Child-friendly holidays
Everything for the kids from equipment, the gardens to out & about
There is a huge range of baby & toddler equipment shared between both cottages, free of charge, available at our child-friendly holiday cottages.
Please reserve your equipment at the time of booking your holiday cottage.
We will confirm all your requirements two weeks before check-in date.
It can be very difficult when planning a holiday with young children to remember all the things you may require or to consider all the safety aspects in an unknown environment.
In order to assist you and get the most from your holiday, at our child-friendly family accommodation there is:
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Toys
There is a box of toys for toddlers in each cottage as well as indoor and outdoor games, toys and DVDs for older children – something for everyone at our child-friendly cottages
Outdoor play
The 4 acres of gardens provides the ideal playground for children just to be children:
In the summer months, there are:
We also have 8 childrens bicycles and 2 child seats to make cycling holidays possible. Additionally, there are slightly larger bikes for teenagers. To see more about our extensive range of bicycle equipment for all ages – click here.
Childrens playhouse
Fern, the childrens playhouse, with its own little garden has been specially designed for younger children.
Our younger guests all adore their own special place!
Cycling and sports
During the summer season there is:
Additionally, there are 4 tennis rackets for use at the local tennis courts
Heated pools
The heated pools are a safe 1.2m throughout and being side-by-side ideal for a game of water-volleyball or “water”-badminton. There is an older set of badminton rackets for use in the pool.
There is a range of pool equipment available including pool toys and training equipment (woggles and boards) as well as arm bands and floatation devices for younger children and an inflatable paddling pool for toddlers.
The pool thermometer is set to 26°C although the actual pool temperature may vary due to climatic conditions.
Pool safety
Understandably, pool safety is one of our main concerns and we have installed a decked area with security fencing that complies with the French pool fencing legislation. The pool fencing legislation is designed to prevent 5 year olds and under gaining access by themselves to a pool area.
We provide a key to a nominated adult in each cottage to control access to the pool area.
All children must be fully supervised by an adult in the pool area and the pool gate must be locked at all times when not in use.
Food allergies
Medical assistance
Hopefully you will never need to go to a doctor or hospital during your stay, but in the unlikely event that you may need a doctor for your child (or yourselves) there is an excellent doctor in Bubry (8 minutes drive) who speaks English.
There is an English speaking chemist in Quistinic (10 minutes drive) and another chemist in Bubry, with someone who is always able to help in passable English.
There are Accident & Emergency Hospitals in Pontivy (35 minutes) and Lorient (30 minutes).
We are also on hand to assist with reservations or attend any appointments if you require any translation assistance.
If you can manage to drag the kids away from Le Crann, whatever happens, rain or shine, there is always something for the younger ones:
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Farms, Aquariums and Animals
Kids are always fascinated by animals. So top of the list has to be the tremendous range of farms, aquariums and animal museums in the area. We have this summarised in the Information Pack, so you can find the attraction of your choice at a glance:
Living villages - a step back in time!
Nearby there are three reconstructed villages from a bygone age, all with farm animals and demonstrations of traditional life of that time.
Beaches
Every child loves a trip to the seaside and you will be spoilt for choice with many sandy beaches, blessed with a smaller tidal range than the northern coast. In July and August many of these beaches have life guards and some also have a play area nearby. Our information pack is full of many suggestions, from small coves to long sandy beaches.
And if you don’t want to travel far, do as the locals do in Quistinic, and head down to the river beach at Minazen Lock on the Blavet River. The perfect spot for a lazy French afternoon, take a picnic or a fishing rod (licenses only cost 10€ a day!), and while away the time at the beach or at the bar watching the cyclists and walkers on the tow path or a river boat coming through the lock.
Or head inland to Lac de Guerlédan – Brittany’s largest inland lake with three sandy beaches.
Child-friendly restaurants
We have always found that the local restaurants are incredibly child friendly so don’t worry about venturing out with young children and most do a children’s menu or you can ask for child portions in those that don’t.
The only downside is that generally French restaurants tend to have fixed opening hours (lunch 12h-14h and dinner 19h-21h/22h) which don’t fit in with most young children’s eating hours. The good news if you are coming from the UK or Ireland is that you do have an extra hour with the time zones which helps if you keep the children in the same time patterns.
The other good news is that one of our local restaurants, Ty Val, is open from 18h30 Thursday to Sunday, have a reasonably priced childrens menu (with surprise) around 7€ and an outside patio area with boules, slides and swings for the children.
Alternatively, the absolutely charming Dimask Tea Rooms, one of our favourite places to go, with its even more charming hostess is open from 9am to 7pm (except Wednesdays) for a bite to eat at any time. See our review here. English spoken.
West Wake Park terrace
Another great place to pick up food at almost anytime is at the café/bar Chez Pops at the West Wake Park, where you can watch the télé-skiing whilst having a meal or a snack.
You will also find in high season that there are some restaurants where you can get food all afternoon and we are happy to point you in the right direction.
A good standby is McDonalds (We are not fans really!) but in France the food is not too bad at all, they are open from 10h and they always have a children’s play area.
Kingoland amusement park
This new amusement park only 30 minutes away has activities for all ages. It really is a smaller quieter quainter Legoland! Lots of smaller play areas for the little ones (indoor and out) whilst the older ones can take advantage of the roller coaster, the 6D cinema and some of the older rides. Take a swimming costume, towel and spare clothes for the water activities.
Cultural events
No matter what, there is hardly a week that goes by without some festival in the region and in the summer months you will be hard pressed to decide on which one to see.
This is the perfect opportunity to introduce the little ones to the music, dancing and festivities of Breton culture.
Karting
The outdoor karting at Ploemel has electric mini-cars for 3-6 year olds
Tree climbing and zip-wires
X-Trem Forest in Camor has brilliant tree climbing courses starting from 2+ years
West Wake Park - Télé-skiing
The WestWake Park provides cable water skiing (on waterskis or knee boards) for 8+ years and an aqua-park for 6+ years. Great fun!
Sailing museum
The Cité de la Voile – the sailing museum at Lorient – has many interactive displays suitable for young children.
"Poète Ferrailleur" scrap metal moving objects
One of our favourite and most unusual museums is the Poète Ferrailleur near Lizio.
This amazing metalworking poet has made a universe of moving objects from scrap metal.
Fascinating to both children and adults alike!
Activity parks and soft play areas
There is a delightful activity park “La Balade du Père Nicolas” for the youngsters near St Nicolas-Des-Eaux. Ploemel, near Auray, is also host to “Le P’tit Delire” as well as Yakapark at Vannes.
There are also soft play areas at Pontivy and Lanaster for the under 12s.
But don’t forget most McDonald’s have a free soft play area. These can be found at Pontivy, Quimperlé, Hennebont, Lanaster, Auray and Vannes. The one at Lanaster has a particularly good one!
Playgrounds
Every reasonable sized village has a free playground and sports facilities. Sometimes these are not well sign-posted but as a general rule of thumb head towards the local “Salle Polyvalente” and the playground and sports facilities will be nearby.
There are lovely playgrounds in nearby Baud, Hennebont and Plouay. Details to find these are in our Information Pack.
And there is even more for the older ones!
“Fern” with its own little garden has been specially designed for younger children. Our younger guests all adore their own special place!
When we bought Le Crann, the brambles ruled many areas and hedges had got out of control. So we had to start with some jungle clearance.
Its taken some time, but as the bits and bobs have gone in and the garden has matured it has become a delight for our younger guests.