper vans.

But the popular choice with many families is to book with a specialist operator like our hosts, Eurocamp, and walk straight into one of their large tents or mobile homes.

It’s not exactly wild camping, but staggering off to the toilet blocks in the dead of night is not everyone’s idea of a relaxing holiday.

You will have to do the late night stagger in Eurocamp’s tents, but with cookers, a fridge freezer, and electricity, most creature comforts are there and it is the cheapest option for a maximum of four adults and two children.

Mobile homes, which accommodate between six and eight people, have fully fitted kitchens and bathrooms, with air conditioning, wooden decking and Bluetooth speakers available in some. There are also mobiles adapted for wheelchair users.

Pyrenees-Orientale is in the Languedoc Rousillon region, in France’s south west near the Spanish border, which is a two-hour drive from St Cyprien. With a proud Catalan outlook, wide empty beaches and a laid back air, the region is light years away from the crowded and overpriced French Riviera up the coast.

As Britain endured heavy rain and floods, or typical June weather as we call it, we baked in temperatures of up to 35 degrees, which wasn’t a problem when the pool complex was 100 metres in one direction and a beautiful beach 150 metres in the other.

The location was perfect, with the sea in front and the French Pyrenees looming behind and as we found, a car is not essential. Perpignan airport is 24 kilometres away and we took the bus from there to St Cyprien and then hired bikes or used excellent and cheap public transport to get around (Great Western Railways please note).

Just down the coast are the popular seaside towns of Collioure and Argeles sur mer and further afield trains from Perpignan will whisk you to Barcelona in 90 minutes for as little as £17 return.

Alternatively, head up into the Pyrenees on the Petit Train Jaune, the miniature gauge tourist train that chugs 63 kilometres up to the Spanish border at Bolquere-Eyre, France’s highest station at 1,593 metres.

At for eating and drinking, the campsite restaurant was busy every night and for those wanting a change, the tiny port of St. Cyprien was packed with restaurants and bars of every variety. Needless to say, the area is heaven for lovers of seafood and food and drink was still cheap despite the post-Brexit battering the pound was taking.

Staycations may be on the rise in newly independent Britain, but in or out of Europe, France offers so much to the British holidaymaker.

I for one will not be turning my back on her any time soon.

The essentials...

Four of us stayed in a Eurocamp (eurocamp.co.uk) three-bedroom Vista mobile home with decking and air con at Cala Gogo in St Cyprien. Total price including linen, towels and a welcome pack was £688 for seven nights.

The nearest airport in Perpignan and we flew there with Ryan Air (Ryanair.com) for £84 each return (fares vary according to availability). Nearest ferry ports are Bilbao (687kms) St Malo (998kms) and Caen (1058kms).

The impact of Brexit....

Eurcocamp are adopting a ‘wait and see’ approach to the effects of Brexit, while sensibly offering discounts across many of their parks. The best bargains are to be had by those who book early, although last minute deals are also worth watching out for.

A company spokeswoman said: “Until we are officially out of the EU we don’t expect to see many significant changes. We are continuing to protect all customers by:

* Freezing many holiday prices for 2017 compared to 2016 so customers won’t pay more for next year’s holiday compared to this time last year.

* Guaranteeing that once a holiday deposit has been paid, Eurocamp won’t increase the cost based on future currency fluctuations, so customers can be safe in the knowledge that the price of their holiday is secured.”