Normandy (1 Viewer)

Chris

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We are going to have a summer holiday in Normandy next Summer.

As its so near we will probably bring a car as well and leave the motorhome on a site for the whole holiday.

As the weather is likely to be iffy I would like some suggestions as to what I must do/see in that region in addition to the D-Day beaches.I have only really driven through it up to now.

Any help greatly appreciated
 

Hollyberry

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IMO, Normandy is best driven through :Sad:

Mont st Michel and Honfleur and pretty but very touristy. Ditto Bayeaux.

There are an awful lot of cows in Normandy, hence a lot of smell of cow sh**.

I was there last May and my abiding memory is the smell......
 
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Chris

Chris

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It wouldn't be my first choice but my ageing Mum and Step Dad now have a motorhome and we thought we would spend a holiday with them. They are a bit nervous about long journeys abroad.

Last June we spent a night on a big site in Deaville - Trouville (sic) and it was very pleasant. The great weather probably helped which I don't expect a repeat of.
 

Carol

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We are going to have a summer holiday in Normandy next Summer.

As its so near we will probably bring a car as well and leave the motorhome on a site for the whole holiday.

As the weather is likely to be iffy I would like some suggestions as to what I must do/see in that region in addition to the D-Day beaches.I have only really driven through it up to now.

Any help greatly appreciated

It wouldn't be my first choice but my ageing Mum and Step Dad now have a motorhome and we thought we would spend a holiday with them. They are a bit nervous about long journeys abroad.

Last June we spent a night on a big site in Deaville - Trouville (sic) and it was very pleasant. The great weather probably helped which I don't expect a repeat of.

Treacle..(ageing mum and dad), indeed, bet in a year they will be giving you a run for your money, get them to join in with fun, bet they are no older than us and a lot more on here, get them to a fun rally talking to a few more of us oldies they will soon get the feel for travel.
Why not venture down the Loire Valley give them more a feel for travel. :Smile:

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Chris

Chris

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Treacle..(ageing mum and dad), indeed, bet in a year they will be giving you a run for your money, get them to join in with fun, bet they are no older than us and a lot more on here, get them to a fun rally talking to a few more of us oldies they will soon get the feel for travel.
Why not venture down the Loire Valley give them more a feel for travel. :Smile:

My Mum can't even send text messages Carol::bigsmile:

Hopefully we can encourage them further south next year:thumb:
 

hilldweller

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Nah. Not keen on Italians.

I'm sure your mum and day would love them.

Lovely people Italians, very non-ageist.

Well your choice, drag them to wet and freezing Normandy ( are you after some inheritance ? ) or immerse them in the mellow joy of warm sunny Italy.

Ask them if they'd object to sharing this table with you.....
 

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stcyr

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:Eeek::Eeek::Eeek::Eeek::Eeek::Eeek::Eeek::Eeek::Eeek::Eeek::Eeek::Eeek::Eeek:

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Chris

Chris

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I'm sure your mum and day would love them.

Lovely people Italians, very non-ageist.

Well your choice, drag them to wet and freezing Normandy ( are you after some inheritance ? ) or immerse them in the mellow joy of warm sunny Italy.

Ask them if they'd object to sharing this table with you.....

Problem is Brian they are nervous. They followed us ( they were tuggers) to the South of France 3 years ago . They bashed their caravan, locked themselves out of their car, and set their alarm off at least 3x per night.

Trust me - Normandy is perfect::bigsmile:
 
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Leave your M/H behind and rent a Cottage, cheaper on the Ferry cheaper on the site fees, got yer car /estate, got summin to get along, get back to, parents have their own bedroom, don't have to listen to you snuffling, groaning,WHATEVER:Doh:

Cooker for Mum to Cook (she will, she wont feel right on your 2/3/4 gas hob)

We go regularly in the off season, w/end here, odd week there, always sail from Plymouth to Roskof.
 

magicsurfbus

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What worries me about Normandy is every postcard shop appears to carry postcards trying to making light of the fact that it rains incessantly. To me that's very poor marketing. Whenever we drive back from the south of France in August the grey skies start as we get to Normandy.

You'd have a lot more fun, variety, and better weather in Charentes-Maritime believe me - only another day's drive away. I could fill a page with recommendations for that part of France - all I can say about Normandy is try Trouville, Deauville and Honfleur, Bayeux's not bad, and avoid Mont St Michel like the plague unless you're seriously into plastic medieval knights, wooden swords and crowds.

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and avoid Mont St Michel like the plague unless you're seriously into plastic medieval knights, wooden swords and crowds.

Got to agree there, once is enough!

But just up the road in Beavios, not quite sure if I got that spelt right is a fantastic Cottage for hire, you can hike off to Cherbourg easily and surrounds, and there is also a fantastic Restaurant serving the Mouton Sel , (sort of salt marsh sheep)
 
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Chris

Chris

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I'm convinced.

I dare say you are wondering if they should be driving at all.

It is crossing my mind.

I will see how it goes and maybe the following year one of us can drive their van. They are talking about trading up so they are keen.

