Brittany, cheers!

TAKE THE FERRY AND STAY AT EUROCAMP IN CARNAC FOR FUN, SUN AND ICE CREAMS GALORE, PLUS YOU'RE NEVER FAR FROM SOMEWHERE CULTURAL TO EXPLORE, SAYS VICKY LISSAMAN

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COME RAIN OR SHINE: The covered pool at La Grande Metairie campsite

BANANA curry, lavender... liquorice? Or go crazy with a Guinness stout or whiskey and Coke?

With 180 wild and wonderful flavours to choose from, holding up the queue at L'Igloo ice-cream shop in Carnac, France, is a daily hazard.

Tourists have been flocking to this Breton institution to sample its record-breaking concoctions since 1974. In a state of panic, I opt for a scoop of matcha green tea-flavoured ice cream in a waffle cone, then sit on the wall, watching holidaymakers mooching around and sipping wine in the pavement cafes on a sunny August afternoon.

Famous for its five beautiful beaches, 3,000 mysterious standing stones, and this number-crunching retro ice palace, Carnac, on Brittany's west coast, is a French seaside resort par excellence.

Easy to reach after hopping aboard the overnight Brittany Ferries' service from Portsmouth to St Malo on its brand new and first-ever hybrid-LGN ship, the Saint Malo within a two-hour drive, you can be catching some rays on the sands of the Gulf of Morbihan, marvelling at the ancient megaliths or slurping on sorbet in the town centre.

Our base was Eurocamp's five-star La Grande Métairie campsite, opposite the stones, and a mile-and-a-half from the coast.

Set in woodland, and with its own menagerie of goats and rabbits (the campsite name translates as The Great Farm), the mobile homes are well spaced.

Plus, there's the onsite Blue Lagoon restaurant and bar, a shop with a bakery, a games room, entertainment, and organised activities, from kids' crafts and sports to fitness classes.

Its waterslide complex with heated indoor and outdoor pools and a Jacuzzi surrounded by plenty of sunbeds is a great place to hang out in the daytime.