Normandy in a Motorhome - Honfleur, Landing Beaches.....
Discussion
A bit of a funny trip this one; it was designed to be shoe-horned around a week away with my daughter in Cornwall (last week) and a Stag Do in Somerset on Thursday this week. Although the Cornwall holiday happened, the Stag Do has been postponed due to the Stag requiring brain surgery to remove a tumour 
(op seems to have been a success but awaiting the outcome of histology). So this trip was a short one to work around the stag do, but unfortunately can't be lengthened due to all the ferries being booked. Anyway, preamble over...........the trip! 
Saturday 24th June 2017 - Saffron Walden to Canterbury
Following an intensive day of cleaning (interior and exterior) on Friday, Harry was ready to go on Saturday. A minor emergency on Friday with the realisation I had run out of Elsan Green toilet fluid meant a rushed Amazon Prime order, which duly arrived at 11am so I could set off. (y)
A short (100mile) run down to Canterbury and I parked up in the New Dover Road Park & Ride, or "Canterbury Aire" as its known in motorhoming circles. Next to the car park there is a dedicated space for 20 motorhomes, inc. service point for grey and fresh water and a toilet dump. At only £3 per day, it's a bargain. There I met up with a friend and we went into town on the Park & Ride bus for a mooch around town, a couple of pints and dinner. Back at Harry for 10pm and early to bed given it was an early start Sunday morning.
Sunday 25th June 2017 - Canterbury to Honfleur
An early-ish start on Sunday morning. Up at 7am, made a pot of coffee and relaxed for half an hour before setting off for Dover. Paid my £3 due for Sunday at the ticket machine and I was on my way. 25mins later I was at Dover Port and although perfectly on time for my 09:25 ferry, I rather annoyingly missed the earlier sailing by minutes.
No bother though. The Port wasn't busy and I had a bit of time to have a quick shower before boarding. Once on board I grabbed myself a spot in the Club Lounge, a bacon sarnie, more coffee and had a relaxing 90mins cruise.
The crossing was a bit choppy but not often I get to indulge myself in 90mins of uninterrupted magazine reading time!
Once out at Calais, I hit the main coast road. It was fairly clear and I just set the cruise control for 100kmh (I'm officially supposed to be 90kmh given my 4.6t weight) and settled in for a fairly long and boring drive. I broke it up after a couple of hours with a spot of lunch (prawns and avocado in bap) in a picnic spot by the motorway and then marched on. To be honest, I wasn't feeling the drive - Rouen kept me awake, given the proliferation of roundabouts, strange sliproads and traffic lights through town. But at one point I was thinking to myself I should've headed to Scotland again, but I battled on and then played "see if I can make Honfleur on one tank of diesel"
As 300miles was approaching on the Odometer, I had just 25miles to go to Honfleur but the last half a tank in the Sprinter drops like a stone, so just being above a quarter, I decided that discretion was the better part part of valour and filled up with 60litres of fuel. First tank down - 23mpg.
I arrived at Honfleur around 16:30 and made my way to the Municipal Aire de Camping Car outside of town on one of the old quays. It's basically just one bloody great big car park and very unimpressive, unless of course you get one of the bays facing the water. I presume people just hang around waiting for one to pop up. I at least found a space which didn't have anyone to either side. Parked up and wandered into town.
Honfleur is one of those "must see" towns on the Normandy coastline but perhaps due to a mix of my tiredness from the drive, apathy for the trip at this stage and the hoards of people (and temperature - was 27degs C!), I kind of switched off. Had a quick wander around the harbour, didn't fancy eating alone in a restaurant, took some photos, found a Tabac and bought some beer and headed back to Harry.
Back at the site, I pulled out my camping chair, made a dinner of antipasti and a cold beer and planned my trip onwards.
In spite of the huge amount of people, it was a quiet overnight and I fell quickly asleep at around 11pm and didn't wake up until 8:30am!
