Stay in the grounds of your very own magical Château! Set in Château de la Baudonnière's 100-acre estate in Normandy France, this fun-packed activity holiday is suitable for families of all ages.
You won't need to put your hand in your pocket during your stay because all activities, excursions and meals are included, with beer, wine and our own cider served with dinner and into the evening. Just get yourself to Normandy, then relax knowing that the whole week is organised for you.
There's activities for the whole family to enjoy together, such as our tough-mudder assault course, 'It’s a Knockout’ competition and a guided walk across Mont Saint-Michel bay with a unique quick-sand experience. For parents who don’t want to miss the fun, there’s also a great choice of adult-only activities such as orienteering and rifle shooting.
And if that isn’t enough, in the evening, join us at the family quiz night and test your general knowledge, dress up as a superhero at our fancy dress party or make some shapes at the family disco.
Experience-seekers required for a family adventure at Château de la Baudonnière, Normandy
The château is located in Les Chambres, in an undiscovered area of Lower Normandy, about 8 miles north of the cathedral city of Avranches.
We welcome just 25 families to Château de la Baudonnière in any given adventure week meaning families really get to know one another. In the evening you can relax with new found friends over a French meal and a glass of our homebrewed Normandy cider, produced in the château's traditional cider press from apples grown in our orchard.
We offer a fun-packed week of supervised activities, most of which take place within the château's beautiful estate so you can fully relax. The château is set in 100 acres of lawns, woodland, river meadows and lake, which form a natural backdrop for our adventure facilities, assault course, archery range, climbing wall, sports courts and mini-farm. We have table tennis, sports pitches and a homeball court to keep the family fully occupied.
See the Activities tab for more detail of what's on offer at our Family Adventure Holiday in Château de la Baudonnière and watch our short video for a flavour of what is on offer
The essence of this adventure week – natural beauty and unique experiences for inquiring minds of all ages to enjoy!
During term-time, Château de la Baudonnière is a French language school, and we are able to offer this fantastic family holiday at a great price because of the basic accommodation—still, we guarantee that no compromise is made on the cleanliness.
The majority of the rooms at the château are bunk bed only. All family rooms are equipped with private bathrooms. A limited number of rooms with double beds and interconnecting rooms are available, so enquire early for the best chance of securing one for your stay.
Complimentary tea, coffee and water can be found in many of the communal areas. Linen is provided, but guests are asked to bring their own towels.
Château
All family rooms have private shower/toilet facilities. The bedrooms themselves are basic and are made up of bunk beds and storage spaces for clothing. Some of our rooms contain double beds, please ask at the time of booking to check availability. Families either stay together in large family rooms or can pay a little extra to have two rooms.
Tea & coffee facilities can be found in many of the communal areas.
A fun-packed 6 day activity programme for the whole family
Our family programme has been tried and tested to maximise enjoyment and it offers something for every age group, from toddlers to teenagers and parents to grandparents. All activities are fully supervised with trained English-speaking instructors to create a memorable week of new experiences. All activities, admission to excursions, equipment and tuition with qualified instructors is included in the price of the holiday.
Younger children have their own specially designed programme including mini-farm and French breadmaking, as well as plenty of games and creative missions. Parental supervision is required for very young children to participate — get in touch for more details.
Older children have their own age-specific adventure programme which includes activities such as climbing, archery, kayaking, t-shirt making and aeroball.
We've also designed activities for the whole family to enjoy together, such as our tough-mudder course, 'It's a Knockout' competition and local visits to beautiful Mont Saint-Michel with a guided walk across the bay and unique quicksand experience.
For parents who don't want to miss the fun, there's also a great choice of adult-only activities such as rifle shooting.
And if that isn't enough, in the evening, test your general knowledge at family quiz night, dress up as a superhero at our fancy dress party or make some shapes at the family disco.
Children aged 8+ can also join French Club to improve their language skills (additional charge).
Note that all excursions require your own transport.
Click on the activity descriptions below to see some of our family favourites.
Cara-Meuh Organic Farm
Canoeing
Raft building
Bread making
Climbing
Assault course
Orienteering
Mini-farm
Aeroball
Treasure hunt
French Club
Guided bay expedition and quicksand experience
Archery
Cara-Meuh Organic Farm
Take a tour of this organic family farm, meet the herd and experience the generations-old processes of their hand made artisanal dairy products - raw cream, farm butter, cheese and their very own caramel. Stop off a the café and shop for refreshments and souvenirs. Delicieux!
Canoeing
Fun-filled canoeing sessions take place on our beautiful on-site lake. Whether you're a seasoned pro or this is your first time canoeing, the forested lake is a safe and idyllic setting for this holiday highlight. Children should be confident in water, but do not need to be skilled swimmers to get involved.
Raft building
Put your wits—and your teamwork—to the test in this competitive challenge! You'll find out who the natural leader is in your group in no time as you work together to design and build your very own raft. Which team will build their raft the fastest, and more importantly who will stay afloat and who will sink?
Bread making
Learn French songs and sing along while mixing, kneading and baking your prized le pain. Experience tells us it's not only the children who get covered in flour during this activity...
