Month: May 2024

Week 3 (last week) from Sainte-Mère-Église to Calais 480 miles

Sainte-Mère-Église to Arromanches 40 miles

Saturday 18th May 2024

It’s 10 am and we are off.

A quick grey water drop and fill up with fresh water and we are on the road towards Arromanches and Gold Beach, the British beach during the D-Day landings. We have only one more beach to visit after today, Sword which we shall do in the next few days. On the way, we stop for a shop, as it’s another bank holiday weekend here in France. Anyone would think they were English…!

Before going to Arromanches, we stop at the biggest German cemetery in Normandy, Le Cambe. There are over 21,000 German soldiers buried here. Compared to the American cemetery, which is full of white crosses all in a perfect line and all at the same height, and the British cemetery which is full of colour and well-manicured gardens, the German cemetery is very ‘dark‘.

It’s clean and tidy, but the buried are marked with just a square flat stone with two to a grave, and each sector is denoted with 5 black, rough stone crosses. This German cemetery is only one of many, there are over 80,000 German soldiers buried in total in various cemeteries around Normandy. Just like the Americans and the British, the losses were heavy and also the age of most of the men were very young starting at 18 years old.

There is an interesting exhibition here which we end the visit with.

After over an hour, we move on towards Arromanches. We are heading for a spot that we have been to before which is on a cliff looking out to sea where there is a good view of the remaining Mulberry Harbour. It’s 11 euros for the night, and you pick your own place, of which there are plenty.

Once settled in we set off for a walk towards the town of Arromanches and Gold Beach. We have been here before as well, but this time the tide is out and we can get very close to one of the sections of the harbour. This whole project is just staggering, the planning and execution of the D-Day landings, the cost, not just in lives of course, but money.

The town is very charming so we stop for lunch which for us is unusual, but it’s a nice afternoon, the town is lovely so why not… Hayley has Steak and chips, Del Beef Bourguignon. For dessert, we both have…yes, another ile flottante, the 5th one of the trip!

A delicious lunch was had and we have seen almost all of this small but important town. Just as we are making our way back we see a small collection of classic cars, jeeps, and an ambulance from the war period.

There are also several people dressed similarly, it all looks rather good. We follow them all to the front where this group photograph is being taken.

We guess that they are preparing for the Normandy Festival which is in June, an important date in the Normandy calendar. Everything is being cleaned and painted and the bunting is going up!

Back at Jess, we spend a fantastic late afternoon in the sun reading and chatting. Before we know where we are, it’s 7 pm. No need for dinner but we do have some toast and crumpets followed by some oranges sprinkled with cinnamon. Nice. By 9 pm the sun is still quite high and will set on the sea.

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Sunday 19th May 2024

Arromanches to Caen 23 miles

Del is up first this morning, and looks out of the window to a dense blanket of fog! real fog. It still feels warm though.

Bacon and eggs and bacon sandwiches for breakfast before packing up and setting off for Ouistreham where there is Le Grand Bunker, which is a well-preserved and renovated German bunker that was part of the Atlantic Wall, a German defens line that stretches from Norway down to the Spanish / French border. Mad! We will also be going to Sword Beach, one of the two beaches of the British landings on D-Day. This means that we will have visited and set foot on all 5 beaches of the D-Day landings of 80 years ago,

Del is at the wheel while Hayley does the research on where we will be staying and the best way to get there. She has already put together a couple of options. It’s another bank holiday weekend here in France so places are pretty full. Sure enough, we strike out at the first two places. The idea is to get a place close to the Grand Bunker and walk or cycle to it, but so far everywhere is full.

Change of plan. Instead, we will head to Caen. Caen was devastated in the last war and was a major strategic point, so there is a lot of interest here. Hayley plots us in and off we go. To Caen. The journey is very tricky. Lots of little villages and towns with blind corners, the famous ‘priority to the right’, which is always a pest. We pass a town that has an oyster vending machine! You can get almost anything on a vending machine here in France, pizzas, bread as well as fruit and veg, and now oysters, prawns and mussels.

We arrive at our stop in Caen and right next to us, we have what is considered the best memorial/museum about WW2. Every review raves about it. It’s THE MUSEUM. We will, of course, check that out once we have had a cup of tea and walked around the Parc de la Colline aux Oiseaux. It’s a big park with birds! The flying kind!

The walk around the park is fabulous. There is a huge rose garden, unfortunately, it is not all out yet, but by the summer it will be amazing. There is a maze here that Hayley has a go at. It’s not long before she reaches the middle, but getting out proves to be a challenge. Poor love.

At 2:30 pm we go into the Caen Memorial Museum. What a place! It’s huge.

Admission is 19 euros. Once in we start with a bite to eat and then we are off. There is an original 70m long Nazi bunker that the museum is built on. The section about World War 2 is immense and tells the whole story from the signing of the Versailles Treaty to Hitler getting mardy about it, doing a bit of agitating before letting off a big stink in Europe… Well, the rest we all know about. There is a section about the D-Day landings, a section on Normandy, and the whole area devoted to the Cold War with a 360-degree cinema recalling European history from 1914 – 1991 in 30 minutes. As humans, we are not good. There is, and always will be someone, somewhere having a moan and starting a scrap.

At 6:45 we exit the building… Worn out. It is a brilliant museum and an absolute must-see. Sadly we didn’t take any pictures as it just kept our attention throughout, but do check out the website and see for yourself.

Back at Jess for a lovely dinner outside. We finish just in time as it clouds over and chills the air a bit, so we head inside.

Hayley serenades us with her mini guitar, while Del sorts out photos and brings the blog up to date. It’s been a good day. We were a bit worn out physically and mentally after 4 and a bit hours in the museum, but it was well worth the time and the 19 euros.

Tomorrow we are going to have another attempt to go to Ouistreham and to have a look at the Pegasus bridge. Not long until our return home now.

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Monday 20th May 2024

Caen to Ouistreham 12 miles

A short twelve-mile drive today to the town of Ouistreham. This is a port town, and it is where the Portsmouth Caen ferry comes. There is our last “war attraction” there called Le Grande Bunker. It was part of Hitler’s Atlantic Wall, a wall of defence from the top of Norway right down to the French / Spanish border. But first, we need to do a van service which is the usual, grey water drop, fill up with fresh and change the toilet. Nice. We have a good hearty breakfast first before the service.

Soon we are off. We do a quick and uneventful diversion via the Pegasus Bridge.

The original is in a museum, but oddly enough the replacement is almost identical. Not much to see here really although we gather it was important at the time! We drive on and arrive at Camping Les Salines.

Hayley goes into the office and gets a nice friendly reception from the lady there, who gives us a pitch number. As soon as the engine is off we are walking towards Sword Beach.

We have now been to all 5 beaches from the Normandy D-Day landings in the following order. The links below are to Wikipedia details about each beach.