(op seems to have been a success but awaiting the outcome of histology). So this trip was a short one to work around the stag do, but unfortunately can't be lengthened due to all the ferries being booked. Anyway, preamble over...........the trip! Saturday 24th June 2017 - Saffron Walden to Canterbury
Following an intensive day of cleaning (interior and exterior) on Friday, Harry was ready to go on Saturday. A minor emergency on Friday with the realisation I had run out of Elsan Green toilet fluid meant a rushed Amazon Prime order, which duly arrived at 11am so I could set off. (y)
A short (100mile) run down to Canterbury and I parked up in the New Dover Road Park & Ride, or "Canterbury Aire" as its known in motorhoming circles. Next to the car park there is a dedicated space for 20 motorhomes, inc. service point for grey and fresh water and a toilet dump. At only £3 per day, it's a bargain. There I met up with a friend and we went into town on the Park & Ride bus for a mooch around town, a couple of pints and dinner. Back at Harry for 10pm and early to bed given it was an early start Sunday morning.
Sunday 25th June 2017 - Canterbury to Honfleur
An early-ish start on Sunday morning. Up at 7am, made a pot of coffee and relaxed for half an hour before setting off for Dover. Paid my £3 due for Sunday at the ticket machine and I was on my way. 25mins later I was at Dover Port and although perfectly on time for my 09:25 ferry, I rather annoyingly missed the earlier sailing by minutes.
No bother though. The Port wasn't busy and I had a bit of time to have a quick shower before boarding. Once on board I grabbed myself a spot in the Club Lounge
, a bacon sarnie, more coffee and had a relaxing 90mins cruise. The crossing was a bit choppy but not often I get to indulge myself in 90mins of uninterrupted magazine reading time!
Once out at Calais, I hit the main coast road. It was fairly clear and I just set the cruise control for 100kmh (I'm officially supposed to be 90kmh given my 4.6t weight) and settled in for a fairly long and boring drive. I broke it up after a couple of hours with a spot of lunch (prawns and avocado in bap) in a picnic spot by the motorway and then marched on. To be honest, I wasn't feeling the drive - Rouen kept me awake, given the proliferation of roundabouts, strange sliproads and traffic lights through town. But at one point I was thinking to myself I should've headed to Scotland again, but I battled on and then played "see if I can make Honfleur on one tank of diesel"
As 300miles was approaching on the Odometer, I had just 25miles to go to Honfleur but the last half a tank in the Sprinter drops like a stone, so just being above a quarter, I decided that discretion was the better part part of valour and filled up with 60litres of fuel. First tank down - 23mpg.I arrived at Honfleur around 16:30 and made my way to the Municipal Aire de Camping Car outside of town on one of the old quays. It's basically just one bloody great big car park and very unimpressive, unless of course you get one of the bays facing the water. I presume people just hang around waiting for one to pop up. I at least found a space which didn't have anyone to either side. Parked up and wandered into town.
Honfleur is one of those "must see" towns on the Normandy coastline but perhaps due to a mix of my tiredness from the drive, apathy for the trip at this stage and the hoards of people (and temperature - was 27degs C!), I kind of switched off. Had a quick wander around the harbour, didn't fancy eating alone in a restaurant, took some photos, found a Tabac and bought some beer and headed back to Harry.
Back at the site, I pulled out my camping chair, made a dinner of antipasti and a cold beer and planned my trip onwards.
In spite of the huge amount of people, it was a quiet overnight and I fell quickly asleep at around 11pm and didn't wake up until 8:30am!
Edited by Spuffington on Tuesday 27th June 15:43
[B]Monday 26th June 2017 - Honfleur to Grandcamp Maisy
[/B]
I was a bit shocked at how late I woke up and I had thought it was going to scupper my plans a bit given I had quite a full itinerary planned. But as it turned out, it was fine. I did start rushing until a text from a friend at home reminded me "relax - live in the moment and stop rushing - it's your holiday". With this in mind, I set off but as soon as I reached my first destination "Liberation - Museum of Peace" at Caen, I popped myself back into neutral and had a lazy breakfast parked up in the motorhome car park, made myself an espresso and then gently eased myself into the museum visit.
It's bloody expensive EUR 20 per adult, but I have to confess, it's been very well done. It's split into two main sections; "the World pre-1945" and "the World post-1945". I'll be honest, the latter is quite disappointing compared with the first and somewhat disjointed. They also try and cover 70years of history (predominantly the Cold War) in a very small area. But nevertheless, I spent a good 3hrs in the museum. I struggled with the first portion of it though; they had a very extensive section on the Holocaust and it doesn't seem to matter how often one reads about it or sees photos (I studied this period history extensively for my degree) it never fails to really affect me. Only it seems to be worse since becoming a Father. I had to skip certain bits of the exhibition about kids being lost and displaced during the war. I left the museum feeling somewhat emotionally drained.
