NORMANDY 50 YEARS ON

John Powell

In 1993 Dorothy and John Powell visited Normandy in a campervan. The trip was partly nostalgic and partly gastronomic. Although John’s vivid account records what happened ten years ago, the places are still the same, and the countryside and its distinctive fare remain as they were. The changes will be in the traffic, the population, and the prices – and the currency.

What a difference fifty years makes! A luxury ferry will now carry you from Portsmouth to Ouistreham in a few hours. You can then drive round Caen and be in the heart of Normandy, William the Conquerer’s birthplace, Falaise, in just another couple of hours. Crossing from Gosport to the Normandy beaches in 1944 in a flat-bottomed landing craft took eighteen storm-tossed hours and the push to Falaise occupied eight long weeks. Mind you, nowadays we don’t have to struggle with massed SS and Panzer divisions. The we slept, cooked and ate inside or beside the tank but this time we had the comfort of a campervan. Made in Germany! As somebody recently said, “It’s a funny old world.”

The carnage and destruction of 1944 have left few marks. The invasion beaches west from Ouistreham have their memorials. Caen and Bayeux have their war museums, but otherwise you have to seek out the lonely war cemeteries and monuments. Some surviving buildings and walls show battle scars, but the most striking thing about the area is its vibrant modern development – fast multi-lane highways and neat new towns. The ruin that was Caen is now a thriving industrial city stretching deeply into the countryside. Luckily one only has to turn off any main road to find the timeless countryside that has enchanted visitors for years.

The Calvados region of Normandy can’t be fully enjoyed in a single drive. Besides it would be a pity to miss so much of what is, after all, part of our heritage. Why not explore it in two or three bites, using a different campsite for each area? Immediately after leaving the ferry plenty of sites are close by. Near at hand is ‘Les Hautes Coutures’ just off the main Ouistreham-Caen road D 514 at Benouville, very near the famous Pegasus Bridge. ‘Hautes Coutures’ has good modern facilities including a heated swimming pool, tennis courts and a well-stocked bar/shop with very reasonably priced takeaways. The plots are large although many slope slightly down to the Ouistreham-Caen ship canal. Boat trips, fishing and boating are available, and the tow-path is very popular with cyclists.

Other sites convenient for the ferry are nearby ‘Camping des Salins’ at Colleville-Montgomery, on the coast road only five minutes west of the ferry port, and then there is an excellent Camping Municipal ‘Le Point du Jour’ at Merville-Franceville Plage, across the Pegasus Bridge and just off the D 514 about 5 miles on.

While in the invasion beach area it would be a shame not to have a look at one or two of the interesting small museums, such as that at Sword Beach, and perhaps visit the nearby British war cemetery at Hermanville-sur-Mer, off the coast on D 60. The drive along the coast road D 514 west of Ouistreham has many modest little resorts with attractive sandy beaches such as Courseulles with its oysters and Arromanches with its remnants of Mulberry harbour. There are plenty of cheapish restaurants specialising in local seafood so the invasion beach explorer need never go hungry!

But the eastward bound D 514 across the River Orne is quite a different kettle of fish. Popular Merville-Franceville, a lively little summer resort with splendid sands, has one hotel-restaurant that shouldn’t be missed if the budget will stretch to it: ‘Chez Marion’, just behind the Information Bureau. Here the 150 franc menu will provide you with a superb meal served with some style; even if you try nothing else do sample a seafood platter – one platter is ample for two people and is an experience not to be missed. We watched one ample French lady spend over an hour stripping her platter down to empty shells and seaweed!

As you drive further east along D 514 the coastal resorts get more and more select, not to say toffee-nosed. Cabourg could teach Frinton-on-Sea a trick or two, and Deauville rivals Cannes for chic – and cost. Be warned, they don’t call it ‘Paris by the sea’ for nothing. Still, it’s nice to see how the other half lives.

Turn inland from the Cabourg-Deauville road to investigate the heart of the Pays d’Auge; cider, cream and cheese country, all timbered farmhouses and contented cows chewing the cud in peaceful orchards. The ‘Route de Cidre’ circuit was little touched by the war, and still seems unspoiled by modern life. While in the area you owe it to yourself to try the local cidre bouche with a dish of chicken breast or veal escalope cooked ‘vallee d’auge’ style – in cider, cream, and Calvados – then round it off with a measure of old (hors d’age) Calvados. But unless your purse is deep I suggest you avoid looking at he tempting menu outside the beautiful ‘Le Pave d’Auge’ restaurant in the lovely timbered village of Beuvron-en-Auge – but don’t miss the village itself. For a typical but more modest meal try the Hotel Normande in Dozule: a bottle of local farmhouse cider with your meal will cost 4 pounds, but is well worth it. If you decide to have a picnic instead just stop at any farm showing the ‘cidre’ sign and buy a bottle for half that price. Delicious!

