Tuesday 21 st May

All along the Normandy coast they are getting prepared for the 75th D Day landings. It’s some sight. Flags everywhere and depending which beach you are on a different flag appears, US flag at Utah etc. Also on the telegraph poles they have heroes of WW11 with a photo of the soldier on it. Very impressive.

whilst I was in the area I headed over to Bayeux to have a look at the tapestry. Excellent visit and highly recommended for sure. The things you don’t know in life. Those dirty rotten Norman’s coming over to England when they were not welcome. Far from the truth. I believe the tapestry is planned to come to London whilst they modernise the museum here.

Also a beautiful cathedral to have a look at.

Bayeux is getting ready for the D Day celebrations. A lot of the shop and cafe restaurants have their windows decorated with cartoons about the liberation of the town in 1944. Very well done.

Bayeux is a sleepy town with narrow winding streets. Lots to admire as it was recaptured quickly after the allies landed with little damage.

From here back to the beaches and visited Omaha and Utah. There’s a large US museum at Utah which is worth a look at. Tanks and planes etc but worth a look round.

Utah beach for the night.

 

 

Monday 20th May

Yet another dull start but it’s supposed to brighten up during the day.

From Ouistreham headed west towards Langrune sur mer which is the site of Juno beach. The Canadians have set up a visitor centre here. Only quite small but there were quite a few tour buses on site. A couple of small bunkers but nothing much.

Onto Arromanches which is Gold Beach where the Amaricans landed. You can see a mulberry harbour in the bay with large concrete barriers out to sea.

On to Pointe du Hoc which is west of Omaha beach. Quite a large visitor centre and a few remains of gun emplacements. This was the American landing spot. No beaches here only 50m Cliffs. They sure pulled the short straw.

Ill call into Omaha Beach in the morning.

its really surprising as everyone is wrapped up in coats with scarves ,hats and gloves. I’m in tee shirt and shorts. You can see them looking at me!!!! Wimps.

Staying at a campsite at Port en Bessie which is nice. It’s even got a restaurant. How cool is that?

Sunday 19th May

Left Donfleur around 9am heading west towards Trouville sur mer. On the way coming towards me was a convoy of vintage sports cars. Lots of Ferrari and E types. Must have been over 100 cars.

First stop was the centre of Trouville which is quite a bustling town. Lots of cafes on the sea front. Also the best fist market I have seen in a long time. Brilliant. I had a good walk along the sea front. Another market was on the go. Veg cheese etc.

On to Deauville and after battling with a parking meter for 30 minutes managed to get parked. Funny enough there was a party of 10 Japanese ladies trying to do the same thing. Helped by a French passer by it must have been a sight. Pigeon English pigeon Japanese versus pigeon French!!!!! How we managed to buy a ticket is a mystery but we became best friends. Now this place is proper posh,mega, with lots and lots of fashions shops. All the big brands are here.

On through Houlgate and eventually to Ouistreham which is the start of the D Day landing sites. Gold Beach. There’s not a lot here apart for a small monument. 28000 commonwealth troops landed here.

stopped here for the night.

Saturday 18th May

Well I asked the girl at the campsite about the parking meter. Her advice was just to put some money in. Obvious really and it worked!!!!

i went back to Etretat quire early and after parking up walked up a step path to the headland. The weather was not good with very low cloud and poor visibility. On the headland there’s a golf course. The walk along the cliff tops is very similar to the Isle of White Needles. I took a couple of photos but they did not do it justice. All in all it took about 1 1/2 hours to get back into town and then to the van. Good walk though.

From here I ventured down to Honfleur by passing Le Havre. This is quite an old fishing town with lots going on. Plenty of restaurants on the harbour front and dozens of art galleries about the town. There were two river cruise boats in so the place was very busy. Also the Marco Polo liner must have been moored hereby cos the place was heaving. I had intended moving further East but ran out of time. So as there was an aires in Honfleur I decided to spend the night in that.

time for a beer!!!

Friday 17th May

no internet on the site so this is written on Saturday.

Good start from the aires right on the beach. Headed along the coast to a small fishing town called St Valery en Caux. A really nice place with a good marina. Five or six stalls selling the catch of the day. Spider crabs and flat fish etc. One gull thought it was his birthday( see photo). As it was a Friday the local market was on. Quick visit. Lots of local produce including a strawberry stall. Yummmmmmie. Two stalls selling belts at the same price of €5 each. A cartel !!!! This is why we are leaving the EU. All because of a belt.

Moved on to a sleepy village called Valettes sur mer which was really quiet but had a super town campsite. Nice.

On to Fecamp which is quite a large fishing port. Drove through but did not stop.

Next visit was to Etretat. This was to be the highlight of the day as it has needles like the have on the Isle of White. Disaster: I could not work the parking meter. I have never seen so many buttons with numbers and letters to push. Green and red to sort out. In the end I gave up and went to the campsite. The pull of a shower was just to great!!

Thursday 16th May

Well I was sorry to leave Le Touquet. It’s definitely worth a visit if you’re down this part of the world.

Made my way down the D940 heading south. First stop was a nature sanctuary called Parc Marquenterre. It’s set in March lands similar to Leighton Moss but much bigger. €10 to get in but to be fair it really was well maintained. Split into different lengths of walks. I choose blue cos I’m a boy!!!! After an indifferent start saw lots of amazing birds: avocets by the hundreds, spoonbills, white storks which are enormous, grey lagged geese to name a few. Even head a couple of cuckoos!!! Good morning walk.

After that I headed to a nearby village called Le Crotoy which is on the banks of the Somme estuary. Not many people know this but Jules Verne wrote Twenty thousand leagues under the sea here. It looked as though there were plenty of second homes around as most were shut up. Along the sea front were a few stalls selling sea food. Nice place.

From here to St Valery sur Somme which is another estuary village but most of the river had silted up. No boats here which is a shame cos William the conquerors fleet sailed from here in 1066.

Id made a decision last night to stop at Dieppe but early on today decided to go a bit further South Asia did not fancy staying near the harbour. I’ve headed to an aires at St Aubin sur Mer which is right on the sea front. They’re out kite surfing even as we speak!!! Not me of course.

Wednesday 15 th May

A bit of a lazy start to the day as I did not wake up until 8am. Most unlike me!

The plan today was to get as far south as Le Touquet. Headed west to Sangatte and on through Wissant to Cap Gris Nez where there is a large radar station and nature reserve overlooking the Channel. Lots of these small seaside villages still have their WW11 German bunkers still intact. Those Germans spent a lot on concrete.

On southward passing loads of sand dunes on the way. Went through Bourgogne but did not stop.

On to Le Touquet which is very impressive indeed. Lots of money here. Most of the houses appear to be summer homes as they are all shut up. Beautiful boulevards with    plenty of restaurants and boutique like shops. Walked along the deserted beach for a while before heading to the campsite.

This is my first time stopping at an aires. It’s an equestrian centre but with only basic facilities.

Good day though.

First blog France. Tuesday 14th May

well here we go on the latest adventure. After a busy weekend in London with Louise I headed down to Chartwell which was Churchill’s home. Beautiful place with really nice gardens to walk around. Did not get to go into the house as I was short of time. Worth a visit if you’re in the area.

Then down to Dover for an overnight stop before the ferry today. Got to the ferry early and caught the 10:15 to Calais. The first day was always going to be quiet going direct to a pre booked campsite at Guines which is 10K SE of Calais. Nice site with swimming pool and bar plus restaurant etc. Good first stop.

lots of planning this afternoon. I have quickly come to the conclusion that you could not get by without the satnav. Especially travelling by yourself.

No one got killed!