A bit of lunch later - now up to 28degs sitting outside the van contemplating where to go next.
I decided on two things - Ouistreham (and the towns beach otherwise known as Sword Beach, where the British Troops landed on D-Day) had to be done. But first things first - I needed food. A quick play with the GPS and I got directed to a Carrefour on the outskirts of Ouistreham. Job done! (y)
Stocked up with supplies for the next few days, I headed into town, nothing planned. Just a mooch. As I arrived I saw that straight ahead was the sea. I followed the residential boulevards to the seafront and found I could park up (paying by the meter) on the seafront. Sussed out the beach and found a stunning, white sandy beach with crashing waves. Returned to Harry, paid my EUR 2 for two hours, donned on my swim shorts, some suntan lotion and packed a bag, and wandered out about 100m onto the beach. Lay down my towel and got straight in the sea. Bliss!
The waves were breaking nicely and there was a good swell but no strong currents. I spent about 20mins swimming before having a doze on the beach for 45mins, before repeating and then back to the van.
Had enough time on the meter for a quick shower (now filled my shower tray with sand! ) and got on with driving again.
My plan for Tuesday was always to do Omaha (Bloody Omaha - nicknamed due to the massive casualties and losses endured by the US Army on this landing beach) but I hadn't really figured out where to stay. I didn't want to spend the night at campsite (too commercial) so I looked up what kind of Aires were on the CamperContact app. I found a perfect municipal Aire with good reviews at Grandcamp Maisy. It was a bit further along the coast than I had anticipated; further West than Omaha, but I had a plan......
An hour's drive later (back towards Caen and out again!), I arrived at the pretty little village of Grandcamp Maisy, which overlooks the sea. The Municipal Aire is tucked away behind the Fire Station at the back of the village but from certain spots you can still see the sea. Each motorhome plot is separated by little hedges, which gives a feeling of privacy, even if it's more psychological than physical. It's well serviced with grey dump, fresh water, toilet dump (and I think electric, but given no one else is hooked up, I've decided not to either. My French isn't good and don't fancy inviting questions from the Authorities!
). Around 18:00 a pleasant lady turned up to take the EUR 8 per night fee. With some basic pigeon French from me and gesturing from her, we sorted that out nicely and it seemed so nice that I got her to take EUR 16 so that I could stay two nights. I figured that with so much driving already done (450miles down), it was time to relax a bit and leave Harry parked for a day.
Dinner consisted of Al Fresco freshness procured from Carrefour and eaten under the shade of a nice tree to escape the beating sun.
Followed by a quick FaceTime with the little'un and a walk into town for a beer to watch the sun go down. You see these Municipal Aires are designed to benefit the economy of the towns that provide them, so even if it's only a beer (preferably dinner), I try and at least put something back into the local coffers and it's also nice to have a stroll and explore somewhere different.
Sun down, back to Harry and time for bed.
[/B]
I was a bit shocked at how late I woke up and I had thought it was going to scupper my plans a bit given I had quite a full itinerary planned. But as it turned out, it was fine. I did start rushing until a text from a friend at home reminded me "relax - live in the moment and stop rushing - it's your holiday". With this in mind, I set off but as soon as I reached my first destination "Liberation - Museum of Peace" at Caen, I popped myself back into neutral and had a lazy breakfast parked up in the motorhome car park, made myself an espresso and then gently eased myself into the museum visit.
It's bloody expensive EUR 20 per adult, but I have to confess, it's been very well done. It's split into two main sections; "the World pre-1945" and "the World post-1945". I'll be honest, the latter is quite disappointing compared with the first and somewhat disjointed. They also try and cover 70years of history (predominantly the Cold War) in a very small area. But nevertheless, I spent a good 3hrs in the museum. I struggled with the first portion of it though; they had a very extensive section on the Holocaust and it doesn't seem to matter how often one reads about it or sees photos (I studied this period history extensively for my degree) it never fails to really affect me. Only it seems to be worse since becoming a Father. I had to skip certain bits of the exhibition about kids being lost and displaced during the war. I left the museum feeling somewhat emotionally drained.