Climbing
On our own purpose-built climbing wall, you will take it in turns to climb whilst those not climbing will encourage and coach alongside our qualified instructors. The easy part of abseiling comes after you have reached the top of the tower! All ages enjoy this session and after you’ll feel a great sense of achievement. Harnesses, helmets and other necessary safety equipment are supplied by the château.
Assault course
The obstacle course is quickly becoming the Château’s most popular activity. In true military style you will crawl through tunnels, under nets, climb over obstacles all set beside our trickling river in beautiful forest land.
Orienteering
You will be taught map reading skills using orienteering games and courses in the Château grounds. Orienteering is an excellent motivational and recreational activity, which increases love of the outdoors and promotes environmental awareness.
Mini-farm
Within the beautiful Château grounds you'll find our wonderful mini-farm which attracts young and old alike. During this session children will be able to pet and feed our pot bellied pigs, rabbits, cockerels, chickens, horse and lama. Wandering wild within the grounds you will also see rabbits and a couple of peacocks. If you visit the veranda you'll meet our resident parrot, ‘Jam’ with whom the children love to chat with!
Aeroball
Aeroball is another of our very popular activities, among adults and children alike – it is a totally unique trampoline-basketball-volleyball game, suitable for all ages. It is played by two teams of two, who are guided by their team members.
Treasure hunt
Enjoyed by our Swans & Herons children’s groups and accompanied by our animateurs, the children will venture around the Château grounds, looking for clues to find the hidden treasure. Last year our animateurs were dressed in the rather appropriate theme of pirates, which the children loved.
French Club
Children 8 and over can join French Club, which consists of 8 x 45-minute interactive French language sessions and activities across the week. The lessons are taught by our native-speaking animateurs who gently encourage children participating to use French during their stay. There is an additional cost per child.
Guided bay expedition and quicksand experience
Gear up for an unforgettable guided barefoot trek across the stunning bay that surrounds Mont Saint-Michel. Woody, our local expert, will show you and your family how to sink (and escape!) from the quicksand in the bay.
Archery
After the obligatory safety talk, families will learn how to shoot arrows in our purpose built archery arena. The session is finished off with a balloon shooting competition. Our qualified staff will teach you how to perfect your target skills and ensure your children will become little robin hoods.
The Château is set in beautiful wooded grounds near a small village called Les Chambres (named because it was a place for pilgrims to overnight en route to nearby Mont Saint-Michel).
Château de la Baudonnière is situated in Lower Normandy at the base of the Cherbourg peninsula about 12 km north of the Cathedral city of Avranches. Find us at Château de la Baudonnière, Les Chambres 50320, La Haye-Pesnel, Normandie, France.
Most of our families opt to self-drive via a ferry channel crossing or via Eurotunnel. You will need your own transport for the off-site activities.
Brittany Ferries - Portsmouth to Caen and Cherbourg: These crossings offer the fastest transfer times as Château de la Baudonnière is between an hour and 1.5 hours from the ferry ports of Caen and Cherbourg.
Eurotunnel - offers the fastest channel crossing but a longer drive as Château de la Baudonnière is a 4.5-hour drive from Calais.
P&O Ferries - Dover - Calais: offers great value crossings for driving to Normandy. Château de la Baudonnière is a 4.5-hour drive from Calais.
Price includes all accommodation, activities and meals
2025 prices & availability for family adventure holidays at Château de la Baudonnière
Holiday weeks commencing:
2 August / 9 August / 16 August 2025
Adult (16+ yrs)
Child (6-15 yrs)
Child* (3-5 yrs)
Family Bunk Bed Room
£629
£529
£270
Room upgrades
Family Room with Double Bed
Total family price + £200
Family Duo (2 rooms close to each other—one with double bed)
Total family price + £300
Family interconnecting rooms (one with double bed)
We know that not every family consists of two adults and two children, which is why you only pay for each adult and each child in your group on our full-board activity holidays. So if you are a parent travelling solo with children, or you have a large family, or you want to bring cousins and grandparents, you are very welcome at Château de la Baudonnière!
How to book
Secure your holiday with just a £50 deposit per person and pay nothing until 12 weeks before you travel.
Seven nights accommodation in family rooms
Six fantastic days of activities to suit all ages
All equipment and tuition with qualified instructors
All meals plus tea, coffee and squash provided throughout the day
A civilised amount of wine, beer and our own cider served with dinner and into the evening
Guided walk across the Mont Saint-Michel bay with a quick-sand experience
Visit to a local organic cheese and caramel farm
Evening entertainment for the whole family
Optional extras
Seafood extravaganza evening. Sample the fruits de mer including langoustines, oysters, lobster & snails. Book upon arrival.
French lessons for children 8 years+. 8 x 45 minute sessions plus end of week French mission. £65 per child.
Extras to budget for
Self-drive travel to Normandy and some excursions, plus channel crossing and tolls.
Château de la Baudonnière - Holiday gallery
From
£579pp
Per person price for full board & activities for family of 4
Book / Check availability
Leave a few details for our founder Lisa to start planning your family adventure!
