Historic Normandy & D Day Landings

The sun shone as we set off to meet our Normandy tour group in mid-May this year. We elected to cross via Le Shuttle for its speed and convenience, and the drive the other side down the Opale Coast was painless. Other members of the group chose other methods of crossing the channel, such as the Brittany Ferry crossing from Portsmouth to Caen, this was a popular choice as our hotel ‘La Ferme de la Ranconniere‘ could be reached in under an hour from the boat. 

Willy's Jeep in Crepon

Our hotel is situated in the quiet village of Crepon, which was full of historic monuments dating back to the 18^th century, if you look hard enough you’ll find an amazing flea market within one of them. Crepon also saw its fair share of World War II action, in fact La Ferme de la Ranconniere was occupied by the Germans for much of the War. A make shift airfield was created just opposite too. No French village would be complete without a local bar and Crepon’s is named ‘The Green Howards’  was particularly nice and just next door to the Green Howards D Day memorial. Our group were particularly pleased when a Willy’s Jeep turned up at the bar and proceeded to give customers in the bar passenger rides around the village!

La Ferme de la Ranconniere could not be more perfect for exploring Normandy and the D Day beaches. Its rose lined courtyards are a peaceful haven to sit and watch the Martins dive bomb to and from their nests.

On night one our group assembled in the evening’s sun soaked courtyard, for traditional French aperatifs of Kir, and the first opportunity to get to know each other. Among our hotels many attributes was its restaurant, our group were offered a varied menu to choose from each evening, the service was great and the wine list was excellent too.

Our first day out on the road was a little different, as we had organised a VIP shuttle to take us around the key sites associated with the D Day landings. First of which was, the recently finished British Memorial, just 10 minutes from the hotel. This site is a must,  extremely laid out and overlooking Sword, Juno and Gold beaches, you can even sea Omaha. Our guide gave us insightful information whist allowing us time to take in the huge sight, he then took us just a short distance to some famous bomb shelters, stormed by the a British soldier. We then drove down to the beach at Asnelles for more fascinating explanation of how the Landings unfolded.

We then drove into the centre of Arromanches, for time to explore this lovely little town before lunch at La Marine, pre-reserved for us. We could not have asked for a more perfect setting in the sunshine for lunch, as we looked out across the bay with a glass of Normandy Cider and some Moules Marinieres. With ice creams consumed after lunch we hopped back into our transport and travelled a short distance down the coast to the Batterie’s at Longue sur Mer. The group agreed that our guide was excellent and the sites visited were very good and that it was nice to be driven for a change!

The following day we did take to our own cars again for a great drive across country, with another interesting World War II site visit included before arriving at Pegasus Bridge. Another important site during the landings and the now infamous café where the service is ‘interesting’ put it this way if you ask for anything other than a black coffee or coffee with milk, god help you! I am just glad I could order in French…Anyway we left refreshed and en route to Honfleur. I confess to this being my first visit to the famous port, which must be one of the most picturesque in France.

The following day the group enjoyed time to themselves to explore the many sites along the coast that interested them. That said, some took the time to go and buy the French delicacies they love to take home with them. Others took the short drive to Bayeux, where it was market day and of course you have the Tapestry exhibition is to explore.

The final night at the hotel was a real celebration of a great week, most chose the ‘Cote de Boeuf’ enjoyed with delicious red wine from Burgundy. We can’t wait to go back to the Northern coast of France, next time we would like to enjoy some of Brittany too.