A bit of lunch later - now up to 28degs sitting outside the van contemplating where to go next.
I decided on two things - Ouistreham (and the towns beach otherwise known as Sword Beach, where the British Troops landed on D-Day) had to be done. But first things first - I needed food. A quick play with the GPS and I got directed to a Carrefour on the outskirts of Ouistreham. Job done! (y)
Stocked up with supplies for the next few days, I headed into town, nothing planned. Just a mooch. As I arrived I saw that straight ahead was the sea. I followed the residential boulevards to the seafront and found I could park up (paying by the meter) on the seafront. Sussed out the beach and found a stunning, white sandy beach with crashing waves.
Returned to Harry, paid my EUR 2 for two hours, donned on my swim shorts, some suntan lotion and packed a bag, and wandered out about 100m onto the beach. Lay down my towel and got straight in the sea. Bliss! The waves were breaking nicely and there was a good swell but no strong currents. I spent about 20mins swimming before having a doze on the beach for 45mins, before repeating and then back to the van.
Had enough time on the meter for a quick shower (now filled my shower tray with sand!
) and got on with driving again.My plan for Tuesday was always to do Omaha (Bloody Omaha - nicknamed due to the massive casualties and losses endured by the US Army on this landing beach) but I hadn't really figured out where to stay. I didn't want to spend the night at campsite (too commercial) so I looked up what kind of Aires were on the CamperContact app. I found a perfect municipal Aire with good reviews at Grandcamp Maisy. It was a bit further along the coast than I had anticipated; further West than Omaha, but I had a plan......
An hour's drive later (back towards Caen and out again!), I arrived at the pretty little village of Grandcamp Maisy, which overlooks the sea. The Municipal Aire is tucked away behind the Fire Station at the back of the village but from certain spots you can still see the sea. Each motorhome plot is separated by little hedges, which gives a feeling of privacy, even if it's more psychological than physical. It's well serviced with grey dump, fresh water, toilet dump (and I think electric, but given no one else is hooked up, I've decided not to either. My French isn't good and don't fancy inviting questions from the Authorities!
). Around 18:00 a pleasant lady turned up to take the EUR 8 per night fee. With some basic pigeon French from me and gesturing from her, we sorted that out nicely and it seemed so nice that I got her to take EUR 16 so that I could stay two nights. I figured that with so much driving already done (450miles down), it was time to relax a bit and leave Harry parked for a day.Dinner consisted of Al Fresco freshness procured from Carrefour and eaten under the shade of a nice tree to escape the beating sun.
Followed by a quick FaceTime with the little'un and a walk into town for a beer to watch the sun go down. You see these Municipal Aires are designed to benefit the economy of the towns that provide them, so even if it's only a beer (preferably dinner), I try and at least put something back into the local coffers and it's also nice to have a stroll and explore somewhere different.
Sun down, back to Harry and time for bed.
Tuesday 27th June 2017 - Grandcamp Maisy - Colleville-sur-Mer (return)
As I mentioned, I had a plan for today. Wasn't quite sure how it was going to come off since the weather had been forecast to turn with thunderstorms overnight (which didn't happen) and a monumental amount of rain planned for late morning. I awoke after a particularly bad night sleep, breakfasted and had a quick look at the sky. It didn't look too bad and was quite warm still.
With that in mind, I unhooked my bike from the carrier at the rear of Harry, donned on my cycling gear, packed my rucksack full of water bladder, waterproof jacket, a couple of snacks and suntan lotion and headed out towards Vierville-sur-Mer. The start of Omaha Beach. 11km and 27mins later, I arrived. The ride was pleasant, generally flat but with some gentle undulations and the weather was holding up. I first went to the site of a museum but quickly realised it was a local who was trying to cash in - bits of battered aircraft and field armaments in the car park showed that nothing had been done to restore or take pride in the bits, they were merely salvage. So moved onwards and down to the beach.
There, it was my first photo opportunity and chance to take in the scale of the beach. Subconsciously my mind started to play back the opening scenes of Saving Private Ryan and the enormity of the undertaking and suffering by those landing on the beaches was palpable. I had a quick look around the various monuments and took to the bike again.