JUNO BEACH (CAN & GB)

OMAHA BEACH (US & GB)

UTAH BEACH (US)

GOLD BEACH (GB)

SWORD BEACH (GB)

Of course, there is a whole load of stuff to see at all of the beaches and the surrounding areas and it is all good, historical and interesting stuff.

We walk along Sword Beach towards the Bunker. It’s a good half-hour walk and we finally find the bunker in the middle of a housing estate.

Back in the day, the area was just brown land with a hideous concrete monolith bang in the middle of it, but they have preserved the bunker and over the years built a housing estate around it. It does look and feels strange.

7 euros each gets you into this solid concrete block with its 4 floors. It’s quite cramped and busy so there is a lot of manoeuvring going on. The rooms in the bunker have been rebuilt with the real stuff inside as it was used, with accompanying descriptions and photos.

It is a bit creepy looking at a photo of the room that you are standing in and looking at the German military “doing their thing“. For Del, it is quite unsettling.

We are all ‘museumed‘ out now. We have been in so many and learnt such a lot, stuff we just didn’t know… Time for something to eat. We find a restaurant set back from the front and dig into mussels, veal, fries, and… yes… another ile flottante. Can’t get enough of them now.

The wind has built and it’s chilly as we walk along the front back to the van. It was well worth it, a good day out! Back at base we just relax and chill out, Hayley is wiped out, poor thing.

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Tuesday 21st May 2024

Ouistreham to Blagny-sur-Bresle 137 miles

It rained a lot last night. Heavy rain at times, loud on the roof. It’s ok when it’s a light shower, but heavy rain can make quite a racket. Hayley didn’t sleep well as a result. Today we are heading north, closer to Calais and home. We are not sure yet where we will stop tonight. Hayley did find a very nice place but there was one report of van break-ins, but only one person mentioned it so we were a little suspicious that the review was false. We set off and spoke about it a lot along the way and elected not to go there, and to find another place instead.

French motorway today for most of the way which means tolls, lots of them. By the time we finish this part of the trip, we have spent 28 euros!! These French motorways are expensive. We are going to a campsite just off the motorway in a town called “Blangy-sur-Bresle” which is about 1 and a half hours south of Calais.

Last night’s rain has left everywhere damp and boggy even at the campsite. We are welcomed by a nice lady who says we can pitch wherever we like. We decide on a spot with a view of a lake, even though it’s a bit grey today, it still looks very nice. There is a bit of maneuvering in the pitch as it is boggy and there are large trenches made by the wheels of previous vans. We try moving around in the pitch to get level and decide to give up.

There are plenty of pitches to choose from. Del jumps out and goes in search of a better spot while Hayley is reversing Jess out of the pitch when suddenly…

“Crunch” she has hit a power bollard on the passenger side of the van. The result is an 8-inch crack on the lower cowling.

It sounds worse than it looks but Hayley is devastated. She has been driving for over 35 years, and driving the van for 6, and has NEVER had an incident so of course her pride, as well as Jess, has been damaged.

It really is no big deal, stuff happens. A bit of Araldite and some webbing on the back, and a new UK sticker will cover up and make good the damage. No problem. Let’s have a big “Awwww…” for Hayley… Poor love, she is upset.

The sky keeps threatening rain but we get some boots on and set off for a walk around the lake. The path is not very clear and some parts are muddy so there is a bit of backwards and forwards going on.

After a while, we give up. Hayley’s enthusiasm is also cracked so we head back to Jess for a tea while she watches a bunch of YouTube rollercoaster videos to cheer herself up.

Tonight we are having Pizza from the campsite with a glass of rose wine and an early night. Tomorrow we are heading for Calais where we intend to have a good look around the town as we have heard it’s very nice despite the bad press back in the UK. We shall see.

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Wednesday 22nd May 2024

Blagny-sur-Bresle to Calais 92 miles

Today we are on our last French drive before home. We are heading for Calais and a campsite right on the beach. Hayley is at the wheel taking us north. Again toll roads and today it cost 13 euros. The campsite is called Camping Calais Plage or Camping Calais Beach. The drive is easy and reasonably quick although the weather is a little brutal with sharp showers of rain when we set off and strong winds that buffet the van on the exposed parts of the motorway.

Before we get to the campsite we want to fill up with LPG for cooking and heating. We like to leave Jess full of gas and diesel while stored, it means that she is ready to go for the next trip. We find a service station close to the campsite that does both. Before all of that though there are a few things that we need from the shops first. Of course, there are a few essentials like milk, bread, and a few foodie things to take home, but more importantly we need to take back some wine and fizz. There is a huge supermarket where we spend a good hour walking around browsing and filling the trolley.

This is Carrefour, which is the equivalent of Tesco in the UK, but France being France it just goes that little bit further. Cakes are a big thing here of course and in this supermarket, they have a fabulous display of cakes. Stunning.

By the time we leave, we have purchased 5 boxes of wine. A red, white, rose and of course some Cremant, a champagne substitute. Oh well…, sometimes. you just have to cut your cloth accordingly.

Del is charged with pushing the heavily laden trolley to the van in a force 9 wind. He makes it. The drink is safely in the van!

The campsite is warm and friendly and we are checked in quickly with a nice private space. As soon as we are in we get to work on some of the de-prep of the van. Everything is on the site so the van shower is cleaned down and closed off, cupboards are emptied and cleared out and some bits are packed away. The rest we will do when we get home. Our unpacking is now much simpler as we can park Jess right outside the flat, open the large terrace doors, and just dump everything in the flat for sorting later. We also now have a new storage space for Jess which is just a three-minute walk.

The sun is out now, but the wind is vicious. No matter we get some big coats on and set off for a walk around Calais.

On the way into the town, we spot this large mechanical dragon, yes a dragon, with people on its back! As we get closer we see it throwing out fire and slowly moving around a flat concreted piece of land.

It’s quite something and is a permanent attraction in the town, and well-liked by the locals and tourists alike. It’s called the La Compagnie du Dragon. It’s a massive 72-ton human-controlled dragon that offers 1-hour rides for just under 10 euros. It interacts with the public watching and is quite scary when he turns around and looks at you then spits water at you! It’s great fun and quite a piece of kit.

As for Calais itself, we find it to be very nice. There are some rather brutal 60s built blocks of flats and buildings, but Calais was flattened towards the end of the war in 1944 with the interim period seeing all kinds of temporary buildings going up. Saying that there are some very nice buildings, the town hall for example is stunning.

The streets are very clean and tidy, and the beachfront is wonderful, having just recently been built. The main street has lovely shops, restaurants, and bars. Not what we were expecting given the news that we hear about Calais, most of it is nonsense.

