Requires Flash Player 9
I
took myself off for a biking trip around the
Normandy Beaches, it being the 65th anniversary of
the Landings. I had been before when I was a kid, I
think on a summer holiday with family when we lived
in Paris. But I thought I’d go and have a look by
myself and do some cycling as well. In the RAF
there are all sorts of opportunities for
battlefield trips functioning as staff rides, team
building, history of the RAF etc. They can be good
and I’ve been on a few myself. But, you are with
other people and you have to go with the agreed
agenda and plan. I quite like doing things at my
own speed and spending time on what interests me,
making detours that suddenly take my fancy - being
in charge of what I do and get up to ! So,
sometimes I like to take myself off and do this
sort of thing by myself. I took the Eurostar from
London to Paris, crossed over Paris from Gare de
Nord to Gare Saint Lazare, and then on to Caen
where I had my first night. I was there in time to
get a look around Caen, realising that most of it
was obliterated during the Landings. Then off up to
the coast following the River Orne and stopping off
at Pegasus Bridge which is where the first troops
parachuted in to secure the bridge. It’s all still
there. On further up to the coast and along the
British and Canadian beaches (Gold, Sword and
Juno), which are generally nice and flat. The small
beach side towns come right up to the sea all along
the coast in that part. Second night I stayed in
Bayeux and the next day took myself off to see the
Bayeux Tapestry. I remember seeing it years ago as
a kid. It is magnificent. Then further on up the
the coast to the American beaches, first Omaha. The
Americans definitely had the short straw. There are
high coastal bluffs and cliffs and you can see how
the Americans found it hard to get off the beaches
very quickly. Two sights stick in the mind from
this bit of the coast. Firstly the Mulberry Harbour
at Arromanches which must have been a magnificent
sight. All that is left now are some very large
semi-submerged concrete pontoons and you can make
out the size of the harbour. Next, the American
military cemetery at Colville-sur-Mer, a huge
memorial to the thousands of Americans who were
killed in the landings. From Carentan I returned to
Bayeux on the train and spent another night there.
I’d discovered Hotel Etape, a French chain that
provided really good modern simple rooms for a
really good price. The one in Bayeux, although a
little out of the town, was good and I used it as a
base for most of the trip. Next day was to have
been a cycle along Utah beach starting off at
Carentan which I returned to by train from Bayeux.
But once I got there the weather was atrocious and
it was pouring and stayed very wet all day. So, I
though the better of it and returned to Bayeux and
spent the day there. Further night at Hotel Etape
then train to Paris and then on back to
London.
I took myself off for a biking trip around the
Normandy Beaches, it being the 65th anniversary of
the Landings. I had been before when I was a kid, I
think on a summer holiday with family when we lived
in Paris. But I thought I’d go and have a look by
myself and do some cycling as well. In the RAF
there are all sorts of opportunities for
battlefield trips functioning as staff rides, team
building, history of the RAF etc. They can be good
and I’ve been on a few myself. But, you are with
other people and you have to go with the agreed
agenda and plan. I quite like doing things at my
own speed and spending time on what interests me,
making detours that suddenly take my fancy - being
in charge of what I do and get up to ! So,
sometimes I like to take myself off and do this
sort of thing by myself. I took the Eurostar from
London to Paris, crossed over Paris from Gare de
Nord to Gare Saint Lazare, and then on to Caen
where I had my first night. I was there in time to
get a look around Caen, realising that most of it
was obliterated during the Landings. Then off up to
the coast following the River Orne and stopping off
at Pegasus Bridge which is where the first troops
parachuted in to secure the bridge. It’s all still
there. On further up to the coast and along the
British and Canadian beaches (Gold, Sword and
Juno), which are generally nice and flat. The small
beach side towns come right up to the sea all along
the coast in that part. Second night I stayed in
Bayeux and the next day took myself off to see the
Bayeux Tapestry. I remember seeing it years ago as
a kid. It is magnificent. Then further on up the
the coast to the American beaches, first Omaha. The
Americans definitely had the short straw. There are
high coastal bluffs and cliffs and you can see how
the Americans found it hard to get off the beaches
very quickly. Two sights stick in the mind from
this bit of the coast. Firstly the Mulberry Harbour
at Arromanches which must have been a magnificent
sight. All that is left now are some very large
semi-submerged concrete pontoons and you can make
out the size of the harbour. Next, the American
military cemetery at Colville-sur-Mer, a huge
memorial to the thousands of Americans who were
killed in the landings. From Carentan I returned to
Bayeux on the train and spent another night there.
I’d discovered Hotel Etape, a French chain that
provided really good modern simple rooms for a
really good price. The one in Bayeux, although a
little out of the town, was good and I used it as a
base for most of the trip. Next day was to have
been a cycle along Utah beach starting off at
Carentan which I returned to by train from Bayeux.
But once I got there the weather was atrocious and
it was pouring and stayed very wet all day. So, I
though the better of it and returned to Bayeux and
spent the day there. Further night at Hotel Etape
then train to Paris and then on back to
London.