A bit further along the beach was Saint-Laurent-Sur-Mer - another few monuments and plaques to read and I was keen to make it to US Army Cemetery before the weather turned. I carried on up the coast road before coming to a gun emplacement where the US Engineers made their first advances up onto the cliff tops. A quick look at the gun and then a punishing climb up a singletrack road to meet the main road to Colleville-Sur-Mer and the Cemetery.
By the time I had got there, I'd cycled about 16km. I found somewhere to park my bike and lock it up and then went for a wander around the Cemetery. Part of me finds it a bit macabre but then the other part of me believes it's the least I can do to pay my respects to those who sacrificed so much for us. Although I thought I was prepared for the enormity of it, I wasn't at all. It kind of takes your breath away the scale. And the order. I've seen it plenty of times on TV or films but the neatly spaced rows of crosses does funny things to your senses and compounds the enormity of what you're trying to process.
I didn't walk around the whole of it. I walked down a couple of lines of crosses, taking in the names and marvelling at how some still had visitors with flowers and wreathed laid by them. And just as I was heading back to the car park, a haunting sound of a choir in the distance captured my attention. It was the most angelic and pitch perfect choral only performance I have ever heard. It made hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Beautiful and fitting.
All the time I had been at the cemetery it had started to rain. Only light but big raindrops. I put on my Gore jacket even though it was still very warm. But it got progressively heavier as I jumped on the bike and headed back to Vierville-sur-mer for a spot of lunch. Thankfully, at the Casino they still had seats outside (under cover of the balcony) as by this time my backside was wet from the water on the road, so I would've been embarrassed to sit inside and have to cover the seat with a towel. But in spite of the rain, it was a lovely temperature and the jacket came off whilst ate a well deserved Pizza and Coca-Cola.
The ride back was tough. Setting out after lunch was hard as the first thing you have to do is to claim back up a massive hill to the main coast road. That and the fact I already had a good 22km in my legs by this point (and not having cycled properly for a while) meant that I struggled to keep the pace up on the return journey. Thankfully I did and completed the remaining 11km in just 28mins just as the rain started to fall properly. And by god it has fallen since. I had just enough time to pop the bike back on the cycle carrier and lock it up before the heavens opened.
That was 2hrs ago and it has continued unabated since.
I had planned on heading back into town tonight for a beer, but I fear I will be cooped up in the van this evening with a beer from the fridge and a book. No bad thing. I'm just pleased that the weather held out long enough for me to get all the things done that I wanted to today and that I got to do them on the bike instead of driving. I'm sitting here typing whilst still bathing in the glow of endorphins being released. Not looking forward to the Delayed Onset Muscle Stiffness though! :unsure:
Tomorrow is home time - sort of. My ferry leaves from Cherbourg at 22:15 and sails overnight to Poole (remember, I said I had to be in Somerset originally?). So tomorrow is a case of using the day up as best as possible. I fancy heading over to Mont-Saint-Michael the western side of the Cherbourg Peninsular but I'm not sure I can be bothered. It's a 2hr drive here to there and then another 2.5hr drive back to Cherbourg tomorrow. A lot will depend upon the weather as in order to enjoy that the best, there's a lot of walking to be done, which will be miserable if it's constantly raining. We'll see. The joys of motorhoming - staying flexible! (y)
As I mentioned, I had a plan for today. Wasn't quite sure how it was going to come off since the weather had been forecast to turn with thunderstorms overnight (which didn't happen) and a monumental amount of rain planned for late morning. I awoke after a particularly bad night sleep, breakfasted and had a quick look at the sky. It didn't look too bad and was quite warm still.
With that in mind, I unhooked my bike from the carrier at the rear of Harry, donned on my cycling gear, packed my rucksack full of water bladder, waterproof jacket, a couple of snacks and suntan lotion and headed out towards Vierville-sur-Mer. The start of Omaha Beach. 11km and 27mins later, I arrived. The ride was pleasant, generally flat but with some gentle undulations and the weather was holding up. I first went to the site of a museum but quickly realised it was a local who was trying to cash in - bits of battered aircraft and field armaments in the car park showed that nothing had been done to restore or take pride in the bits, they were merely salvage. So moved onwards and down to the beach.
