Pêche au Lac de Podensac

You can keep everybody busy fishing or canoeing (there’s boat rental on site) straight from your lakeside pitch, or take your brood quad biking at Pargade Off Road (15 minutes’ drive), where you can all get good and muddy trying out the cross-country course – there’s a learning circuit for novices too. Adventurous types will also enjoy a day on the zipwires and rope courses at Le Lac aux Branches (10 minutes). Combine heritage and fun with a family visit to the Château de Langoiran (15 minutes), where the kids can explore medieval ruins and dress up as 12th-century knights; occasional re-enactments take place in the grounds too. This area is famed for its wines and liqueurs, so take a tour of Maison Lillet distillery (five minutes’ walk), where the fruity, sparkling namesake aperitif is produced. Spread your wings a little further and be guided round the barrel cellars at Château de Cérons (five minutes’ drive), where you can taste and buy the region’s sweet Sauternes dessert wines; the mellow-stone hillside village of Barsac (10 minutes) also has several AOC vineyards to visit.