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local supermarket (you can use an app called AroundMe which works in the UK and Europe and it will show facilities close by). It’s much cheaper to stock up there than to buy from the very small shop on site.

Be aware on this site you will have to pay a deposit for a barrier key to go in and out – and they don’t have many of them! You have to put down a deposit of €30 to have one and this allows access out of hours or during siesta time.

Again, on this site we only saw one other British family who stopped to ask us about our portable air-conditioning unit – to see if it’s worth the money. Given it was close to 40 degrees during our stay, here we offered a resounding yes!

We can recommend the Buffalo Grill off site which is less than 6km away. Behind the restaurant, you will find a small road that has a very discretely signed border with Switzerland, so you can literally walk a few metres along the road and have one foot in France and one in Switzerland!

My top tip for this site, is to make a point of visiting Chamonix – a town in the Alps, about an hour’s drive from the site which is best known as a ski resort. Yet it is also busy all year round. As you drive in, you get that traditional feel of a Swiss mountain village with epic Mont Blanc towering above you.

Don’t panic as you drive in – there are a few car parks but don’t opt for the first one you see. Go through the town and follow clear signs and there are plenty of car parks off the main drag. We found one with the glacier just above us.

This town may offer winter sports but yet it’s not short on summer sports, either. There’s the option to take part in climbing, paragliding (the air is full of people with wings), and also mountaineering. We visited to collect tickets for a two-day pass which would allow us to take a cable car to the top of Mont Blanc, take a train ride around the mountain or visit the ice caves nearby. I'll tell you more about that in a future column.

Chamonix offers lots of choice for shoppers like me, though be prepared for higher prices; goods around this town and the area come in via helicopter! As well as the usual tourist trinket shops, there are many well-known brands and lovely quirky eateries with wonderful foods on offer. Snails may have made their way to our table, much to David’s disgust!

LEFT Steve chills out on site

TOP RIGHT Sunset at La Colombière Neydens

RIGHT Electric charging points in Chamonix

BOTTOM The snow-covered peaks draw crowds all year round

BOTTOM RIGHT Pretty streets of Chamonix

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W camping-la-colombiere.com/en W en.chamonix.com W buffalo-grill.fr/restaurant/archamps

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Catch up on Fiona and Steve's caravan adventures by heading to their YouTube channel: Beyond that Blue Door bit.ly/3Awt1ZZ ››