There, it was my first photo opportunity and chance to take in the scale of the beach. Subconsciously my mind started to play back the opening scenes of Saving Private Ryan and the enormity of the undertaking and suffering by those landing on the beaches was palpable. I had a quick look around the various monuments and took to the bike again.
A bit further along the beach was Saint-Laurent-Sur-Mer - another few monuments and plaques to read and I was keen to make it to US Army Cemetery before the weather turned. I carried on up the coast road before coming to a gun emplacement where the US Engineers made their first advances up onto the cliff tops. A quick look at the gun and then a punishing climb up a singletrack road to meet the main road to Colleville-Sur-Mer and the Cemetery.
By the time I had got there, I'd cycled about 16km. I found somewhere to park my bike and lock it up and then went for a wander around the Cemetery. Part of me finds it a bit macabre but then the other part of me believes it's the least I can do to pay my respects to those who sacrificed so much for us. Although I thought I was prepared for the enormity of it, I wasn't at all. It kind of takes your breath away the scale. And the order. I've seen it plenty of times on TV or films but the neatly spaced rows of crosses does funny things to your senses and compounds the enormity of what you're trying to process.
I didn't walk around the whole of it. I walked down a couple of lines of crosses, taking in the names and marvelling at how some still had visitors with flowers and wreathed laid by them. And just as I was heading back to the car park, a haunting sound of a choir in the distance captured my attention. It was the most angelic and pitch perfect choral only performance I have ever heard. It made hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Beautiful and fitting.
All the time I had been at the cemetery it had started to rain. Only light but big raindrops. I put on my Gore jacket even though it was still very warm. But it got progressively heavier as I jumped on the bike and headed back to Vierville-sur-mer for a spot of lunch. Thankfully, at the Casino they still had seats outside (under cover of the balcony) as by this time my backside was wet from the water on the road, so I would've been embarrassed to sit inside and have to cover the seat with a towel. But in spite of the rain, it was a lovely temperature and the jacket came off whilst ate a well deserved Pizza and Coca-Cola.
The ride back was tough. Setting out after lunch was hard as the first thing you have to do is to claim back up a massive hill to the main coast road. That and the fact I already had a good 22km in my legs by this point (and not having cycled properly for a while) meant that I struggled to keep the pace up on the return journey. Thankfully I did and completed the remaining 11km in just 28mins just as the rain started to fall properly. And by god it has fallen since. I had just enough time to pop the bike back on the cycle carrier and lock it up before the heavens opened.
That was 2hrs ago and it has continued unabated since.
I had planned on heading back into town tonight for a beer, but I fear I will be cooped up in the van this evening with a beer from the fridge and a book. No bad thing. I'm just pleased that the weather held out long enough for me to get all the things done that I wanted to today and that I got to do them on the bike instead of driving. I'm sitting here typing whilst still bathing in the glow of endorphins being released. Not looking forward to the Delayed Onset Muscle Stiffness though! :unsure:
Tomorrow is home time - sort of. My ferry leaves from Cherbourg at 22:15 and sails overnight to Poole (remember, I said I had to be in Somerset originally?). So tomorrow is a case of using the day up as best as possible. I fancy heading over to Mont-Saint-Michael the western side of the Cherbourg Peninsular but I'm not sure I can be bothered. It's a 2hr drive here to there and then another 2.5hr drive back to Cherbourg tomorrow. A lot will depend upon the weather as in order to enjoy that the best, there's a lot of walking to be done, which will be miserable if it's constantly raining. We'll see. The joys of motorhoming - staying flexible! (y)
Edited by Spuffington on Tuesday 27th June 15:45
If you are in the area then Mont St Michel is a must. There's other sites to see Ste Mère eglise is interesting but you have a long day ahead of you.
Just seen the weather forecast for tomorrow and it's not so good showers all day.
Cherbourg is worth an hour or so just to have a nice meal before the ferry.
"Bon voyage"
Just seen the weather forecast for tomorrow and it's not so good showers all day.
Cherbourg is worth an hour or so just to have a nice meal before the ferry.
"Bon voyage"
Hi Spuff
Great write up - thank you. We are taking our 36 year old T25 camper and two kids to Normandy in a few weeks. We have previously stayed near Honfleur and loved it there - the restaurants are bustling and generally seemed friendly. So we are staying local to Honfleur for a few nights this time too.
