Channel Hopping

Friday 30th October

Hello Again

From Villers Sur Mer we carried on around the Normandy Coast visiting the D-Day beaches of Juno Beach & Sword Beach then drove further up to Gold Beach or Courseulles. The D-Day landings were the largest military operation in history. Early on 6th June 1944 (WW2) the allied troops stormed ashore along the 80km stretch of beaches – this then resulted in the Battle of Normandy and the re-occupation of allies on the French soil. We also visited a 360 degree cinema showing original footage and photographs of the landings on the Normandy beaches, in Arromanches. We also saw the remnants of the makeshift harbor at Port Winston.
We stayed by the beach at Courseulles and walked into the village and bought some fresh scallops and oysters and cooked them up for tea in the camper…..oysters were great…big and juicy…scallops were good but not quite as sweet as the ones from Marlborough Sounds.
We also spent a couple of days having a look at the top of the Normandy Coast and went to Cap de la Hague, the point where the Altantic Ocean and the English Channel meet. A very rugged rough coast line which we had a great walk around or should I say were blown around!!
After a final grocery shop of the great French food we headed to Cherbourg to board our ferry to Portsmouth….we didn’t have to worry about being late….it seemed that the clocks had changed for daylight saving to end a couple of days before and we were oblivious to it, so after a bit of a laugh and an extra hour wait, a six hour ferry ride we were back in the UK. Driving on the correct side of the road again took a bit of getting use to but great to be able to read and understand the road signs, things we are buying the supermarket and of course being able to converse with most people. Hard to believe that we had six months in Europe! Off the ferry at 4.30am and then found a quiet carpark to sleep for a few more hours.
We have spent the last five days around the Devon and Cornwall Coasts. Seeing places such as Weymouth, Plymouth, Penzance, Lands End and St Michaels Mont. We also had a great visit to Polperro – an old fishing village with a natural harbor that you walk about 1.5km down to – we could have taken the horse and cart but needed the walk. The town is full of very narrow lanes which are lined with café’s and shops selling all the gear for crabbing – a popular thing to do here. We walked around the cliff top and got some great views out to sea as well as over the village. We enjoyed a Devonshire Tea and Cornish Pasty here – hence why we needed the walk!!
We are now at Padstow on the west coast of Cornwall – the time is 4.45pm and it is almost dark here !! We are probably heading towards Stonehenge tomorrow and will find somewhere to stay near a village pub as it is Halloween and it looks like everyone here celebrates it.

Until next time…..