Come and see the harvest festivals of France in a Campervan

Rural France (which is actually most of France) is suddenly alive with harvest festivals and it is a splendid time to mingle with the people of the land and celebrate the fabulous produce that is grown here.

Harvest festival season starts in August with events to celebrate the bringing in of the cereal crops and carries on all the way into November, celebrating everything that is grown here from garlic to apples.

The season got off to a great start in the lovely Loire town of Briare last weekend where these photos were taken.

Locals poured in to the town to enjoy the party, taste wine and food and watch the colourful carnival parades. The free campervan halt and campsite in the town were full of campervan tourists soaking up the festival atmosphere.

This region is famous for producing honey so the town had bedecked the streets and buildings with bumble bee themed decorations.

Stands ranged from local wine producers to an impromptu “zoo” where the whole town square wasfilled with this year’s baby farm animals.

As you can see, even though the animals were in the shade of the vast, mosaic-clad church, the crowds and warm day were a bit too much for some!

If you are travelling in France between now and early November, make sure you contact the tourist board in the region you are visiting for a list of events and join in the celebrations.