Normandy France Tour, the DS Roadcraft Tours Way
Let me take you back to a week before the TOMCC Normandy Tour (which you will have read about last month), when DS Roadcraft Tours visited Normandy…
The format of this trip was a first for us as we set off on 30th April to catch the overnight ferry to St Malo. A pleasant crossing made all the more enjoyable by the onboard cabaret, slightly reminiscent of childhood Butlins trips.
Day 1 - Waking up in France to glorious sunshine, our first stop was a typical and delicious French breakfast in the walled town of Saint Malo. Following breakfast, we took the opportunity for a morning stroll around the town walls where spectacular views both seaward and inland, combined with plenty of history, monuments, memorials, May Day celebrations and quaint traditions. We were even treated to a public protest marching through the streets, protesting over pension laws. Straight into the deep end…
A short ride found us in Cancale to successfully seek out the Fontaine les Laveuses D'huitres for our female contingent doing the Witch Way Round Water Hunt and then on to the island of Mont St Michel with its breath-taking, gravity defying 8th century abbey. A bus across the causeway left us to climb the steep street and steps, but only as far as a convenient lunch stop at a local creperie (well all this exercise already needed a calorie intake).
Centuries of history were crammed into just one day before arriving at our accommodation La Tringale, in Sainte-Margaruite D'elle. An authentic rural property boasting peace, tranquillity, quirky buildings, its own bar and a barn set aside just for motorcycle parking. One pleasant surprise was that old hosts and previous owners, Andy and Jill (who we have known for many years), joined us and the new owners for a great evening in the private bar. The alcohol flowed, stories were told and, for some, the chat continued to the early hours.
Day 2 – What a day, the sunshine from the IOM had clearly followed us to Normandy! Basking in 19° degrees, which made riding a pure pleasure, not too hot and definitely not cold!
Number 1 on today's agenda was Dead Man's Corner where we met Robin, our own personal and local tour guide for the next 3 days. Here we had a tour of the WWII museum, brought alive by Robin’s vast knowledge and easy listening style and we also experienced what it was like to be transported by air to Normandy for the D Day drops. The courage of the men and women who fought and served in WW2 was certainly brought home to us.
A short bike ride then took us to Sainte-Mare d'Eglise for lunch and to discover the story of John Steele whose parachute caught on the church spire and who was subsequently captured by the Germans occupying the town at the time. Interestingly, the parachute that hangs on the church today as a memorial is on the wrong side - apparently poetic license from Hollywood. A quick tour here with more heroics and stories, including inaccuracies in various accounts of the day, the surrender of several Germans to one Allied soldier and the poor Madame whose quiet nightly visit to her outside privy was disturbed by the invasion. We even got to see the privy!
Back to the bikes and a short ride to Utah Beach to learn exactly how the beach was captured by the Americans. Robin led us on a brief walk along the beach and around the outside of the museum whilst regaling us with more stories of American gallantry before we rode off to another 2 American monuments.
Our final stop of the day was at the Isigny Sainte Mere ice cream factory, where we sampled the various iced delights. Unfortunately, no time to tour the factory, but plenty of time to indulge in the produce.
The temperature soared today, to feel the cool breeze on our faces made for delightful riding along smooth, picturesque country roads back to the farmhouse, where a delicious home cooked meal was waiting for us, polished off with a well-deserved beer or two of course! Another great end to a great day!
Day 3 – Another beautiful sunny day and we met Robin at the German Cemetery in La Cambe. Considering they were the enemy this proved to be a somewhat sombre & sobering experience. Not a place we would have considered visiting had it not been for Robin's suggestion. It could clearly be seen that the names were not just German, but that many were of Eastern European origin, conscripted to fight for Germany. We also learnt about the German tank ace whose grave can be found by the worn out grass where many feet have trod.
Our next stop was the Maisy Battery - Normandy's best kept secret for 60 years until its discovery by British historians, Gary and Dan Sterne, who now own the land where there are still excavations and new discoveries taking place daily. The Maisy Battery consists of WWII trenches, bunkers & batteries constructed in secret by the Germans and was considered at the time to be an "area of high resistance". However, at the time, Pointe du Hoc was thought to be the more important to capture. Two books in particular, written by Gary, are worth a read:
A Guide to the Maisy Battery and
The Cover Up at Omaha Beach.
After a short ride to nearby Grand-Camp Maisy for a quick lunch we rode to our next destination, Pointe du Hoc, which sits 35m up on top of a cliff. Here we could see a series of German bunkers & machine gun posts overlooking the English Channel, in particular Utah & Omaha beaches. It was here, but at a high cost to the Americans, that the German artillery was seized and a successful defence against German counter attacks took place. Although, what they seized included a bunker with telegraph poles sticking out to mimic guns. The real German strong point was the aforementioned Maisy battery.
