Hi everyone,
2026 appears to be charging forward and I can’t quite believe the high season is nearly upon us! I’m pleased to report that all is well at Le Pas Opton. We’ve a great bunch of Animateurs and Bénévoles delivering some amazing programming. We’ve had some strong teaching, great times of worship, and so many pastoral conversations have taken place as God touches lives through all that happens at LPO.
The Retreat week was well received, particularly the extra sessions for church leaders. Half term ran well with Beth Newman and Sam Hughes bringing a strong team from YFC and Life Central and delivering some great programming. Our new all-age programme with Martha Shrimpton for Pre-school families was a joy. We had a steady 15 to 20 children, mainly joined by their dads, enjoying two new sessions: Good Morning LPO and Good Night LPO. With a tent set up and explorers maps at the ready, explorer Martha led the children as they explored the Bible. Also that week we celebrated the 20th year of Count Everyone In which was also a joy.
Home Ed week followed and we saw an increase from 4 to 13 families holidaying with us. Anna Holland reported a great sense of community, new friendships made and shared support growing between the home ed community. Dave reported that the Saltmine week was the best ever as Rachael Orrell passed on the baton to Martin Young. It was a joy to see many of our old Animateurs come as guests to the Young Adult week. The Scottish and Irish came next for Celtic week, bringing with them two Animateur alumni who met at LPO a few years back and got engaged by the river while with us this year. Preparations were a team effort with Claudia preparing a blanket with candles (electric due to the dry weather) and Animateur Chris hiding in the bushes to take pictures! Apparently having a photographer on hand is a thing; thank goodness she said yes! The happy couple came up to the café to find the team waiting to celebrate with them, along with the groom to be’s mum and brother. At the other end of the marriage scale, we also celebrated 'jewellery Beth' and Mick’s 40th wedding anniversary that week with another surprise evening in the Café. LPO means so much to so many and I hope you share in the sense of satisfaction that this place still allows people to relax, be restored and renewed. As we gear up for high season, pretty much already here, please pray that God will continue to pour out his blessing on LPO, our guests, our team, our staff and that we will have a full and joyful high season.
Tourism in France has been hit by the crisis in the Gulf and the impact on fuel prices. There is also a clear rise in staycations in the UK. This has affected our booking numbers as well though thankfully not to the extent of many other campsites in the area, but there is more to do to attract people to join us this summer. With this in mind we have just launched some new promotions to make the last week of August an even more attractive option. We’re offering an extra day free for the week ending on 31st August, allowing guests to stay on to the 1st September making the most of the UK Bank Holiday weekend. We’re throwing in a meal from the takeaway as well! Further marketing will go out to promote holidaying with us in September. Please do share the word that France, and most certainly LPO, are open and there is plenty of fuel in the petrol stations and we’re definitely ready to welcome new and old guests for a great holiday! Please join us as we pray that those God wants to be with us this summer can come.
The team tell me that we have marketed more this year than ever before, promoting LPO through social media, adverts, and articles. We’re exploring new avenues and new approaches and are delighted that social influencers John and Jade Reynolds will be with us this August sending out live social media content to their million strong network. Kees Kraayenoord’s daughter is also going to be producing social content in Dutch. We have social media Bénévoles capturing content, and photographer Marc will be back with us. We’ve entered an arrangement with Christianity Magazine who are kindly giving out a copy to every booking on arrival and will be offering us advert space in the autumn editions ahead of the 2027 booking launch. These activities are all aimed at raising the profile of LPO, letting people know who we are and what we are about. Like many other Christian holidays and events, raising your profile in a busy, full Christian marketplace is a challenge and we do have people coming and saying they had never heard about us: ‘the best kept secret’ one guest noted. Of course, that guest was at LPO because someone had told them all about us and encouraged them to come! Please do share who we are, what a SHH holiday is all about and how you have enjoyed LPO. It would be great if you could share our social media posts with your networks. There is no greater marketing than personal recommendation, and we’d be so pleased if you could help us share the word! Do let us know if there is anything we can do to help you share with your friends, churches and networks.
I am pleased to report that our investment into new tills and a rotary pizza oven that can cook 100 pizzas an hour has been very successful. Our tills interact with a click and collect app that allows guests to order and pay for food from the takeaway, selecting a pick-up slot and avoiding having to queue. Sales are up, aided by a new selection of wines chosen and expertly described by our amazing bar manager Olivier, with cheese and meat platters added to the bar menu. Sally has done a great job picking up the reins from Gary in the Vendée Vous Café. Her new salads are popular, as are her new locally sourced crêpes. These changes are all helping improve the service we offer our guests.
We are working hard to have a new guest facing app ready to launch in the next few days. The app will put the weekly programme into your hands, with live updates to keep you informed of all that’s going on. It will also be able to link into local tourist information, allowing you to explore what’s on offer and what’s going on, in the thriving Vendée tourism scene. The app will also link into our click and collect app to allow you to order your food and drink from the take-away. All improvements aimed at ensuring our guests get the most out of their time with us.
So as ever there is lots to look forward to when coming over to LPO. Please hold Dave, Lou and the team in your prayers, and Matt, Nat, Kirsty and myself back in the UK, as we continue to serve God.
Whatever you have planned for the summer holiday season, may God richly bless you and your families.
Thanks for your support,
John Musgrave
Managing Director Spring Harvest Holidays
Présidents Représentative, Association Le Pas Opton