The cheeses made in this area are too well-known to need description but until you have tried the local Camembert, Pave d’Auge, Pont l’Eveque or Petit Suisse you haven’t lived. Apple tarts, tripe a la mode de Caen and fish dishes are all very special in the Calvados region. The delicatessen or charcuterie shops and the supermarket counters offer a wealth of takeaway and picnic foods, some familiar, some unusual, but all delicious. The potted meat or rillettes go down particularly well with a fresh baguette, washed down with a glass or two of farm cider!

If you don’t mind busy cities have a look round Caen, but I warn you, the traffic can be horrific. The remains of the chateau houses two museums, one on Norman history and the other an excellent art gallery. The Caen Memorial on the Bayeux road, going north on Avenue Marshal Montgomery, has an impressive war museum, the ‘Museum for Peace’. But you have to follow the prescribed itinerary, and as the visit requires at least two hours we opted out. The war museum at Bayeux is worth a visit as it can be combined with a look at the Bayeux tapestry – a little souvenir of a reverse invasion almost a thousand years ago!

After exploring the area around Caen we decided to make tracks for that pretty area 20 miles south known as ‘Suisse Normande’. To avoid busy Caen one can take an eastern route by crossing the Pegasus bridge and following the D 37 to Argences ( this has a great country market on Thursdays) and on to Falaise through miles of flat fertile grain-fields punctuated by pleasant little villages.

Falaise itself suffered severely from being the northern jaw of the pincers which crushed the German Army of the West in August 1944. It has risen from its devastation to become an attractive modern town with a picturesque ruined castle housing a war museum, a magnificent statue of its most famous son William the Conqueror, and some brilliant shops. The recommended campsite, ‘Municipal de Chateau’ is just west of the town near the ‘Fontaine d’Arlette’ where William’s father, the Duke Robert, spotted the lovely laundress, Arlette, doing her washing and made his overtures to her. The rest, as they say, is history.

We chose to by-pass Caen on the western side passing through rebuilt villages like St Manvieu, Cheux, and Maltot, all scenes of bitter fighting in June and July 1944. Our tank brigade, supporting Scottish and West Country infantry, battled for weeks against Panther and Tiger tanks, SS troops and the fanatical Hitler Youth Division before finally crushing their resistance and sweeping on to Falaise.

Casualties were high, so every village corner has sad associations and the British war cemeteries hold many familiar names. But nowadays the road to Thury-Harcourt and on to our destination, Pont d’Ouilly, is really peaceful with picturesque hills, streams and woodlands around every corner. No more worrying about what could be concealed behind each hedge!

Suisse Normande is a rather optimistic name for the area around Falaise and Thury-Harcourt, but compared with the prairie-like land further north one can appreciate the comparison. The wooded hills rise to about 1,000 ft., encouraging hang-gliding from the crests around the ‘Pain de Sucre’. Pretty rivers and streams have cut picturesque gorges which at weekends become venues for ramblers and water-sport enthusiasts. It is altogether a captivating tourist area with all the amenities that go with such activities.

Pont d’Ouilly is a good centre and has a pleasant two-star municipal campsite on the Flers road beside the river, where I am assured fish can be taken. It also has the modest but welcoming hotel-restaurant ‘Commerce’ in the main square which provides above-average meals at below-average prices.

Thury-Harcourt is a bit bigger and smarter and has two good campsites, while a little to the west Conde-sur-Noireau has a small municipal camp. We think Pont d’Ouilly has the edge in terms of situation and amenities. Have a look and see what you think.

If you need a change from rambling round the immediate neighbourhood or going boating on the orne try meandering slowly down the Gorges de St Aubert to Putanges; a delightful twenty-five kilometre drive along the Orne valley. Putanges is well-provided with cheapish restaurants. But if you decide to picnic do visit the ‘Maison de Fromage’ on the southern outskirts of Flers (D 962, west side of road, parking bays opposite) to sample some of their superb cheeses. Highly recommended!

A bit further on, but as M. Michelin might say, “Well worth the journey”, are Domfront and Bagnoles de L’Orne. The latter is a rather smart but very pleasant spa town – a bit like Bath – with a couple of campsites, a nice lake and park and some very classy restaurants. Domfront has the advantage of a very picturesque site and splendid views but no campsite worth mentioning. That didn’t stop Thomas a Becket staying here for Christmas in 1166!

It was around here that our little exploration of the Calvados region of Normandy stopped, but you may well wish to keep going. There is so much more to enjoy further east up to the N 138 Alencon-Rouen road or north around the Seine valley, and in Rouen itself with all its Joan of Arc associations. Normandy in the 90s certainly offers a warmer welcome than it did in 1944, so given half way decent weather you’ll really enjoy it. After all, since 1066 many of us have had a bit of Norman blood in our veins, so it’s just like visiting relatives!