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Tude

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Well I have to disagree mont st michel is spectacular if you havnt been its not bad 2 nd time around.if you like ww2 Normandy is great weather for me always better than uk.some lovely paces le Touquet, le croytoy.st vallery en caux,etap how many more nice places ?? Easy parking cheap parking ?
 

sedge

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OK Treacle, I LOVE Normandy. And Suisse Normand is also excellent, even better scenery than the flat boring bits round Honfleur, Deauville, Trouville area.

It all starts with the excitement of the Pont du Normandie for me, so you have to do that. Forget Norman's little viaduc at Millau. Boring in comparison - hell the Charente bridge at Rochefort is better than that thing! - I'll qualify that by saying, to drive over - rather than from below. Norman's structure is one helluva piece of engineering, that's all. It's boring to drive over. Pete agrees. And he's a flipping engineer.

There's a mad museum in Calvados country that has vintage (french) cars, barrel and fairground organs and a huge selection of automata. Such fun! Near a v large lake, with a beach and so forth and also v near a Calvados distillery I'll have a look at the Michelin roadmap tomorrow (it's in the M/H where it lives) and tell you where and also remind myself of some other must see places.

Bayeux, phillistines. The Aire is orrid but you won't be on the Aire, you'll be in the car. So you can use that carpark as a carpark. You do HAVE to go and see the embroidery, it's compulsory. It's really interesting anyway, and you can actually see eg where someone else has taken over the stitching and say 'I remember her stitchwork from that bit we passed 5 minutes ago' Plus of course, the dicks and things on the edges. Good fun! LOL

And you also have to go to the War Cemetery at Bayeux. The arch. Not saying any more.

It's a lie that it always rains there, much like Manchester's old reputation. It doesn't. But it is incredibly green and the only way places get to be green like that of course, is to have plenty of the wet stuff. If you want guaranteed rain, the only place I've ever been where it always seems to is Merthyr flipping Tydfil TBH ! - and even I know it can't possibly rain every day. Just always when I go.

Bloody good cheese, too, obviously! And butter. Friesian cows LOL

Think Rangi means 'Pre de Sale' lamb. Enjoy on my behalf as Pete hates the smell of lamb cooking or cooked of any description so that means we usually have to give it a wide berth unless it's still on legs saying Baaa. Like it is at Le Crotoy. And Le Crotoy in the car (well, or van) means another compulsory excursion on the Petit Train over to St Valery sur Somme, birthplace of Guillaume le Conquerant. (or was it where he embarqued? whatever - but there's plaques and statues so you'll be able to find out LOL) Great fun!
 
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Chris

Chris

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OK Treacle, I LOVE Normandy. And Suisse Normand is also excellent, even better scenery than the flat boring bits round Honfleur, Deauville, Trouville area.

It all starts with the excitement of the Pont du Normandie for me, so you have to do that. Forget Norman's little viaduc at Millau. Boring in comparison - hell the Charente bridge at Rochefort is better than that thing! - I'll qualify that by saying, to drive over - rather than from below. Norman's structure is one helluva piece of engineering, that's all. It's boring to drive over. Pete agrees. And he's a flipping engineer.

There's a mad museum in Calvados country that has vintage (french) cars, barrel and fairground organs and a huge selection of automata. Such fun! Near a v large lake, with a beach and so forth and also v near a Calvados distillery I'll have a look at the Michelin roadmap tomorrow (it's in the M/H where it lives) and tell you where and also remind myself of some other must see places.

Bayeux, phillistines. The Aire is orrid but you won't be on the Aire, you'll be in the car. So you can use that carpark as a carpark. You do HAVE to go and see the embroidery, it's compulsory. It's really interesting anyway, and you can actually see eg where someone else has taken over the stitching and say 'I remember her stitchwork from that bit we passed 5 minutes ago' Plus of course, the dicks and things on the edges. Good fun! LOL

And you also have to go to the War Cemetery at Bayeux. The arch. Not saying any more.

It's a lie that it always rains there, much like Manchester's old reputation. It doesn't. But it is incredibly green and the only way places get to be green like that of course, is to have plenty of the wet stuff. If you want guaranteed rain, the only place I've ever been where it always seems to is Merthyr flipping Tydfil TBH ! - and even I know it can't possibly rain every day. Just always when I go.

Bloody good cheese, too, obviously! And butter. Friesian cows LOL

Think Rangi means 'Pre de Sale' lamb. Enjoy on my behalf as Pete hates the smell of lamb cooking or cooked of any description so that means we usually have to give it a wide berth unless it's still on legs saying Baaa. Like it is at Le Crotoy. And Le Crotoy in the car (well, or van) means another compulsory excursion on the Petit Train over to St Valery sur Somme, birthplace of Guillaume le Conquerant. (or was it where he embarqued? whatever - but there's plaques and statues so you'll be able to find out LOL) Great fun!

Thank you - that's really helpful:thumb:

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Greyferdicat

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Hi There!