On the subject of restaurants, Hayley has found us a nice place. Calais, it would appear, has quite a collection of excellent and highly-rated restaurants. She can secure us a table for two at Histoire Ancienne. We walk around to kill a bit of time before our dining time. There are some lovely parks here too to walk around.

Dinner is a fabulous event. The restaurant is superb, beautiful inside, with excellent service, and the food is very tasty. A lovely place.

The walk back is via the hanger that the Calais Dragon is stored in (sleeps in). He looks great with his eyes closed with just a light on at the end of his tail.

Full of food, and drink we make it back to Jess, for bed. Up early tomorrow.

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Thursday 23rd May 2024

Calais to Home, East Cowes 190 miles

We are up at 7am this morning, the earliest that we have been up at on this trip so far! Sadly we are going home today, our ferry from Calais is at 9am, so we are up for a short breakfast and a quick coffee. We have already done some of the breakdown and packing, we will do the rest when we get back.

It’s a bright sunny morning when we leave the campsite, the drive to the ferry port is only about 10 minutes. We arrive in time for our check-in time, and everything goes well, very quickly, quickest yet. Soon Jess is parked up at the front of the boat and we are in the lounge having another coffee and a croissant.

1 hour and 40 minutes later we are disembarking after a, thankfully, uneventful crossing of the channel. Already we have discovered that the M20 has multiple accidents as Operation Brock was put in action overnight for some reason. As a result, because of all the contra-flows and chicanes used for Operation Brock, it seems there have been accidents.

Brilliant. If you read the opening sentence on their website above, it’s a joke. The delay is more than an hour.

Hayley has found another route for us but as usual, we have bumped into 30 mph speed restrictions, police speed checks, and the usual 50mph speed restriction on the A2. Why do things not work here…? Oh, and the mobile reception is rubbish as well. Not that we are moaning you understand.

We have a set ferry time to the Isle of Wight so the race is kind of on to make that time. We shall see.

After a lot of stopping, starting, and diverting, we finally arrived at Portsmouth Harbour with 15 minutes to spare! However… When we check in we are told that there is £19.80 outstanding, even though we paid the full amount in advance and we have a receipt to prove it. After some back and forth a call is put into the Caravan and Motorhoming Club who confirm that we have paid and instruct Wightlink to let us on the boat and that they would sort it out. We guess that Wightlink, who are not immune from making a mess of things, have messed this up as well. Useless.

The 40-minute crossing is very nice, with bright sunlight and lots of boats out enjoying the day. We get off the boat and head for home. Once parked up at the flat we empty the van into the living room, clean Jess down, and take her around the corner to her new storage place.

With her cover on she is now safe and sound, cleaned up, and ready for the next outing which will probably be a couple of island stays and then another French trip in September. We have had a very enjoyable trip to Normandy which is a lovely place and a place that we will revisit. We had great company in the first week of our trip from a good friend from the island.

Once again we would like to thank all of our friends and family that have followed us on this short trip. We love getting your comments. Our very best wishes to you all. If you can get out there then do it, travel, and see what you can while you can. Once again, many thanks to you all.

Some simple stats from this trip

• French motorway tolls: 85 euros
• Diesel: 217 euros
• Miles covered on this trip: 909 miles

Week 2 – Juno Beach to Sainte-Mère-Église – 95 miles

Saturday 11th of May 2024

Juno Beach to Bayeux – 32 miles

It’s a bright clear blue sky this morning, and we have learned that most of the UK had a light show in the sky courtesy of a solar storm, the biggest in decades, providing some spectacular colourful skies. For us, it’s a stunning morning, not a cloud in the sky and already it’s quite warm. Day two of wearing shorts. How long will it last? We are joined by Karen for a cup of tea and to put together a plan for the day. We are off to Bayeux and stopping there for three nights. Karen has a rather splendid hotel and we are staying at the municipal campsite near town. We have been there there before. It’s a very good site and has everything we need, so we are looking forward to it.

Our main stop of the day is the American Cemetery of Normandy.

There are nearly 10,000 men buried here in beautiful grounds that are maintained all year round, they are immaculate. It’s not too far away but the drive is a bit twisty, taking us through small villages and bendy roads, so the drive will be about 40 minutes.

Just as we are about to get fed up with the drive we finally arrive at the cemetery and get parked up. The first thing that we have noticed is that to park here it’s free of charge, however in the British one that we went to yesterday, we had to pay for parking. Typical.

We have a walk around the cemetery which looks spectacular with its rows and rows of white crosses all perfectly in line. Again a very sobering day. So many young men gave their lives, each one marked by a white marble cross.

We meet Karen inside and take our time strolling around the cemetery and making our way back to the exit. Once at Jess, we have an impromptu lunch, very simple of bread, cheese, and sardines, which are delicious. The cemetery is now packed. We need to see these places before 1 pm and there are so many to see. We decide, however, to get to Bayeux. On the way, we will go to a shop, which by chance is next to the campsite. Karen gets checked into the hotel and spends some time by the pool while we get Jess stripped and cleaned out for her weekly clean.

Soon we have her ship shape and spend the afternoon in our back garden.

We have a small space but enough room for us. The rest of the day is spent chatting and reading. It’s perfect. Tonight Karen will be joining us at Jess for dinner. What shall we have?

At 7 pm Karen appears and as usual is well turned out. We are always in our scruff, but Karen has turned up in a different outfit every night. Fabulous. Tonight we are having a tomato, mozzarella with basil salad, followed by ravioli roulette, two types mixed up. Fabulous.

This is all helped along with a Sancerre and a Pouilly Fume wine. Even more fabulous. After a short break, Hayley puts together some orange slices sprinkled with Cinnamon. Fantastic. A lovely evening in the setting sun next to Jess and good company, food, and wine. That’s what this is all about.

We have a guest washer-upper tonight. Karen has volunteered to potter off and wash up the dinner stuff. Thanks, Karen.

The sun is setting and the air is starting to chill. Karen has left her car with us in the camp car park and like all good self-sufficient travellers has a fold-up bike in her boot. Within seconds it’s all folded out and ready to go. See you later…!

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Sunday 12th of May 2024 – Bayeux day 2

We slept well last night and woke up to a warm sunny morning. We have a long lazy breakfast, just for a change. Karen is calling on us at 11 this morning and we are going to Omaha Beach – the American Beach during the D-Day landings. This morning Karen has had a good walk around the town and shared these fantastic pictures of the local shop fronts that have paintings on their windows in commemoration of the 80th anniversary.

It’s hot already in the car as we do the 30-minute drive to Pointe du Hoc. Once parked up we enter a small modern building that is showing a short video about what went on here, namely the scaling of the cliffs by the US Rangers to get to the heavily fortified German bunkers at the top. And they are fortified. So much concrete and steel!

