Camping Municipal Les Mielles

The Les Mielles municipal campsite is in Surtainville, a coastal village on the west coast of the Cotentin, in the Manche department, about 30 km from Cherbourg-en-Cotentin. The stations at Valognes (25 km) and Cherbourg (30 km) are the closest, and Caen is 135 km away via the RN13. The site runs alongside a four-kilometre beach of fine sand, and the customs officers’ path, the GR223, passes nearby.

Rated 3 stars and run by the commune, the campsite offers pitches of about 100 m² with electric hook-up for tents, caravans and motorhomes, cabadiennes for two people aimed at walkers and cycle tourists, mobile homes for 4 people on 120 m² plots bordered by hedges, including one adapted for people with reduced mobility, and two gîtes 100 m from the beach, a 3-room for 4 people and a 5-room for 8 people.

As for the calendar, the website says the campsite operates without interruption, in high and low season alike. Guests are welcomed by the day, week, month or year, including residents, holidaymakers and professionals passing through. Off-season, the washroom block is heated and the mobile homes have electric convector heaters in every room; reception keeps reduced hours in the late afternoon and on Saturday mornings.

This arrangement suits stays of a few days in autumn or winter, long monthly stays and professionals on the move, for whom the website expressly mentions accommodation available all year round.

Hiking on the GR223 and in the dunes, Ludiver planetarium and Cité de la Mer 25 and 30 km away, Marais du Cotentin in the rainy season.

The range of services remains modest, as you would expect of a municipal campsite. The large washroom block is heated and has toilets, showers, individual cubicles and dishwashing sinks, with access for people with reduced mobility. A coin-operated laundry with washing machine and dryer and a paid wifi hotspot complete the facilities, while reception hands out tourist information and lends extension leads and barbecues against a deposit. Pets are allowed.

Motorhome owners have a fitted-out area with waste disposal. The 4-person mobile homes, with two bedrooms, come with blankets, pillows and kitchen equipment, but household linen must be brought; the gîtes add a dishwasher, television, fitted kitchen and a small courtyard with garden furniture, and provide sheets and pillowcases. The F5’s electric heating is charged as an extra.

There is no swimming pool on site: the water is the sea. A supervised beach is set up in high season, with entertainment organised on the sand by the local lifesaving association, which notably sets up an above-ground pool for children. For food, an artisan pizza vending machine is 200 metres away, a snack bar (L’Amarre) is mentioned on the neighbouring municipal land and a local produce market is listed in the practical information. Beach entertainment and bathing supervision are summer-only; heated washrooms, laundry and equipped accommodation remain available the rest of the year.

At the campsite, two play areas, an inflatable structure, a television room with games, volleyball, basketball, pétanque and tennis courts, and table tennis tables keep children and adults busy. In July and August, a welcome drink and a pétanque tournament punctuate the stay, and anglers practise surf casting from the beach.

500 metres away, the Les Laguettes municipal ground has a lake, a fitness trail, a fitness area, a skate park, a multi-sports court, a zip line and a summer market on Wednesdays from 5pm. The GR223 runs through the commune, and a binder of routes is available at reception for outings on foot, by bike or on horseback, with the discovery of the dunes as a bonus.

Further afield, you can reach a riding centre 7 km away, sand yachting at Sciotot (8 km), a surf school at Hatainville (10 km), bike hire at Barneville (13 km), the departure of boats for the Channel Islands at Diélette and Carteret (15 km) and a golf course 19 km away. The Ludiver planetarium in La Hague (25 km) and the Cité de la Mer in Cherbourg (30 km) are among the region’s visits, as is the Mémorial de Caen (135 km). Off-season, the Marais du Cotentin, flooded in the rainy season, look like lakes.