We went to Normandy this year for the second time in 3 years and have to say what a beautiful underated part of the world it is. We stayed at a fantastic site called Camping Le Combier.

http://www.camping-lecolombier.com/en/5/the-normandy-region/

It was a beautiful site with very friendly staff. The surrounding area is gorgeous and the local town of Lisieux with its basillica is deffinately worth a visit even if you are not into religion.

Have a look for yourself.:thumb:
 

sedge

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Right, got the little beggar.

Breuil en Auge, Chateau de Breuil is the one with the distillery and the lake doesn't appear to actually have a name on Google but the (old) D46 Pont l'Eveque to Lisieux road takes you past the lake I'm on about on your left, whereupon a hill goes up to the right away from the lake, and there is (or was!) a Motorhome dealers and next to that is (was) a small road going up to the chateau where the museum is (was) I keep changing the tense because dunno if either are still there!

Chateau de B and the lake are still there LOL

Years ago we were staying at a chambre d'hote at Bonneville le Louvet (which is an absolutely teeny but utterly charming 'brown and white' village) and one day we were going to Bayeux so had come through Pont l'Eveque (which again is charming, just a small town) and being as I was pillion on our Africa Twin I begged to stop, and we pulled into a layby so I could massage some life back into my Rs. There was a black iron rail fence opposite, with a ditto gate and a small notice. As we got halfway down the compulsory fag, because a young couple had earlier stopped on that side of the road and disappeared through the gate, I said I'm crossing over to see what that is. Answer, it's a war cemetery. We'd never visited one and TBH weren't honestly sure if we wanted to. Oh well seeing as we're here ..... incredibly moving and no hype. A beautiful, quiet place - yes I know they all are and all that jazz, but this being in such a quiet place and with no-one else there except ourselves .... well I think the young couple were still there, in fact they had written in the Visitor's book when we eventually went into the chapel before we left. Germans. Made me cry even more then and I'm crying now. We both want to go actually to at least one German cemetery but haven't as yet. It was all such a complete waste of young lives .......

In Cormeilles was a pub. The pub was owned by a bloke who played his guitar and sang in his restaurant. He was actually very good! It was said that some nights he couldn't be arsed to cook but the night we went (after dinner, in case LOL) he had clearlycooked and was entertaining the diners when we arrived. The lady behind the bar invited us to go and sit in the restuarant so we could listen, because we couldn't resist joing in - was quite funny at times - like when he sang Windmills of your Mind in French and we were singing as quietly as we could in English! - he was amused and said 'I'll get you now!' - Michelle, what else!

Just remembered this morning, that holiday we also went to Giverny. Yes it's full of tourist hype and tourists of course! but is actually worth a visit - even mid-week in October so no water lilies were in bloom or the wisteria on t' Chinese bridge LOL. You can actually see past the gifte shoppes etc and realise that they lived very simply. Perhaps everyone did then? Dunno.

If you are stuck for things to do, have a look here ...

Link Removed-

I am an avid collector of touristique brochures wherever I can pick em up and though it drives Pete potty and takes up quite a lot of room - we've been known to visit places we've liked the look of, years after I picked the brochure up! We would have missed soooo many places ...... and frankly we still do in the M/H whereas on the motorbikes we've always chosen to plonk ourselves and explore every other day - that place has a nice name, wonder what's there? Often nowt LOL but there might have been and sometimes it's wonderful !

In any case, even in the smallest places you will find a cup of coffee if nowt else! Always a Bar du Sport complete with PMU sign ..... may be formica tables and fluorescent strip lighting - but the coffee is always GOOD. LOL
 

grumps147

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We stayed here for Honfleur, very pleasant with bus outside into Honfleur Link Removed

We stayed here for the American Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer - Link Removed

The american cemetery has some good audio/visual aids. Excellent parking for motorhome. You can walk down from the cemetery to the beach.

Pegasus Bridge well worth the visit. Parking for motorhome.

Sedge has it right overall, including the emotions raised.

We also visited Monet's Garden in May, again no lily flowering on the lake, but still a fantastic garden with pleanty of colour. Good area for parking motorhome.
 

sedge

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I concur wholeheartedly with Pegasus bridge and we were able to see it raised amd lowered whilst we were there once as a boat came through!

Absolutely fascinating mechanism. Think there's a museum there also? 2 v expensive cafes, both at one side of the bridge about opposite each other. I do recall that ! LOL

Other side of bridge to cafes, there's a sort of park with all kinds of military-type hardware in it and plaques telling the stories. V pleasant to stroll round.
 

JOHNSTEY

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Our fourth glorious year!
Recommend the municipal site at Falaise right under the Castle where ol' bill the conqueror was born.Short walk into war ravaged but still interesting little town.:thumb:

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JohnM

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Got to say Italy for me, stayed in hotel o8,then m/h this year will go back next year.around Aug Sept time.:thumb:
 
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Chris

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How many Italians have you met? Busby

A few hundred I would think. I have visited several times.

In terms of the OP it wasnt a viable option even if I had wanted to return - which I dont.
 

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