Omaha Beach was next, which was the other landing area used by the Americans on the D Day invasion of Normandy. Part of Operation Overlord, which was the largest amphibious assault in history, this was one of the most important battles of WWII and also secured at a high cost of lives to the Americans. The book 'The Bedford Boys' tells of one of the greatest proportion of losses of any town in the USA on this day and the men from Bedford, Virginia have since been immortalised as The Bedford Boys.
All day we had ridden & basked in wall-to-wall sunshine, so we made a quick trip to a local cider outlet for some Calvados and cider tasting before selecting our purchases for much needed refreshment in the evening! Little de we know but we would back…
Our last stop of the day was the local Triumph dealer (be rude not to!) for some spare parts & more Witch Way Round points before heading back to La Tringale on some interesting roads which made for some good riding to finish off the day.
Day 4 - Another bright and sunny day; we met Robin at the British War Cemetery in Bayeux. Whilst earlier visits to memorials and cemeteries had been sobering, this visit was particularly poignant. Many of the graves were for people who had died in the Bayeux hospitals of their wounds, including German, Polish, Russian, Canadian and others. Our guide led us in a short and emotional statement of thanks at the central memorial. Most, if not all of us, left the site with a watering eye.
After a brief stop at Creully Chateau, Monty’s (General Montgomery) HQ, it was on to Juno beach for coffee. Robin was proving that not only did he know the best places for lunch, coffee and cake but he also again relayed facts, figures and stories of the action and heroism by the Canadian forces on D-Day and beyond.
Our next stop was the recently (2019) completed British War Memorial with its commanding view over Gold Beach and the names of 1746 who died on D-Day alone, along with many others who died in the Battle of Normandy. A truly magnificent memorial, with a spectacular location and well worth a visit.
After a brief lunch our last ports of call were Gold Beach with the impressive remains of its Mulberry Harbour and Longue-sur-Mer. More acts of valour, sacrifice and bravery, including the taking of the four naval guns of the battery at Longue-sur-Mer, were expertly related and brought alive by Robin.
Unfortunately, mechanical troubles beset one of our group whose bike developed a major fuel leak on returning to base. Not a problem though for DS Roadcraft Tours as we set about tracing and repairing the leak. It proved to be a split fuel hose under the tank which was soon fixed and our group would remain at full strength for the rest of the tour.
Relaxing together that evening, with a few bottles of the local cider, it is hard to grasp just how much we had seen, learnt and admired over the last few days. Without Robin we would not have learnt and experienced half as much as we have.
Day 5 - Well all good things must come to an end and today it was time to head back home for us. We still had one last chance to meet up with Robin at Pegasus Bridge where we took in a coffee at the first house to be liberated on D Day, which is run as a café by the daughter of the family that lived there at the time. More stories, more heroes, more acts of valour, more selfless actions and a greater understanding of the events that took place. They even opened the bridge just for us or maybe it was for the yacht that came downriver???
Unfortunately, we now had to say our goodbyes to Robin for this trip; however, we are all in agreement that Robin’s input to the tour was absolutely amazing. In fact, our tour leader was heard to say “I have been visiting Normandy for many years and leading tours here, but I learnt so much more from Robin!”
Merville-Franceville-Plage was our destination for lunch, then after that the coast road to Deauville for coffee. One Normandy Landing Beach we had not yet visited was Sword Beach, but this was swiftly remedied and after a walk along the beach our last supper was held at a local restaurant.
So far, we had been lucky with the weather but this was all about to change. As we checked in to the ferry terminal, the only point where we had to be outside without cover, the heavens opened. As we were at check-in and security, we could not even wear our helmets. Rain, hail and wind soon assaulted us leaving a very soggy group who finally boarded the ferry for the trip home. At least the overnight boat gave us a chance to partially dry our kit ready for a damp, grey and cold trip from Portsmouth back home.
Pleased to say we all arrived home safe, if a little wet, with everyone having had a good time. As they say “We counted them all out and we counted them all back…” We had made new friends, had new experiences and learnt an awful lot about the D Day invasion. We even managed some advanced rider training along the way, a DS Roadcraft Tours speciality. A perfect blend of riding, relaxation, good cuisine and history lessons.
Our heartfelt thanks go to Robin for some great mini tours, for making the days so much more insightful than they would have been and for great restaurant recommendations. We hope that the events relayed here, albeit in brief, (including attempting to remember Robin’s knowledge and expertise!) are historically correct.
If you fancy Normandy DS Roadcraft Tours style, then check out our next trip to Normandy - 24 Sept 2023 to 30 Sept 2023 on the web site.
Next stop for us is Black Forest Germany - 2 to 8 July 2023, so by the time you’re reading this we will be well into Black Forest gateaux, steins of beer and yet more adventures.
