NORMANDY

TOUR 24: GREAT RIDES
Beautiful, peaceful beaches
haven’t always been so tranquil.
Main pic: The coast-hugging run
from Cherbourg to Barfleur
NORMANDY
COASTAL
TOUR
Beautiful beaches,
lovely roads and the
weight of history await
you after a short hop
across La Manche
Words Jim Blackstock
Pictures James Archibald
Overnight ferry crossing:
dump bags in the cabin
and straight to the bar
Café de France in Barfleur – great coffee
FLOATING ALONG IN Normandy, next
to an empty ribbon of golden sand
sloping gently down to the ebbing sea,
you would never imagine that we are
just a handful of hours from British
soil. This part of France is delightful in
its changing nature but it carries the
weight of history too; these beaches
formed the landing points of Operation Overlord. It’s
better known to all of us as D-Day – June 6 1944, the day
the allied forces invaded mainland France in what was
the beginning of the end of the Second World War.
Commemorations to the sacrifice and bravery of those
who took part is everywhere and makes this a deeply
poignant, as well as enjoyable, one-day tour.
We roll off the ferry in Cherbourg at 0800 local time,
having had a night’s sleep, a shower and a decent fry-up
to fuel us for the ride ahead. We’ve checked the weather
forecast and it looks like we may be able to make at least
the first part of our run in dry conditions, before
stopping and hiding from the passing rain in a cafe. So
we head east from the port, towards the little fishing
village of Barfleur on the tip of the Cherbourg peninsula.
Immediately, the road inspires – and despite the
looming darkness over our shoulders, smiles are
involuntary. The road tracks the coastline and before
long, we’re cutting through rocks and rounding a tiny
cove that would entice us for a paddle if the weather
were better. However, we continue and again head left to
avoid the larger road, gently flowing through countryside
and open fields, the damp tarmac inviting us to settle
into a smooth, early-morning rhythm.
After passing numerous campsites and farms (and
campsites on farms), the sea springs into view again and
as the rain begins to fall. We head into Barfleur and
make a beeline for the Café de France, with its outdoor
tables covered by a picture-postcard striped canopy. It's
the perfect spot for second breakfast, Well, you can't
come all this way and not have a proper croissant with
a café au lait, can you?
When the rain has passed, we saddle up again and
head south on the D1 towards Reville, where we
encounter a particularly satisfying set of bends,
albeit through a tiny hamlet. We carry on the D1,
a delightfully smooth ribbon of tarmac that
snakes its way through the sleepy
countryside, occasionally slowing for
hamlets or villages, before we burst
onto the D328 - a different
proposition altogether.
Narrower and twistier than
the D1 yet just as much fun,
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FEATURE TOUR 24: TITLE GREAT HJKHJKHJKHJK
RIDES
The Field Kitchen – odd but charming.
Below: Omaha Beach
There’s even scope for a bit of slippery fun
we arrive at the junction with the larger D902, grinning
as we endure the larger road through Quettehou and
south towards the first of the infamous D-Day beaches.
The D14 is another wide, flowing road through the
wooded areas of the peninsula and a joy to ride until we
turn left and head directly for the sea. We pass low-lying
houses before emerging from Quineville, where a sign
tells us we have hit the first of the beaches, Utah. We pull
over to take in the view, a vast expanse of sand and sky
to the left and a golf course to the right.
It seems a strange juxtaposition; sacrifice and
unimaginable bravery on one side and, on the other,
a good walk spoiled.
We carry on for a while until the road ambles inland
before turning back out. There is a huge museum farther
down the beach but we continue inland, because we
want to have lunch in Sainte-Mère-Église, the first
village to be liberated in Operation Overlord. So we pick
up the D15, a narrow, sinuous riot of a ride to the main
town, where the remains of a market is closing up.
The focal point of St Mère is the effigy of American
paratrooper John Steele whose parachute got caught on
the steeple of the church in the main square on June 6
1944. Everywhere you look, there are monuments,
testimonies and museums dedicated to that incredible
operation. We take lunch at the Field Kitchen, which has
Top left:
Less-busy
D-roads offer
great riding fun
Above: Around
here, you’ll never
be very far from a
US Sherman tank
‘A sign tells us we
have hit the first of
the beaches – Utah’
been set up in a garden to resemble a... well, you know.
We go for the sharing platter and it’s a monster.
We get back on our way, knowing the next section is
a means to an end. A short blast on the N13 dual
carriageway takes us over the Carentan canal and the
river Vire to Osmanville, where we peel off and head
back out to the coastline for the run through the other
four beaches that comprised the landing area for D-Day;
Omaha (like Utah, this was where US troops landed),
Gold (British), Juno (Canadian) and Sword (British).
The road out towards the Pointe du Hoc is lovely but
it’s beginning to get busy now so we can’t enjoy it to its
full. However, there is so much history that it seems
Looking out over Sword
beach towards Ouistreham
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TOUR 24: GREAT RIDES
KTM 790 Adventure
was the perfect steed
for this ride – capable,
comfortable and fun
Sweeping tarmac
runs alongside
myriad pretty coves
and beaches
German gun emplacements at
Longues-sur-Mer stop you in your tracks
‘We pick up the D15, a sinuous
riot of a ride to the main town’
THREE GREAT PLACES TO EAT
Café de France, Barfleur
A short ride from the ferry port in Cherbourg,
this archetypal French cafe sits next to the
harbour and jetty at Barfleur so you can
watch the fishing boats come and go while
enjoying lovely coffee and a perfect French
breakfast; croissant and baguette with
unsalted butter and jam.
facebook.com/jacques.gaelle50
Arromanches
You probably won’t be ready for a meal
when you fetch up here, but it’s a good
place to stop and have an ice-cream while
looking out over the beach to the remains of
the Mulberry harbour. Compagnie des
Glaces has some lovely rich ice-cream in
loads of flavours but the dark chocolate is
superb. fr.restaurantguru.com
The Field Kitchen,
Sainte Mère Église
This military-field-kitchen-themed bar/cafe on
the main square in St Mère is an odd experience!
