Liz Page fulfilled a long-held ambition when she saw the eclipse - and she got to stay in France into the bargain

It was around mid-day when the sun went out. The birds fell silent, the wind dropped, stars appeared and the blazing warmth of a high-summer's day was replaced by a deep, deep chill.

For this was the total eclipse of the sun - witnessed not among the teeming crowds of Cornwall, but in the huge, rolling dunes of Picardy, with not another soul in sight.

I was about nine when I first read that the next total eclipse would be on August 11, 1999 - my fortieth birthday. And I'd looked forward to it ever since.

But dire predictions of log-jammed roads and not enough food or water to feed the throngs made us look further afield than Cornwall. And so we ended up booking a week's holiday at the aptly named Belle Dune village, just an hour's drive south of Calais, on the Picardy coastline.

This new holiday village has been built in the style of the Cote Picardy in its golden era at the turn of the century. The 54 apartments and 52 houses are painted in bright colours, each slightly different from the other. It was for all the world like being in toy-town, with traffic-free streets and a Grand Lac on which little sailing boats with brightly coloured sails scudded about.

We stayed in a two bedroomed house, brightly furnished in sunshine yellow and sky blue. It allegedly slept six people - two on a pull-out sofa - but it would have been a squash with more than four.

Our holiday included two days' free admission to the popular Aquaclub, which features both an indoor and outdoor pool complex, including slides, Jacuzzi and geysers. Great fun and the children loved it - but a bit expensive if you wanted to visit for extra days.

A free mini-train links Belle Dune with the nearby beaches at Fort Mahon and Quend, which could also be reached by footpaths and cycleways. The beaches were great golden expanses and the resorts themselves cheap and cheerful. Standard fare is moules marinieres, fries and French bread, washed down with a beer or white wine. And very good it is too.

At Belle Dune itself a host of sporting activities particularly included a good golf course and excellent tennis courts.

The whole village is set among the vast dunes and the children could even make sandcastles at the bottom of the garden.

There are lots of activities for children, with clubs catering for all age ranges, from three months to 18 years.

Adults, too, can take part in organised activities, from step aerobics to archery. At night there is some form of entertainment each evening, ranging from karaoke to a brilliant open-air band and dance on the night of the eclipse. Nightlife centres round the village square, where there is a good restaurant and a village shop. Our only reservation about food was that some form of informal bar/cafe or take-away would have been very welcome.

Overall, it was a pleasant, relaxing holiday, made all the better by a good journey home. What a difference the Channel Tunnel makes. We left Belle Dune at 10.30am, whizzed through the tunnel from Calais to Folkestone and walked back through our own front door in York at 5.30pm.

And the eclipse? It was, simply, awesome. A beautiful part of the world in which to witness such a special sight. And worth the 30-year wait.

Accommodation:good

Food: variable

Value for money: reasonable

Things to do: beach and onsite activities

More information: We booked with Eurovillages, brochure hotline 01 606 78 77 75, or e-mail enquiries@eurovillages.co.uk Costs vary according to season. One week in a house sleeping five-six in August cost £1010, including Channel Tunnel tickets (1999 prices). Accommodation included two bedrooms, kitchen with dishwasher and Sky television. Children's clubs extra.

PICTURE:The new holiday village at Belle Dune village on the Picardy coastline, which has been built in the style of the Cote Picardy