Souvenir photos
Camping au Port-Punay, 60 years of smiles !
It all started in 1964 when René Moreau (a baker by trade), his wife Flavienne and Bernard Moreau (his brother) bought the Boucholeurs’ football pitch, which belonged to the Gravouil family, to turn it into a campsite.
With a lot of imagination, the family got to work and started to organize the land to welcome the first guests. A reception, the first toilet blocs, a food stall and planting numerous trees on the virgin land. And there you have it; the Campsite au Port-Punay is born!
So that the cars and caravans could easily go back and forth, René and Bernard built an alley with a pickaxe, a shovel and the sweat of their brows, which later became the “Allée Bernard Moreau”.
After the death of Bernard, René and Flavienne ran for many years the campsite, welcoming many campers, who became faithful customers, and improving progressively the infrastructures of the campsite.
After René’s death, Flavienne ran the campsite with her son Alain, who computerized the reception and brought in the first mobil-homes.
In April 1999, Flavienne passed the torch on to her son Raymond and her daughter in law Christiane. The second generation of the Moreau family completely renovated the campsite and built the pool and finally a bar-restaurant.
In order to offer better quality and more services to their clients, the campsite started taking the steps to be certified by independent labels. Quickly the campsite received the labels of “Qualité Tourisme” and “Green Key”.
A few years later, the third generation of the family joined Raymond and Christiane. Morgan, their son, along with his wife Angelique… and Bali!
The family continues to want to offer more services and strengthens its commitment to sustainable development and renewable energies by obtaining the European eco-label.
And then came the storm Xynthia in February 2010… A whole life’s worth of work was completely destroyed in one night… A disaster both emotionally and financially, putting forth the question of whether the campsite would reopen.
The battle then started with the insurances and the state authorities, the good news being announced a few months later. With a lot of will power, the help of colleagues, friends, the town and the people of Châtelaillon, the campsite was reborn from its own ashes. A whole year will be needed for the reconstruction. In 2010 there was some more good news with the birth of Jules, the 4th generation of the Moreau family starts to appear.
In 2011, the campsite reopened with brand new installations, new networks, new roads, the inside of the buildings completely renovated, new mobile-homes, more than 200 trees and 1200 shrubs replanted.
In 2012 the campsite received the label “Accueil Vélo-Vélodyssée”
In January 2014 Flavienne Moreau passed away, and the campsite’s 50th year will always be marked by this sad news.
After the first and second generations have set up and completely renovated the campsite, Morgan and Angelique build the Wellness Center La Source … you can relax in a beautiful quiet area …
The names given by the Moreau family all have a meaning: the campsite used to be the harbor of the village and at low tide it didn’t smell really good, they said “it stinks with the nose”, so Port-Punay. When Morgan used to walk around the campsite with his grandfather, Papy René often said «one day you will find a well on the campsite… then make good use of it» and indeed, when digging for the Wellness Center in 2019 it was discovered and hence the name La Source!
In 2020 we had to say goodbye to our most beautiful blonde ever … our four-legged friend Bali … How she enjoyed it here: between racing behind the neighborhood, chasing them in the trees and the encounter with a wild boar that was 5 times larger than she was … What fun we had with Bali for over thirteen years!
2020 did not get any better with the outbreak of the Corona virus … after months of uncertainty and worry, we were finally able to open the campsite with all the risks that this could entail for our guests, employees, ourselves and our loved ones … This year the summer was different, but it was good anyhow! Sweet, friendly guests and a fantastic team… if we had known this in advance, we would have been a lot more relaxed in June!
The year ends with a smile at the campsite … Noya has a new friend! Since the end of November, a blonde labrador has been running across the site, she’s called Roby!
Will the 4th generation continue this family campsite ? In any case we hope to pass on to him the joy we have in working as a family, for families; and do you know a better activity than making people smile ? We have been doing it for 60 years, and who knows, maybe Jules will see you in 50 years with his family ?
In memory of René … “You see, according to your last wish, the campsite is now in the hands of your grandson, Morgan…”