We finished our first overseas motorhome excursion by returning to Le Havre via the Normandy beaches. B’s father had been there on the second day, as a medic, picking up the pieces. As with many who saw things you should never have to see, he never spoke about it and B didn’t even know he was there until an Uncle told him after his father had died. A poignant and sad part of our trip, but important.
We arrived at the coast at a place called Port-en-Bessin-Huppain – a very long name for a small place with a small harbour and a Napoleonic gun emplacement on the hill above. Bizarrely there was a replica Viking longboat in the harbour, complete with crew all in period dress selling their wares at a number of adjacent market stalls.
Not your average craft
We were once more too late for lunch and so had an ice cream before moving along the coast to the location of a number of preserved WW2 gun emplacements. B was interested in the number of German voices we heard as we walked round, as well as seeing some Japanese tourists. It is reassuring to know that we all still wish to remember what happened, I only wish the world would truly learn from it.
A large gun
We then drove on right through Arromanches-les-Bains and up onto the clifftop above where there is a large windswept aire and car park affording stunning views out across the water to the remains of the mulberry harbour. We walked back down the hill to look at the beach. We found a bar where we could sit outside with a beer and drink to B’s father and all those other men who fought for those beaches, and consider the juxtaposition of the families with children happily playing amongst the wreckage of the harbour sections
The following morning we woke to a stunning sunrise reflecting on a millpond sea, it was one of those special moments. We then followed the coastal route to Honfleur via coffee (on time!) in St. Aubin sur Mer. We then walked along the promenade for about half a mile, taking photos of the lovely grand seaside houses. It appeared you could walk for miles as one town merges into the next one. We drove a few miles and stopped again looking for lunch (at lunchtime) and managed to sit outside for a very disappointing (chewy) meal in Hermanville sur Mer. How odd to have a town here with what I consider a German name in it, given the history of the area.
We went on via Deauville to Honfleur, rejected the enormous aire at the edge of the town and found a campsite at Fiquefleur Equaville where we stayed our last 2 nights before leaving for Le Havre. More manicured hedges delineating the grass pitches and lots of trees dotted about. We ended up next to another English couple with the same scooter as Kymi, but theirs was mounted on the back of their van rather than in a garage – the first time we had seen that arrangement.
We went to Honfleur the next morning for coffee and paid far too much for it. Honfleur is undeniably picturesque, in a very dark way – many of the buildings are either dark stained wood or faced with grey tiles, but we felt that they were overdoing the compulsory fleecing of tourists who wish to drink their coffee by the harbour to take in the view and ambience. So we walked around the port and viewed the oldest wooden church in Europe with its separate bell tower, before deciding to take our Euros elsewhere for lunch.
Honfleur port
The wooden church and belltower
In the end we back tracked to Deauville which has many pretty half timbered buildings where the timber struts have been painted in different pastel shades giving a much lighter ambience than Honfleur. It also felt less impressed with itself and the restaurant prices were much more reasonable. I finally had moules et frites, but no cider as I had to be alert to navigate us back to the campsite and falling off the back of a scooter is never a good look….