It’s getting hotter as we walk around this large site, which is full of bomb craters. It’s a relief to walk into some of the bunkers which are nice and cool! We think we have spent enough time here and head back to the car. Next, we are going to Omaha Beach – the American beach during the D-Day landings.

A short drive later we get parked up and head for a small cafe with a view out to sea and have a light lunch before heading along the beach to the town which is a good 30-minute walk. We set off, but the town is not getting closer.

If we have to do 30 minutes walking there, then of course we have to do the same coming back. Del is quick to point this out, the girls agree and we turn around and get back in the car for the 3-minute drive to the town.

We stop at The Braves sculpture. An impressive piece of art right on the beach. People walk around it, photograph it, even Del gets up close only to be told that “to respect those that died please do not go within 3 meters of the sculpture“.

It appears that nobody read that, even Del. Still, we stop and admire the sculpture and think again about what went on here.

The next stop is the Overlord museum, which is back towards the American Cemetery. We are starting to flag a bit now. It’s so hot and humid, but we push through and go into the museum which is reasonably priced, and once in is very interesting. It tells the whole story of WW2 and the rise of Hitler and his massive war machine.

There are mock-up scenes using real equipment that have been gathered by a Frenchman who came up with the idea of the museum but sadly died before it opened. It’s a very interesting museum, one of many in the area, but this one should go on your list if you are ever in these parts.

At 4 pm we decide that we have had enough and set off back for home. Karen to her hotel, Del and Hayley back to Jess, where we sit in the sun, guzzling water. We will all meet at 6:15 tonight for dinner in the town of Bayeux.

Dinner tonight is in a small hotel restaurant which is packed! The last time we were here was September 2 years ago when it was almost empty, so it was a surprise to see not only the inside but the outside just packed. Fortunately, Karen was able to get a table for us and guarded it until we arrived.

All very nice and pleasant. Hayley was dissappointed that it was not the same as her last visit. Karen enjoyed it, Del loved it. He had everything raw! Six oysters and steak tartar. Delicious.

We end the day at Karen’s hotel with a glass or two of Sancerre with some good conversation.

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Monday 13th of May 2024 – Bayeux day 3

The weather has changed, and quite a lot. It’s grey this morning and today we are expecting rain later. We shall see.

Today we are meeting Karen in town and we will set off to see the Bayeux Tapersty.

On the way we pop into a ‘Salon de the’ for…, tea. Karen has a coffee and a pastry. The shop is lovely with a beautiful terrace on the top floor. It sells the most spectacular looking cakes, again a French speciality. Their cakes are the best.

Tea drinking done, we head for the Bayeux Tapestry Museum. 12 euros later we have the English translation headphones on and we are off. For Karen it’s the first time, for Del and Hayley it’s the third! We love it here. We are all feeling a little tired and a bit worse for wear after last night.

Next, we are setting off in Karen’s BMW for the D-Day Experience.

The D-Day Experience is considered to be one of the best museums on the subject. There is a cinema, a museum and an aircraft simulator. It is also the location of Dead Man’s Corner, which is a road junction where an American soldier was left sitting dead in his tank by the Germans.

The cinema is in 3D and is brilliant. It tells the story of the D-Day landings in excellent detail and is easy to follow, an excellent job.

The house at Dead Man’s Corner is a museum and is also a very interesting location. It was used as a German paratrooper command post, so the rooms in the house have all been recreated. At the back of the building is a shop that sells original artefacts from spent bullet cases, medals, flags and clothes. A fascinating shop.

The main museum is just as good with excellent recreations and displays.

For the aircraft simulation, you attend a briefing by an American commander using 3D projection explaining what the mission will be, after which you are led into an original Douglas C47 Skytrain troop carrier called Stoy Hora, it’s an aircraft that has been mounted on hydraulic jacks and a lift. Inside the plane, the windows have been replaced by monitors showing what’s going on outside.

It’s very effective as we simulate a lift off from Exeter, flying through storm clouds whilst being shot at and eventually making an emergency landing in France. Very effective.

By now we have had enough and do the 30 minute drive back home. We separate and just relax for an hour or two. The rain is now heavy and constant, but it breaks just enough for us to walk into town to meet up with Karen before 7 for dinner. We have found a smashing resturant and have the best meal out of the trip so far. Fabulous.

It’s our last night wth Karen. Tomorow she has to drive back to Le Havre, a good couple of hours away for an 9pm ferry back home. She will be joining us for a last breakfast tomorrow.

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Tuesday 14th of May 2024 – Bayeux day 4

At 10am sharp there is a tap at the van door. It’s Karen who is joining us for her breakfast, our last one together. Del is up and running with tea, toast and scrambled eggs, oh, and he’s running back and forward doing the laundry!

A mixed bag of weather today. With the sun out it’s nice and warm, but we do keep getting sharp little showers now and then. Well, we are in Normandy and Normandy is famous for being wet. There is also a breeze which is building.

After breakfast, we all pile into Karen’s car and head for the Bayeux War Cemetery, which is mainly a burial ground for British soldiers. Like all the other cemeteries here there is a headstone for each of the fallen but this one has more colour.

The base of each gravestone has small shrubs and colourful flowers. It’s all quite nice and of course very neat. Here there are not only British service men, but there are also other nationalities, Polish, Czech, Russian and some Germans.

After our pleasant walk, we head back to the car. The next stop is a wine warehouse, that is located right outside our campsite. Karen is on a mission to stock up and there’s no better, more convenient place than this. Del & Hayley also buy a bottle of two and some very colourful tins of sardines… Nice.

We help Karen load her boxes of wines into the car and we all set off for the supermarket to do a small stock up then back to Jess for a small lunch before Karen sets off for home.

Just before 3 pm, Karen is loaded up, fed and watered and we are waving her off. Her ferry is from Le Havre at 9 pm local time, but she intends to stop along the way to visit Caen and anywhere else that she might find along the way.

It has been very nice having Karen share our first week and a bit. Great company, lively conversation, some deep, some not so, but always entertaining. Very good company indeed. We have eaten and sometimes drank a lot, but we are in France and they do do a good feed and drink here, and we are not here for very long!

Safe travels Karen, and see you back home on the island… xx

Hayley and Del spend the rest of the afternoon, dodging the showers of rain and doing more of the laundry. The decision has been made to stay another day and cycle to the Normandy museum. There is still lots to do here and with 9 days left before home another day won’t do us any harm, and it’s very nice here.

The evening is a nice dinner in.

Tonight Hayley signs up to the Open University OpenLearn and starts a 12 hour course on the ‘Science of Nuclear Energy’. Well you have to have a hobby!

