Normandy D-Day 80 Tour - Our October Trip
France October ’24
Friday 25th October
Day 1
Up early, 6.15am, Adele had a shift at work and would be back by 9.30 so we would be off by 10am.
Well that was the plan, I packed the last of the things in the van then headed off to get fuel and check the tyre pressures, there are only two fuel stations around us whose air pumps will go up to the 5.5 bar needed so off to the other side of town to Sainsbury’s, there was a chap doing his before me so I waited, he kept going back and forth then after about 5 minutes left, my turn, set the machine to 5 bar but it was determined to take more air out of the tyres than it was putting in, I can now see why the previous guy was messing about now.
The next station, Tescos was more successful but they didn’t have the premium diesel that I wanted so on to the Shell garage by home.
This messing around took nearly an hour so Adele was waiting for me when I got back.
We eventually left 10.20, but left us plenty of time for our 4:18 train.
The journey down the motorway was fine apart from stopping for a break at the services there was nowhere to park the van so left, then we hit the M25 which as everyone knows is bad at the best of times but today it was horrendous, it took forever, stop start, stop start.
We eventually arrives at Folkestone with an hour and a haft before our departure, we checked in at pet reception with no issues in fact we were in and out in minutes and had half an hour before we were to be called to go though customs, enough time for our salmon sandwiches a must have on a trip to France.
All through customs and into the loading lanes only to be told on the speakers that the train was delayed by 30 minutes.
Once called we were on the train and arrived in France 35 minutes later but almost an hour later than planned, it was getting dark, we travelled the short distance to the Aire at Blerio Plage now been revamped by Camping Car Parks so entry was easy with our card and EHU was now included, supper tonight was an easy jacket potato with mixed beans with a cup of tea then a short walk for Archie before bed.
Saturday 26th October
Day 2
Woke at 7am after a poor night, I had been awake most of the night with a bad belly, must have been something I had eaten, after a coffee and a small bowl of cereal we made the 20 minute journey to E L’Clerks to do our first French shop, something that is always fun, getting different things to eat for the first couple of day, as we were getting supplies I realised that I had for gotten to pack the maps so went in search but couldn’t find any, an hour and a half we were at the check out ready to pay.
Leaving the hypermarket I notice a book shop next door so popped in and managed to find 3 maps for the area we intended to visit.
It was no 12.30pm we decided to hit the motorway and travel as far west as was practical with a stop for lunch.
We set the sat nav for Honfleur hoping to get that far, the sat-nav decided that we would NOT go on the motorway, or it may have been I had taken the tolls option out and it too us across county, we found a stop for lunch, pate and French bread, I also reprogrammed the sat-nav to take motorways and we were soon heading west, the motorways over here are so quiet its a pleasure to drive.
We made good progress and arrive at Honfleur at 4:30pm, a cup of tea and relax.
I took Archie for a walk along the canal basins the back for supper, we sat with a glass of cherry beer with nibbles before steak hashé, Parisian potatoes followed by a French fruit tart.
After clearing away we went for a walk into Honfleur, it was lovely to see at night with all the buildings lit up and the reflections in the harbour waters, it was gone 10pm when we got back to the van.
Sunday 27th October
Day 3
Woke 8am, the clocks went back overnight so a little lie in, we were greeted by blue skies and sunshine, so different to yesterdays grey and merk, I took Archie for his morning walk back down to the town so different than last night with no-one around, the river cruise ships were serving breakfast and others getting ready for their day tours, Archie and me returned for breakfast, fresh coffee and croissants.
After a quick tidy up of the van and paying the €14 for the aire we left Honfleur, we planned to travel towards Ouistreham, first stop was at Pegasus bridge, the first part of the Normandy landings on 6th June 1944, we walked across the ’new’ bridge and checked out the cafe that was first to be liberated, we then made our way along the coast road to June beach at Courseulles-sur-mer for lunch.
The afternoon was spent at the British Normandy Memorial just outside Arromanches, its a beautiful memorial site but very sobering especially when you see all the names of those who gave their lives on the first day of the liberation of Europe , there are thousands of names of those who followed and gave the ultimate sacrifice.
We walked around the site as the sun began to set, we had a beautiful day but with a solemn end.
It was time to find a part up for the night, there is an aire on the cliff top at Arromanche over looking the remains of the Mulberry harbour left from the landings, we would aim for there.
The aire has over 50 places and was about half full when we arrived just after 6pm, it cost €11 for 24 hours but services are extra, we sat with a glass of beer talking about today, it must have been a very different place 80 years ago, as the sun began to set we just looked out to sea with our own thoughts of what we had seen today.