Your posts have given some ideas but I think with a 4 and 8 year old in tow, the museums are maybe a little 'heavy'. As previous poster says Mt saint Michell is great to visit....
Mike
Great write up - thank you. We are taking our 36 year old T25 camper and two kids to Normandy in a few weeks. We have previously stayed near Honfleur and loved it there - the restaurants are bustling and generally seemed friendly. So we are staying local to Honfleur for a few nights this time too.
Your posts have given some ideas but I think with a 4 and 8 year old in tow, the museums are maybe a little 'heavy'. As previous poster says Mt saint Michell is great to visit....
Mike
Im in Loire right now planning on heading up to Normandy near Caen on Thursday leaving Monday for the ferry at Zebrugge. 3 yr old in tow and while she has been superbly behaved while visiting certain chateaus of the Loire, it may be a big ask for her to be patient for too many museums. Did the Somme last year and that was incredibly moving. Been told to visit the pegasus bridge site as a must see, interested for any other ideas with 3 full days to fill.
jas xjr said:
great write up. i wish i was well enough to do the same
Fab write up! Thankyou.jas xjr....I'm hoping to do similar in October in our truck 'Mo'. Don't know the circumstances of your 'unwellness' but if you would like to join me I'm sure we could sort the logistics out to enable it.
sounds a great trip spuff.
Everything I have read and heard states that the continent is so much more motorhome friendly, aires, car parks general public etc.
One thing I have noticed driving our motorhome here is other people in their dull grey hatchbacks looking at you is you are from outerspace!
Friends of ours are always going over, i would really like to take our hymer from Poole to Santander next year.
Please keep us updated!
Everything I have read and heard states that the continent is so much more motorhome friendly, aires, car parks general public etc.
One thing I have noticed driving our motorhome here is other people in their dull grey hatchbacks looking at you is you are from outerspace!
Friends of ours are always going over, i would really like to take our hymer from Poole to Santander next year.
Please keep us updated!
Chicken Chaser said:
Been told to visit the pegasus bridge site as a must see, interested for any other ideas with 3 full days to fill.
The D Day museum in Bayeux ( click) is worth a visit, it's not too heavy, there are lots of exhibits including some armour and trucks. You can buy a combined ticket for the tapestry too which is worth doing.Ali2202 said:
Fab write up! Thankyou.
jas xjr....I'm hoping to do similar in October in our truck 'Mo'. Don't know the circumstances of your 'unwellness' but if you would like to join me I'm sure we could sort the logistics out to enable it.
wow , amazingingly generous of you. unfortunately i cannot make plans that far in advance.good luck with your trip , and make sure you post a thread on here.jas xjr....I'm hoping to do similar in October in our truck 'Mo'. Don't know the circumstances of your 'unwellness' but if you would like to join me I'm sure we could sort the logistics out to enable it.
Chicken Chaser said:
Im in Loire right now planning on heading up to Normandy near Caen on Thursday leaving Monday for the ferry at Zebrugge. 3 yr old in tow and while she has been superbly behaved while visiting certain chateaus of the Loire, it may be a big ask for her to be patient for too many museums. Did the Somme last year and that was incredibly moving. Been told to visit the pegasus bridge site as a must see, interested for any other ideas with 3 full days to fill.
Pegasus Bridge is well worth a visit, look out for the bust of the Major John Howard leader of the mission at the spot where his glider landed (it's just off the road).If going to Zeebrugge, try popping into Ypres. There is a nice municipal campsite close to town and of course there is the Menin memorial and last post every night.
chopper602 said:
If going to Zeebrugge, try popping into Ypres. There is a nice municipal campsite close to town and of course there is the Menin memorial and last post every night.
Ypres is very moving. There is a massive town hall with a very good museum and you can climb to the top and get a view over the town. Definitely worth doing the Last Post - starts at 8pm, but crowds gather from 7/7:30.Hi Spuff, good write up. Thankyou.
Not sure if you have ever been to https://www.abmc.gov/cemeteries-memorials/europe/c... but I think that it is not too far from your home location and well worth a look.
Not sure if you have ever been to https://www.abmc.gov/cemeteries-memorials/europe/c... but I think that it is not too far from your home location and well worth a look.
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