Learn-to-Swim Autumn Camp at Saint-Nectaire, Auvergne

A first immersion in the water, taken slowly. Games in the centre's heated indoor pool build familiarity — floating, moving, then swimming — and once a child is confident the first rudiments of stroke are taught, with independence growing session by session. All of it happens under the guidance of the centre's own swimming supervisor. The rest of the week is built around the estate: walks setting out from the centre, grand games in the surrounding meadows, treasure hunts, orienteering, themed days, manual activities and the discovery of local flora and fauna.

The rate covers the stay at the manor, accommodation, meals and the activity programme. Supervised travel to the centre by train or coach from a choice of departure cities is charged as a supplement and listed separately — a departure city runs only with a minimum of three participants, and timings are sent with the departure documents about a fortnight beforehand. Families who bring their child to the centre themselves pay the base rate. A health record form and a copy of the vaccination record are required.

The Manoir du Viginet is a restored manor house that has kept its medieval character, standing on an estate of nineteen hectares. Accommodation is in rooms of one to nine beds, with the addition of four-bed gypsy caravans that have their own sanitary block. Stated capacity is 95 people.

Meals are served in the manor's dining room, which is arranged around a large fireplace. The centre offers half board or full board.

Swimming instruction in the heated indoor pool, from water games to the first strokes, led by the centre's swimming supervisor, together with games and mini-olympiads in the pool. Away from the water: walks from the centre, outdoor grand games in the meadows around it, treasure hunts, orienteering, themed days, manual activities and the discovery of local flora and fauna. Evening activities change each night, from guessing games to a disco.

The estate covers nineteen hectares and has a heated indoor swimming pool, a BMX track and a road-safety training track. Inside the manor there are four classrooms, a large activity room for group sessions and evening events, a dining room with a fireplace and a central courtyard. There is also a vegetable garden, and sports equipment for quads, scooters and BMX.

The team is one leader for every eight children, each holding the French BAFA qualification and the PSC1 first-aid certificate, under a director holding the BAFD. Children arrive at the centre in the late afternoon of the first day and leave in the morning of the last. The setting is the Auvergne volcano country: the Sancy massif, the Chaîne des Puys, the lakes of Chambon and Pavin and the château of Murol are all within reach.