Planning the Perfect Half-Term Getaway in a Motorhome
The Black Forest National Park is an area of southwestern Germany close to the French and Swiss borders. The heavily wooded hills and mountains are crossed by an expansive network of trails suitable for walking or mountain biking, and there are even several quaint market towns dotted around.
These trails are well maintained and seem very popular with Germans visiting from other parts of the country as well as locals. Electric mountain bikes seemed the most popular mode of transport. I even spoke to one local who used the trails to commute to work as it’s easier, safer and more peaceful than chancing the main road by bike.
These trails also have little shelters, some selling food and drink via honesty boxes, and small cafes. The network is such that you can leave from the same place, several trails leave from our campsite to the same destination but never use the same route twice.
The roads within the park are in exceptional condition, and although there are some tight mountain bends, they prove very user-friendly for even the largest of motorhomes, caravans or campervans.
However, public transport is a great option once you’re pitched up. We stayed at Natur-Camping Langenwald just outside the market town of Freudenstadt.
The campsite has its bus stops, and it takes nine minutes to get there and about six minutes to return from the town’s market square by the always-on-time bus service.
Our daily routine was to trek, via constantly altering routes, from the campsite into Freudenstadt. The birdlife is plentiful, and if you’re lucky and observant, you might, like us, see a red squirrel or two.
We’d normally arrive in Freudenstadt by lunchtime to enjoy one of the many restaurants around the square. Our favourite was Turm Bräu, a cosy bar-restaurant that has its brewery. Our two young boys, somewhat typically, love sausages. And Bex and I are partial to a good beer. This place did both. And they did them well. We returned several times and were, by the end, on first-name terms with the waitress.
The forecasted rains never came, and we enjoyed some beautiful weather. After our lunch of sausages and ice cream, we’d either catch the bus or spend the afternoon at the campsite.
This allowed the boys to amuse themselves in the playground or explore the mini-trails, with their information boards on local bird and insect life, around the site. However, on alternate days we’d visit the Freudenstadt Water Park.
I always found Germany does water parks and spas better than anywhere else. Even in this relatively small market town, the water park was good.
Four pools for swimming, playing, diving, or an outdoor one, two large water slides, a café-bar by the pools, and spa facilities. It was the perfect way to cool off and stay active after a long hike and a large lunch.
It’s around a ten-hour drive in the motorhome from Calais, which we broke up after eight hours and stopped at an Aire.
That left us just two hours of driving in the morning and an opportunity to stop by the National Park Centre before check-in.
This was to be our last outing, for now, in a motorhome. Our Bailey Adamo 74DL, which has served us well over the years, has been replaced by a Bailey Endeavour B64. But, as a final family adventure, this was perfect. Great road, great food, great campsite, great town and, most importantly, the great outdoors.
If you are looking for an adventurous and memorable family holiday, I highly recommend taking a trip in a motorhome! The comfort and convenience it offers make every journey a joy. Whether it’s the Bailey motorhome, caravan or campervan, they provide the perfect base for exploring stunning destinations like the Black Forest National Park.