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Wednesday 15th of May 2024 – Bayeux Day 5

Having done 5 days now here in Bayeux, we have finally run out of fresh water, and because we are now staying another day, we also have been asked to go to another pitch. We will fill up with fresh water and dump the grey when our space becomes available. It’s a sunny morning, and dry. Breakfast is bacon sandwiches and coffee. There is an empty place at the table this morning…

We have to wait for our space to become vacant before we can do anything today, it’s already 10am, and the spot that we are going into is still occupied and they are still asleep in there…

After a while, Hayley can’t wait any longer, as there is no indication of the people in the pitch getting up, and we don’t want to see our last day in Bayeux being eaten away. She sets off for the camp office and returns quite quickly with a new pitch number. We pack up and empty the grey water, fill up with fresh and install ourselves in our new spot. It’s bigger than the last one, with the sun at the back of the van for most of the day.

We unhook the bikes from the back of Jess and set off towards the Battle of Normandy Museum.

Located not too far from the Bayeux War Cemetery, the museum can be identified by a couple of tanks outside. For the price of the ticket, 14 euros you get entrance to the museum and to the Bayeux Tapestry, which we have already seen this week.

The museum is excellent. If D-Day wasn’t bad enough, and we have seen lots of stuff about that, what happened afterwards in Normandy was also pretty dreadful, and went on for some time after D-Day. This museum is all about what happened in Normandy after D-Day. Lots to look at, lots to read all very interesting stuff.

Back on the bikes, we make our way across town to the cathedral. A massive imposing building, but beautiful. Inside it’s very grand and on a large scale. The ceilings seem to go on forever.

We are not religious, but we do like these cathedrals, the building of them so many hundreds of years ago is quite something.

After a good look and walk around the cathedral we decide that if we have a ticket to the Bayeux Tapestry then why not use it…? We love the tapestry, it’s one of our favourite artefacts which is made all the more amusing as we both hated it at school… After a short walk, we are in a very short queue to see it. Since our last visit with Karen a few days ago, Hayley has done a bit more swotting up on the details of what “the rag” is all about and shares the details with Del before going in. It never fails to amuse us and hold our attention. A 70m strip of linen embroidered by women nearly 950 years ago that tells a story about a couple of blokes that have a fight, one of which gets it in the eye! Amazing.

If you would like a quick, easy-to-follow run-through of the story, have a look here. It’s very good.

We are hungry now and after a walk around the lovely streets of Bayeux, we find a smart little restaurant to have a simple early dinner. It’s fantastic, very simple, but so tasty and very enjoyable. The heavens have opened and it pours down for a short period. Satisfied with our day we make our way back to the bikes.

We get but a few meters out of the restaurant and we are suddenly showered, heavily, with what feels like a bucket of water being poured on us, only to find out that it’s bird poo…!!!! Hayley takes the direct hit. She is covered in the stuff from her head to her shoes. She looks like someone has thrown a bucket of paint at her. We couldn’t see the offending bird as it made its escape unaware of the damage below, but whatever it was it was huge…

We get back to the bikes smelling like an old birdcage, it stinks as we cycle back to camp to strip off and shower. Hayley hand-washes the coats and bike bag. Del also has got a light coating. It’s everywhere…is there something about it being lucky…? The amount that has hit poor Hayley, she should go and buy a dozen lottery tickets… sharpish.

Back at the van, cleaned up, we sit in the early evening sunshine. It’s lovely and quiet, the silence only broken by bird song. Fabulous. We are leaving Bayeux tomorrow and heading for our third D-Day beach, Utah.

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Thursday 16th of May 2024 – Bayeux to Utah Beach 37 miles

Finally, after 5 nights here in Bayeux, we are on the move again. A week today it will be over and we will be back home. It’s a bright sunny morning as we settle into a nice breakfast of soft boiled eggs, toast and coffee before preparing Jess for departure. Del does the washing up while Hayley prepares the inside of the van. It’s amazing how you spread yourself out if you stay for anymore than a couple of days in place. We have enjoyed this past 5 days in Bayeux. We like it here very much, the campsite is beautiful the town is lovely. We have had a good friend with us for most of it… It has just been one of those very nice weeks!

We have filled up with fresh water, dumped the grey water and Del has emptied the toilet. A quick stop at the local supermarket for some basics and we are on our way. Today we are going the furthest west on this trip to Utah Beach, one of the American beaches in the D-Day landings before turning around tomorrow to head slowly for home.

It’s a lovely drive today. No motorways, just French country roads with green fields and trees. Nice.

We soon arrive at the ‘Camping Carpark’ at Utah Beach, and without too much fuss, and an efficiency that frightens us, we are parked up, plugged in, and bikes off the back and away for the gentle flat cycle to Utah beach itself.

We have been here before, but it’s always worth another visit to see the expansive beach and to stand there trying, and failing to imagine how it might have been 80 years ago.

There is a lot to see here and there is a fabulous museum right on the beach. We have been to the museum on our last trip but this time we give it a miss in favour of ice cream and a walk.

Back on the bikes, this time we are looking for a German bunker a few kilometres from where we are. Again we have a look at the beach here before mounting the bikes and heading back to Jess. It’s a lovely afternoon, warm in the sun, so we head back for tea and a read.

A lovely afternoon in the sun, but it does start to cloud over and get cool. It doesn’t stop us though. We have the awning out and put warmer clothes on and stay outside in the fresh air.

We are in a nice place. Out in the country, lots of bird song with horses across the not very busy road. Not bad for a Thursday.

Dinner tonight… Italian, on Jess our Italian van…! It’s a gorgeous night. After a short sharp shower, the sky turns blue and it’s a beautiful fresh evening. While enjoying our dinner a French van turns up next door and has trouble stretching his electricity cable so we offer him to trail it through our ‘terrace’. He is so grateful that he comes over with a gift of a bottle of wine. How sweet!

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Friday 17th of May 2024 – Utah Beach to Sainte-Mère-Église 8 miles

Sadly our journey in the direction of home starts today. We are now heading back slowly towards Calais for the ferry home next Thursday. We still have a few places to go to and check out, so it’s not over yet.

Unusually, we are packed, serviced and on our way by 9:45am! It’s less than 10 miles to today’s destination. We are going to Sainte-Mère-Église (Holy Mother church). A tiny town but very significant. It is where the American Airborne Division first landed on D-Day and was the first French town to be liberated.

The church is very old and charming, some of the windows have been replaced, because of war damage, with new colourful windows commemorating The American Airborne Division. Have a look here for the story of that time. It is also famous for the paratrooper, John Steele who while descending, got his chute caught on the church in the town and had to pretend to be dead for up to two hours before being cut free by the Germans and taken prisoner.

Because of the significance of the American action in the town, there is a museum here, The Airborne Museum.

This museum is excellent, one of the best we have seen. Packed with stuff to read, listen and interact with. The town has a great affection for the Americans, and understandably so, and this amazing museum tells the whole story. A great place to visit.

We spend a good three hours in the museum, you could quite easily spend a lot more time there, but we have seen enough and take a walk around the town. It’s so small it doesn’t take long at all, so we head back to Jess for a lazy afternoon.