Monday 28th October
Day 4
Woke 8.00am, took Archie for his morning walk, the was trying to break through the cloud cover, we walked out over the headland towards Arromanche, there is a good viewing platform which gives great views over the town and the D Day landing beaches, we returned to the van for our breakfasts.
Our plans for today were to walk down to the town, do a bit of sight seeing then take a long walk along the landing beaches then back up the head land to the van for lunch, it was a lot further than we both though some 4.5 miles, Archie had a great time chasing his ball but I think he has forgotten that he needs to bring it back, he raced around the beach having the best of times, we checked out what was left of the Mulberry Harbour structures, you don’t realise how big they are until you are standing underneath one.
After lunch we left Archie in the van to have a nap whilst we went to the 360 degree cinema that was showing a film about the first 100 days of the D-Day landings, very thought provoking and quite emotional, I must admit to holding back some tears.
At the end you exit to a view of the town and its beaches today.
It was now time to move on, we needed to do a shop to getting provisions for the next couple of days, we called into the town of Bayeux famed for its tapestry but that will have to wait for another day.
It was getting quiet late when we found an aire for the night, it was getting dark and as I pulled into the aire I caught the van on a stone archway we were driving through and scratched the rear wheel arch.
The aire is on a working dairy farm with large pitches with hedges, theres water waste and EHU all for €10 pn, tea was tomato farcie with meditteranian veg and a nice bottle of cote du rhone white, its so peaceful here I’m sure we are going to have a good nights sleep
Tuesday 29th October
Day 5
Woke after an excellent nights sleep, took Archie for a walk along some sleepy French lanes and back to the farm, after breakfast the farmer called for the pitch fees, which a bit of Fragalais from both of us we paid up and made our way to La Pointe du Hoc where American troops climbed 30 metre cliffs to storm German gun emplacements at the start of D Day, it was a good visit but was spoilt by the fact that they didn’t allow dogs, not even on leads, Adele stayed with Archie as I took a walk around the site.
We left a little disappointed to make our way to Saint Mere Eglise where famously a paratrooper was caught up with his parachute on the steeple of the church, after a spot of lunch, a very tasty bruschetta Savoyarde we walked around the town, its quiet touristy but a pleasant afternoon, as we were returning to the van it started to rain.
We are heading to the most northerly point on this trip to the town of Barfleur on the Cherbourg penninsular, we plumbed in the co-ordinates and set off for the 35 minute drive, arriving midafternoon we had a cuppa then had a snoozle before taking Archie for a little walk along the seawall to the towns harbour where the fishing boats were getting ready to sail for their nights catch, back at the van we had nibbles and a beer before tea, pork slices with potatoes Parisian followed by cake.
We have had another good day, a shame that Adele and Archie couldn’t get to see the Pointe du Hoc.
Wednesday 30th October
Day 6
Woke 7am to the sound of the church bells, Archie and me went for our morning walk and we were rewarded by the most beautiful sunrise.
Back to the van for breakfast, we all took another walk back into town, its clouded over a little now but we had a pleasant walk around the harbour and back through the town, packed up we were on the road before 11am, our first stop was St. Vaast la Hougue, another beautiful Normandy town known for it Vauban fortification towers world heritage status, unfortunately we found it really difficult to access with the campervan so could only see them from a distance.
Having walked around St. Vaast we reluctantly put our return co-ordinates in the sat-nav as this was as far as we were to travel on this trip, we would follow the coast road down the peninsular so as to visit our final D-Day beach, Utah Beach, we arrived at lunch time and found a smashing park up right by the side of the beach, after lunch we took Archie for a good walk calling in at the Leclerc memorial site, we walked the beach and sand dunes and found some of the remaining gun emplacements left from the war.
Time was now pressing and we wanted to make good progress north, all was good until we reached Caen, there had been an accident on the autoroute which delayed us by over an hour, so plans changed slightly and we set the sat-nav for Honfleur, although we started our trip here on Saturday/sunday it was an aire we knew would have spaces, it was gone 5.30pm when we arrived, we were lucky to find a pitch with electric.
Parked up and set up I took Archies for his evening walk along the canal into town whilst Adele started tea, Veal paupiettes, rotisserie potatoes and green beans.
When we returned all was ready, washed down with a bottle of Costiere de Nimes rose, I must say it was bloody lovely.
We finished off with some crepes with Cherrys and cream.
It has been a long day especially with the delay on the autoroute so we sat for a while reading before having an early night.
