WESTERN EUROPE - Clean Breaks: 500 New Ways to See the World - page 67

The high life of a Treehouse

Leaves rustle in the evening breeze; stars twinkle through the foliage; a barn owl hoots.
A night up in the peaceful boughs of a tree and you feel not just close to nature but a
part of it. Fortunately, treehouse designs have come a long way from makeshift shacks
of flimsy wooden planks and rope ladders: the latest installations are stand-alone
structures supported by stable, steel frames with spiralling staircases that wind up to
a large open room and an outdoor terrace. In these modern arboreal abodes, you can
enjoy all the creature comforts of a hotel, lots of natural light and a bird's-eye view of the
world. And the kids are in den heaven. Below are our favourites.

092 Keycamp, northern france
Choose between three treehouses at Keycamp's
family-friendly French campsites - at Carnac
and Dol-de-Bretagne in Brittany and at La
Croix du Vieux Pont near Disneyland Paris.
The domed, thatched treehouses are wrapped

around a treetrunk about 5m off the ground up
a spiralling staircase. Each has one double and
four single beds while on the ground there's a
tent with cooking equipment, fridge and freezer.
The kids can use all the campsite's facilities
during the day - then when you've tucked them
up, you can spend lamp-lit evenings on the
terrace.

Need to know For prices and bookings see
W www.keycamp.co.uk; T + 44 (0) 844 406 0319.

093 Perché dans le Perche in
northern france
Nestled among a 200-year-old châtaignier (sweet
chestnut tree) in the hills of southern Normandy,
this treehouse at La Renardière offers splendid
isolation. There are two double rooms (one
has an extra single bed), a small kitchen and
large shower room and you can order breakfast
(organic bread, home-made jams, seasonal fruit,
yoghurt) sitting out on a terrace looking out over
green fields. The treehouse is surrounded by a
nature reserve - watered by natural springs -
that is home to wild boar, roe deer, badgers, foxes
and hares, as well as various species of birds and
butterflies. Perché dans le Perche is also a good
base for hill-walking and mushroom-picking in
the nearby Parc Naturel Régional du Perche.

Need to know The treehouse is two hours' drive
from Paris and ferry ports at St Malo and Caen.
For prices, bookings and directions see W www.
perchedansleperche.com; T [phone]
796.

Choose
between four
stand-alone
treehouses
at Orion B&B
in the south
of France