The evening is beautiful. Clear blue sky, no wind, just the birds. We have a very light dinner, have showers, and sit out for the rest of the evening, just soaking up the early evening air. It has been a good day. Very enjoyable.

Please note: It may appear to the observant reader, that Hayley is wearing the same top all the time. For the record, she has several stripy tops, and one she has two off. All part of her trying to be “French”. No chance.

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Week 1. Dieppe to Juno Beach – 268 miles

Saturday the 4th of May 2024 (Star Wars Day!)

Dieppe to Veules Les Roses – 16 miles

We had a nice peaceful night in the Port of Dieppe motorhome park despite some of the negative reviews regarding boat movement noise and noisy seagulls. It is a port so what do you expect?

We slept well. We need water, so we maneuver ourselves first thing this morning to the water tap and fill up Jess with fresh water, then re-position ourselves back in our space for coffee and a light breakfast while Hayley does her usual route planning.

The sun has popped up over the surrounding cliffs and the motorhome park is bathed in warm sunshine. Nice. Today we are not going far, we are going to our first campsite.

As we drive out of Dieppe we see that it is quite a nice town, clean and tidy with an active marina, and nice streets with lots of shops. There is stuff to see here and maybe we should have stayed for the day, but we would like to get into a campsite and try out the electricity, and make sure that works. There are also just a few maintenance issues that have come to light since we left home. Nothing urgent, things like squeaky doors and cupboards that need a bit of reorganising, so a campsite is ideal. You can make a mess without getting told off.

We find a supermarket and do a stock-up. Next, we hunt down a van wash and find an excellent one. Jess hasn’t been washed for quite a few months so she is looking a bit sad. After 20 minutes she rolls out of the wash looking like new! Shiny, fresh, and clean.

Hayley has found us a lovely campsite called Les Mouettes or The Seagulls. As is the way here in France they close from midday until 2 pm. Lunch is lunch and nothing gets in the way. While we wait Del gives Jess a last wipe-over with a cleaning product that removes all the streaks and stubborn marks that the wash didn’t quite get out.

She looks amazing. The campsite is very close to the town of Veules Les Roses which has the smallest river in France at just over half a mile. It starts in the main town and runs through it straight to the sea. We follow the river through the beautiful town. It is absolutely stunning, thatched cottages and water mills line the tiny river and the center of town has classicly French buildings and squares. It was voted to be the sixth favourite town in France. We love it here.

Back at Jess, we sit in the sun with a drink after our long day out. Tonight we will have a very simple dinner of various salads and prawns with a fresh baguette. Lovely. We have had some fantastic weather here today. After dinner we look outside and the sky is clear blue, but there is a chill in the air on its way!

Sunset is at around 9:15 so we make our way to the Memorial du Cerons which is a large gun recovered from a battleship that sank just off this very coast while rescuing some of the British army.

We watch the day end as we get one of the best sunsets we have seen in a long time. No clouds, no obstructions. Now the air has really chilled as we make our way back to Jess after a rather good day.

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Sunday the 5th of May 2024

Veules Les Roses to Etretat – 36 miles

We are up bright and early this morning. The sky is full of grey clouds, but the temperature is pleasant enough. Today we are on the way to Etretat, a short 1-hour drive along the coast. We’re staying in a paid-for aire tonight, 13 euros for a space. We have a light breakfast and prepare Jess for an overnight stay where we have to be self-sufficient, ie no electricity or water, so we make sure we have a tank full of fresh water and that we have charged up all of our gadgets.

It’s a very picturesque drive, rain is forecast for later on in the day, but for now, it’s very pleasant. Hayley navigates us to the town of Etretat with Del at the wheel. It’s busy when we arrive at the parking spot but not yet full. We choose a space and set off for the town and the beach before the rain comes.

It’s another beautiful French seaside town. Very clean and tidy with spectacular views of the cliffs.

Again this was another heavily fortified place during the war by the Germans. There is still evidence of the Atlantic Wall, a collection of concrete blocks and pillboxes. We have an ice cream and start to take the walk up the hill to a viewpoint that looks back down onto the town. It’s great up here and worth the walk-up.

Hayley checks her rain app. Rain is due in 25 minutes, it will probably take that long to get back, so we start the descent back towards Jess.

While walking back through the town we stumble on a shop that specialises in canned fish called Conserverie La Belle-Iloise. It’s a beautiful shop, very colourful, clean and bright. We have a look in and leave with some white tuna mousse. Hayley has fancied having a try of some pear cider and by chance, we find a small indoor market that has just what she has been looking for.

Armed with our purchases we make our way back to the van just in time for a light shower of rain to start. We open up some windows in Jess and listen to the loud blackbird chirping away with all his might while we try some tuna mousse and a glass, or two, of pear cider. Despite the light rain, it’s a lovely Sunday afternoon. The place is starting to fill up with vans now from many different European countries. We know why. We have only been in this area of France for three days and we have seen some spectacular views in this part of France. There is yet more to come.

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Monday the 6th of May 2024

Etretat to Honfleur- 36 miles

Did we have rain last night or what…? We went to bed and it was so peaceful but at around 1 am the rain hammered down and it rained heavily for over an hour. We did get sleep before and after however and we are feeling quite good this morning. After breakfast, we set off and the sun comes out for a lovely morning 40-minute drive to Honfleur. Here we are meeting up with a good friend from home. She is driving to meet us in Honfleur where we will spend a good week together exploring the local area.

It’s a very picturesque drive, spring is in the air for sure. All the fields and trees are in full bloom and it’s very green and colourful. Lovely. Today we will drive over the Normandy Bridge. This bridge crosses the river Seine, which meanders through Paris and ends in the sea at this point. There is a toll charge, but it is worth it as the bridge has a very steep summit before descending again. When this bridge opened in 1995 it was the longest cable-stayed bridge in the world. From here it’s just three minutes to the town of Honfleur.

We make our way to the campsite, but because of the recent heavy rain, they are not allowing vans in as the ground has become too boggy and muddy. There is a warning in all the forums about this and today it comes true although they do keep us waiting almost 2 hours to tell us. No matter, there is a 240 motorhome parking spot nearby so we do a quick three-point turn and make for that. It’s certainly a busy place but there are still plenty of places, so we choose one with electricity, get plugged in, and set off for a walk around the town.

Before we spend too much time in the town, Hayley does some research and finds that there is a “garden zoo & butterfly house” here called the Naturospace. 11 euros each later we are surrounded by some beautiful butterflies. It’s not very big but they have a lot of different butterflies flapping about, some are quite big, about the size of a saucer, it’s a lovely place.

Enough of butterflies. It’s a short walk to the town which is beautiful. Lots of restaurants and bars surround the outer perimeter of the port. It’s lovely.