Thursday 31st October
Day 7
Woke early, we have quite a lot to get in today, first up is a walk for Archie, along the canal basins towards town then back over the bridge and along the banks of the river Seine.
After a quick bite for breakfast we popped into Honfleur to see if they had any French bowls for the kids, then out to leclercs for supplies, which was harder to find than I thought, we were not impressed, a new store but was lacking the things we wanted, especially the cakes.
Then it was on the road north for our appointment with the vet at Montreiul-sur-Mer, after a stop for lunch we arrived at 3.30pm, it was bright and sunny on reaching the aire de camping-car we were lucky to get the last parking bay.
We sat with a cuppa and read for a while before our appointment at 6pm, the vets were expecting us and after 10 minutes and €40 lighter, Archies has had his worming tablet and all his paperwork completed. We had a quick walk around the square before returning to the van for supper, steak-hashe, potatoes and beans.
We relaxed for a while before an early night its been a long day today.
Friday 1st November
Day 8
Fête de la Toussaints (All saints Day)
Its a French Bank Holiday today, we had thought about going to the beach but the days started grey and damp, we had a bit of a lie in and decided to stay put, have a leisurely breakfast and later take a walk around the ramparts of this lovely old town.
Archies had a walk then back to the van for breakfast.
The morning past with some chores, reading and well, doing nothing, it was time for lunch, croque-monsieur, lovely toasted cheese and ham sandwich, it was 2.30pm before we ventured out, we walked all around the ramparts some 3 miles or so, it was still grey and damp but we enjoyed it just the same,.
Back to the van for tea but no cakes! Adele read and I caught up on the diary and downloading some content for future YouTube videos.
Its getting dark, hopefully the van batteries will hold out as there has been no sunshine today to recharge our solar power.
Supper tonight is Toulouse sausages with ratatouille then an early night.
Saturday 2nd November
Day 9
We woke about 8am, no rush today, we took Archie for his morning walk, along the citadel walls and back into the town square where as its saturday was the towns market, all the things you would expect from a French market including fresh chicken, and I mean very fresh chicken, not something you will ever see here in the UK.
Back to the van, without a fresh chicken, for our breakfast croissants and fresh bread.
Today is our French shop day, we normally travel up the coast to L’clerc hypermarket at Boulogne Sur Mer but there is a L’clercs at Montrieul Sur Mer so we would try there.
Its not as big as the one at Boulogne but we managed to get almost everything we needed without the crowds of the hypermarket but would need to pop in to get a couple of bottles of our favourite tipples.
It was lunchtime when we finished our first shop so stopped on the way at a very familiar park up, familiar but not somewhere we had been to for over 25 years, when our daughter was 2 or 3 years old we always made a trip to France in March and would stay over in the forest at Hardelot Plage.
We pulled in to the park up and it felt as if we had been here yesterday.
We had lunch then a walk through the forest, it was mid afternoon before we left, we popped into the hypermarket at Boulogne Sur Mer got our bottles and made the 30 minute drive to back to Calais and the camping-car park aire which according to the app had only 12 places out of 102 available, there wasn’t an issue we parked up, plugged in and decided to take a walk to the beach front.
Its about a 10-15 minute walk but we were rewarded with a meeting with a dragon, The Calais Dragon weighs over 72 tons, is 10 metres high and 25 meters long and breaths smoke and fire.
It looked quite spectacular as the sun began to set on our last night in France, we walked back to the van and settled in for the night.
Our last supper in France will be steak baguette with roscoff onions followed by our last French patisseries.
Sunday 3rd November
Day 10
The alarm went off at 6.30am, a quick walk for Archie and a coffee for us and we were taking the 10 minute drive to Le Shuttle.
First up was stopping off at pet reception to get Archies paperwork stamped for our return to the UK.
At check-in we were offered an earlier train which we took, after a bit of a holdup at the border controls we were wave through for the next train which was earlier that the one we were offered.
35 minutes later we were back in the UK and on the awful English roads with pot holes everywhere and hold ups that seemed every half an hour.
We stopped on the motorway for a break and sandwich, after an hour or so we were back on the road and arrived home about 4.30pm.
We have had the most brilliant trip, saw some wonderful sights, tasted some gorgeous food, drank some lovely wine, we have also had a few tears too, we missed Izzy and found the D-Day beaches and memorials very moving.
Heres to our next French Trip but I wonder where it will be?
Trip Details:
Miles: 1057
Ave MPG: 31.6mpg
Fuel Cost: £
Car Parking: £
Autoroute Charges £
LPG £ 0.00
Nights:
Camp Fees: £
Camp Ave per night: £
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