But it has an extensive drinks menu and the
sharing platter is more than enough for two
weary motorcyclists; cold meats, cheese and
bread. Only open for a few weeks in the summer,
it’s worth seeking out. thefieldkitchen.fr/en/
almost disrespectful to even consider overtaking or
pushing on, so we just go with the flow and take in the
atmosphere that surrounds us.
We head left at Vierville-sur-Mer and are almost
instantly at Omaha Beach, as depicted in the harrowing
opening sequence to Saving Private Ryan (although that
part of the movie was actually filmed in Ireland). Today, it
is a tranquil beach road, with houses immediately
bordering it and hills rising behind. On that June morning
in 1944, it was the most lethal spot in the Normandy
landings. The passage of time has had a profound effect
on this place, although the memory of so much sacrifice
remains, like a faint shadow in hazy sunlight.
We continue eastwards, now rolling along with a
steady train of traffic before we stop at the German
artillery battery at Longues-sur-Mer. In this corner of
While the
topography
is mainly flat,
you get the
occassional
feature that
makes you want
to stop and look
Normandy, there are countless scars to paint a picture of
the landings and subsequent battles that heralded the
beginning of the end of the war – but few are as sinister
as the vast guns here that were pointed towards the
approaching allied forces.
We ride into in Arromanches-les-Bains, the town
where the British built one of the two engineering
masterpieces that were the Mulberry Harbours; each
formed of huge concrete and steel floating blocks to
unload equipment and vehicles from transport ships
once the beachheads had been secured.
It’s a strange place; cheesy gift shops sit incongruously
alongside sober museums and memorials, all in sight
of numerous left-over pontoons used the create the
harbour, either accessible at low tide on the beach or
further out to sea. It’s also very busy so, after a quick
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TOUR 24: GREAT RIDES
THE ROUTE
Best for An enjoyable and varied ride through the scene of one
of recent history’s most important events.
Length 110 miles.
Route Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, Barfleur, Quettehou, Grande
Hameau des Dunes, Sainte Mère Église, Osmanville, Grandcamp
Maisy, Longues-sur-Mer, Arromanches-les-Bains, Courseullessur-Mer,
Lion-sur-Mer, Bénouville.
Roads D116, D1, D902, D14, D15, N13, D514, Rue de la Mer, D35.
Love it because it’s so
easy to get to if you’re
within reasonable travelling
distance of the ferry – you
can leave home on Friday
night and be home by
Sunday lunchtime.
Take a picture at the head
of Omaha Beach; it’s almost
impossible to imagine the
horror that took place there.
Stop for a cuppa at the
Hotel de la Marine in
Arromanches. They do lovely
seafood, and the bar has
outside seating with a fine
view over the remains of
the harbour.
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TOP TIP
For fans of Band of Brothers,
there’s a memorial to Major
Richard Winters (of Easy
Company) along the
causeway to Utah beach.
ice-cream, we carry on and head for Sword Beach, the
most easterly of the five.
We float through Courseulles-sur-Mer, one of the few
towns where we’ve seen buildings taller than two
storeys since we got off the ferry. Over the canal and
out the other side, we continue past Juno Beach and
approach Sword. As we enter Lion-sur Mer, we have to
ride through residential streets to get to the beach on the
outskirts of Ouistreham. And, not for the first time, we’re
struck by the extreme contrast between what took place
here in 1944, and the sight today of carefree children
building sandcastles, teenagers preening and parents
trying to apply sunscreen.
We head south, east towards the end of our tour;
Pegasus Bridge, where the first shots of Operation
Overlord were fired by British commandos who landed
by glider in the very early hours of June 6. The D35 takes
us across farmland on our final blast of French tarmac
before we arrive at Pegasus Bridge, spanning the Caen
canal at Bénouville. The original bridge was replaced in
1994 but the current one is reminiscent of it; an imposing
steel structure that marks the end of our ride. The
original bridge is in a museum and is well worth a visit.
It’s been an enjoyable, illuminating and ultimately
emotional tour. It seems at times a little glib to be riding
through this much history but that’s exactly the point;
we’re able to do this because of sacrifices made barely
two generations ago.
Top: Pegasus
Bridge, the end
of our ride and
scene of the first
shots fired in
Operation
Overlord.
HOW TO GET
THERE
Getting to Cherbourg is
easy; Brittany Ferries runs
three sailings a day each
way and we took the
overnight crossing from
Portsmouth. It’s a very
civilised affair; we boarded
at 2230 for a 2315 sailing, arriving in Cherbourg at
0800 local time. We had time for a quick bite and a
beer before crashing out in a superbly comfortable
two-berth cabin.
The return journey to Portsmouth logically sees
you get on the ferry at Caen, just up the road from
Pegasus Bridge. You can go for one of the six-hour
daytime crossings or the longer, eight-hour
overnighter with a cabin, which arrives at 0615. The
cost for an outbound overnight trip on Wednesday
August 21 this year, returning on an overnight
crossing on Thursday August 22 is £616, for two
riders on two motorcycles sharing a two-person
cabin on each crossing. These prices are correct at
time of writing, using ‘Early Bird’ fares.
brittany-ferries.co.uk
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