The back streets are even more interesting with some fabulous shops, selling everything from a pair of shoes to original fine art. What a find. We stop at a small bar in the port and have a drink before hunting down a restaurant for dinner tomorrow.

We walk back to Jess and wait to hear from our friend, who has driven from the Isle of Wight. We will all be spending just over a week together. A very nice lady who lives on the west of the Isle of Wight who also likes good food and wine, so it should be a good few days. We spend an hour or two on Jess catching up on paperwork, the weather has become a little unpredictable as we are getting intermittent showers of rain.

At 7 we set off to meet Karen. There is something rather different and strange about meeting friends from home in foreign countries. Not sure what it is. It’s good but feels odd, that you’re not bumping into each other in Waitrose, or arranging to meet at each other houses. Instead, we are meeting next to a big red boat in a small French town. It’s great to meet and catch up as we stroll through the town after settling into a bar in the port. To celebrate our meeting we have a bottle of Champagne, thank you Karen, and chat until late, so much so they are stacking the chairs up around us. We walk her back to her rather unusual and lovely hotel before setting off back to Jess. It’s late.

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Tuesday the 7th of May 2024

Honfleur – Day 2

Today we are staying in Honfleur. Karen joins us on Jess for breakfast. She has brought croissants and very nice they are too with scrambled eggs, tea, and coffee. A very nice relaxed morning. Karen will take us all in her car and drive us to the town of Deauville, south of Le Harve which, quite by coincidence, is twinned with our hometown of East Cowes. However, they couldn’t be any further apart in appearance. The drive there is around 30 minutes. It’s a beautiful place, helped by the glorious sunny weather.

There is a fantastically long sandy beach with trendy little bars. The front is lined with beautiful apartments with precisely cut lawns and clean streets. There is a regular American film festival here, the beach huts are all named after Hollywood stars.

We spend a good hour walking around the beach area before turning our attention to the town itself. Again the streets are so clean and lined with designer clothes shops, art shops, and lots of little independent shops selling all kinds of goodies.

Compared to our own East Cowes, which has a Co-op and a couple of cafes, they are miles apart. We can’t be too hard on our town. It has everything we need and serves its purpose well. If only it was a bit cleaner and a bit more looked after sometimes.

After a short walk, we stop at a creperie in the marina and have something to eat and a chat. It’s a lovely day here but our time is up, we need to get back to the parked car before the meter runs out, which by the way is cheaper to park than on the Isle of Wight. What are we doing wrong…?

Karen takes us back to her hotel and we take a pleasant walk back through the town of Honfleur and back to Jess for a couple of hours. It’s a very warm afternoon as we sit in the van with the windows and door open. Hayley is researching a place for dinner tonight while Del sorts out the photos from the day.

At 7 pm we meet our friend by the red boat again in the port, and head for Hayley’s chosen restaurant. It’s closed… Yes, after all that research it was shut! By good fortune, the restaurant next door has a couple of tables that are not reserved so they squeeze us in. We have a rather splendid dinner there of oysters, fish, chicken, and mussels all helped along with a bottle of Sancerre. Smashing. After dinner, we have a walk around the port. It’s starting to get chilly, so we sit in a small bar for a nightcap (or is it two?) and have a healthy, sometimes animated, debate about men and women until just before midnight. Del lost…!

A very nice day has been had. Tomorrow we are off to stay nearby some painter’s back garden.

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Wednesday the 8th of May 2024 (Victory in Europe Day)

Honfluer to Les Andelys – 67 miles

A slow start to today. A very late breakfast and just general pottering about. Del gets the bikes down off the back of the van and gives them a clean-up and service. We intend to use them today… We are later joined by Karen, who is out and about and comes to tea burgle. Nice to see her for a tea before we all get into our respective vehicles and head off towards Les Andelys which is near Monet’s back garden. Well, 25 minutes near.

Karen speeds off leaving us behind to faff about getting diesel and LPG. Soon we are on our way though and we have a lovely drive to the campsite in Les Andelys which is set in a wide bend of the Seine. Karen is staying in a chalet on the site and we are put near to her. We get settled into our pitch and get properly set up with a groundsheet, awning, table, and chairs, the works just in time for Karen to appear on her folding bike.

We get our bikes off the back and set off for a good cycle along the banks of the Seine.

The weather is pleasant enough, with broken sunshine, it’s dry with no wind. We cycle past a river cruise holiday boat that is loading up with American tourists. Onwards we continue, passing some rather large and expensive-looking houses with private gardens that overlook the river.

Not a long cycle, a couple of kilometers, but we enjoy it and it’s good to be getting some exercise at last. Back at base, Karen retires to her place while Del gives the van a good clean inside and Hayley starts to prepare dinner for the three of us tonight. On the menu… Duck, dauphinoise potatoes and asparagus.

Karen appears at 7 pm prompt and we sit outside with a glass of fizz waiting for dinner which arrives at the table smelling fabulous and tasting amazing.

It’s a wonderful dinner, a good chat, and a few glasses of fizz. The sun is out and it’s warm and calm. It couldn’t have been any better. However, there’s more to come. Karen has bought a selection of cakes in Honfleur.

In France, you don’t just buy cakes… You buy CAKES…! which are just works of art. With a cup of tea, the cakes go down a storm with Hayley proclaiming that the macaroons were the best she has ever had. We have to agree…

By 9:30 the sun has set and the dinner is over. We are all a bit tired after our late night last night and we are full of food, drink, and cakes. By 10 we are all in place, Karen in her chalet, Del, and Hayley in Jess.

Tonight will be an early night. We feel we need it…

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Thursday the 9th of May 2024 – Les Andelys. Day2

We were expecting some good warm weather today but sadly we wake up to a cloudy cool day, maybe we will get some sun later. Karen joins us for breakfast onboard Jess. Once cleaned up we get ready and set off in Karen’s car. Today we are off to Giverny and the the home and gardens of Monet, the painter.

Despite the cloudy weather, it’s a lovely drive through the French countryside, colourful and bright. It’s lovely. We arrive at the car park for “Monetville”, it’s 10 am and already it is packed with cars. We have to drive around the car park a couple of times, but there are no spaces free. Karen decides that we are parking on a piece of grass not knowing if we can or can’t, she doesn’t care and is quite right too. As soon as other arriving cars see her do it then that patch of grass fills up immediately. Well done Karen!

It’s a short walk to Monet’s house and very quickly we are in a queue. It’s packed. It’s a bank holiday in France today, Ascension Day, so it’s not only tourists but the ‘locals‘ are out as well. Del decides to have a look at how long this queue is and sets off to check it out and soon returns with some bad news. It’s long… very long. It’s estimated that we could be here for 2 hours or more, at least. After a while, we decide that we are not keen on standing in line for more than two hours to look at a dead painter’s house and back yard so we decide to give up. Pity.

All is not lost. There are lots of things to see in the area so we spend a good hour or two walking and talking. very pleasant.

Once we think we have seen enough, we have a look at the queue again. We were right. The line has hardly moved and our estimation of 2 hours wasn’t far out, more like three. There is only one small door for the entrance, bags are checked then you have to buy a ticket. Online ticket purchases have been suspended due to how busy it is. It’s all a bit mad really.

Back at the car park cars are still trying to come in and people are just parking anywhere. It’s chaos. We are asked by a disappointed French man if we had a tow rope as he was stuck in a rather large pool of mud. Poor lad. Very soon Karen has us out of there and away, no messing about. The weather has improved and it’s a beautiful sunny day. Hot. After a drive through the countryside, we make our way to the town of Veron.

A very pleasant town where we stop for a salad and a drink before investigating the various patisseries and buy cake. It has to be done.

Two very beautifully presented cakes are purchased and loaded into the boot of the car for the journey back to Jess.

Afternoon tea and cake back at Jess in the now hot sunshine. Summer is here? Maybe. We spend a very nice afternoon just chatting away and putting the world to right over a few white wine spritzers. Well someone has to…

Dinner tonight is a Salad with pan-fried chicken and a glass of fizz. It’s still warm. A lovely evening after a lovely day. No Monet, but who cares, we have had a good day driving around in the French countryside, and spent some time in a typical French town, with the late afternoon and evening outside Jess.

Tomorrow we are all moving on, back toward the coast. We came inland especially to see Monet’s house and gardens so we are making the two-hour drive back towards the coast to see some war stuff. Finally.

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Friday the 10th of May 2024

Les Andelys to Juno Beach – 113 miles

Today is a beautiful, bright, warm sunny day. We have been away for a full week now. We are heading back towards the coast and staying at a campsite at Juno Beach. This is one of the 5 beaches used for the D-Day landings and was managed by the Canadians.

Karen appears for her morning tea and we chat until quite late. We all set off and head back west. It’s a great driving day, the weather is the best we have had in many months, How long will it last?

Before checking into the campsite we all meet at the British Normandy Memorial, which has only been open for 5 years.

Karen is there before us and has already been shopping and is having a picnic in the car park. We leave her to finish off her lunch and we set off to look at the memorial. It’s quite imporessive and very thought provoking, more so as they have what is called “Standing with Giants“, which is 1475 cut outs of soldiers, sailors and airforce men all stamped out of recycled metal road signs which are randomly scattered in the foot hills of the memorial. It’s an amazing sight.

The whole of the memorial is an amazing site, very impressive and well deserved for all those men who died, some as young as 18, on that terrible day.

After a good long walk aroud the memorial we set off towards Juno beach and have a long walk towards the town of Courselles sur Mer. Along the way there are many kinds of memorials and the odd tank scattered around.

Karen sets off to her hotel to check in and we head back to Jess. We are all tired but agree to meet for dinner in the town later on.

Back at Jess we just potter around, it’s only and hour and half before we have to set off again for the walk along the beach. At 7 pm we leave and on our way to meet Karen the restaurant. We have a very simple dinner and complain to each other about feeling tired. By 9pm we are done and dusted. Karen sets off to the hotel and we plod back to Jess.

We are in bed by 10pm having done over16,000 steps thats 7 miles of walking…

Our last trip out ended rather suddenly in February this year as we had to come back due to a family illness. Sadly Hayley’s mum is no longer with us.

Spring is in the air now, or so we are told. It’s the start of May and we are still seeing lots of rain and cool temperatures, but that’s not stopping us. Since we got back home in February it has been rather busy what with a family loss and trying to work as much as we can at the same time and we now feel that the time is right to have a quick three-week trip away in Jess.

For the next three weeks we will be exploring Normandy in France, and in particular making a special trip to the Normandy coast where the D-Day landings took place on the 6th June 1944, 80 years ago. We have been in that area a couple of times on past trips, but we did miss a few things, so to make sure that we see everything this time, we are making a special visit to the area hoping that three weeks will be enough to see everything. During the trip, we are meeting up with a good friend from the Isle of Wight, who will be joining us for about 9 days in her car.

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3rd May 20204.
Home, UK to Dieppe, France – 155 miles
Our journey, as usual, starts from our home base on the Isle of Wight with a ferry from Fishborne to Portsmouth. Then a 2-hour drive to Newhaven for the 4-hour crossing to Dieppe, France. This is the first time that we have used this ferry. The thought of driving to Dover for the ferry to Calais, and then the drive south to Normandy filled us with dread. We are looking forward to this new ferry. It’s only 4 hours but we have booked a cabin so we have somewhere to relax out of the way of everyone.

We now have Jess, our beloved motorhome, stored near the flat where we live. It now only takes 5 minutes to walk to her rather than the almost hour and a half round trip to Ryde and a muddy field where she used to be kept. She has had a full service, and a habitation check, has been cleaned throughout, and is ready to go. This morning we stop briefly at the flat to pick up some remaining bits and pieces before setting off.

The ferry, unusually, leaves on time. There are a few ferries on this route, but today we are on the smaller vessel, the St Faith. It’s an old but reliable boat. A real throaty sounding, dirty, oily, reliable boat. The ferry company bought a huge new ‘hybrid’ boat, the Victoria of Wight which is always out of service for repairs. We don’t think that her namesake would be amused…

It has turned out to be a nice warm sunny day, the crossing is pleasant and uneventful. Next, the short drive from Portsmouth to Newhaven. An hour and a half later and at a steady cruise between 50 to 60 miles per hour, we arrive at the little port of Newhaven between Brighton and Eastbourne. It’s a rather small port, not at all busy, very quiet, but we like it. Compared to the hell hole that is Dover, this is very pleasant.

We arrive a little early but at 4 pm we are shown the way into the belly of the boat, a big blue and yellow shiny vessel.

We make our way to the reception and collect our keys to our cabin, room 649. It’s basic but comfortable. Bunk beds, plenty of room with a shower and toilet. All very clean and tidy with a window on the port side going out to Dieppe (that’s on the left for non-boaties!).

We have a good look around the ship and watch the English coastline fade away into the sea mist and the late afternoon sunshine. Very nice.

Dinner is in the restaurant, we have salad, fish and chips and some cake – a tart Tropezienne, a speciality of St. Tropez.

Back to our cabin for a lie down where Hayley watches Race Around the World while we listen to the low hum of the engine and the gentle movement of the ship as we cross the channel in the setting sun.

Finally, we arrive in Dieppe at 10:15pm and we head for a motorhome spot within the port for our first night. We have no water in our tanks so we have showered on the boat. We have a few bottles of water for tea and breakfast and flushing the loo, we will fill up Jess tomorrow morning.

Shopping day tomorrow.