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Thursday May 11th 2017
After only limited planning, especially when compared to an Alpine Tour, Chris, Nick and Hugo (aka Chris Sullivan) were ready to tour... Chris had a minor problem to overcome. A few days before the tour was planned a mindless idiot attempted to steel his Triumph Tiger Explorer XRT from outside his house. Thankfully the Triumph's immobiliser proved too sophisticated for the thieving scum, however, all the wires to the ignition were ripped out and the bike needed full recovery to Jack Lilley and some serious attention before Chris could ride it again. Luckily for Chris his generous neighbour Martin lent him his Triumph Tiger 800 XRX. The rendevouz, as per Passport Tours tradition, was Maidstone Services. We all turned up on time and grabbed a 'healthy' MacDonalds breakfast and a strong Costa coffee to set us up for the ride. The ride down to the Channel Tunnel was uneventful and we all boarded the train successfully. The 30 minute journey over allowed us a little time to plan; at a high level anyway! Rather more thorough planning could have saved us some time later on! Anyway the plan as it was - ride to Honfleur and grab lunch, head down the coast and see all the WWII memorials, cemeteries and museums we could fit in. Find a good hotel to overnight, ride back bagging more WWII action and return home. On arrival in Calais we took the A16, A28 and A29 towards La Havre. In typical French tradition these were quiet and perfectly surfaced autoroutes. We and the bikes made good progress with little, indeed no complaint. Hugo was mildly... |
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anxious as his Ducati Multistrada Pikes Peak kept advising him he was about to run out of fuel - something that would be a feature of the tour and nearly caused us to miss our homeward train! Just before arriving at La Havre we took the stunning road bridge over the Seine to Honfleur where we stopped for a rest and lunch.
We parked the bikes near the Port de Honfleur and found a delightful brasserie - La Grenouille.
After lunch we set out to the beaches. Sadly due to our lack of planning we thought that they would be a short 10 - 15 minute ride away. In fact they weren't. After half an hour riding we arrived at Deauville and then made our way along the coast road expecting to come across loads of WWII memorial action! Unfortunately we did not. Instead after 15 or 20 mins we arrived in Villers-sur-Mer. Here we stopped at the local Office de Tourism to get some proper information and establish where we were and what we were actually going to visit.
Now confident with WWII sites maps in our hands we plugged in the nearest cemetery and hopped back on the bikes. Garmin, on Hugo's Ducati advised that this was only about 7 miles away. However, that is as the crow flies and we had set off before the full route became apparent. In short we had to ride south a long way to get to the first crossing of the river Orne. It would then be a long ride back up to the coast to get to the supposedly close cemetery!
Once we arrived we realised that this was in fact Pegasus Bridge and so we stopped at the Bridge Museum. We don't think any of us knew what to expect and all of us were amazed at the quality of the exhibitions and the astonishing ingenuity shown by the Allies and their incredible bravery. What impressed us most about the Pegasus Bridge museum were the gliders used to land the British soldiers in France. The soldiers in them must have been very brave as the gliders were nothing more than wooden cabins with very large wings. They largely seemed to have crash landed along the French coast but very few were lost. Also Nick (Bailey) liked the Bailey bridges deployed to cross the Orne...
After a good wander around we decided that we should head for a hotel and selected the Omaha Beach Hotel. This took nearly an hour to reach and as we arrived it started to rain so we headed in for the evening and called it a day.
We were slightly frustrated that we had not managed to find more sights but we had enjoyed the bikes, the ride and each other's company, so all in all a good first day. The hotel was pleasant and we had a fulsome dinner in the restaurant followed by a walk around the grounds before hitting the sack.
Friday May 12th 2017
We woke up to a bright sunny morning and had an early breakfast followed by a speedy get away to make the most of the fine weather. The forecast was for much worse to come! We made the short ride down to Omaha beach immediately arriving at the main memorials on the beach. It was very poignant and walking down to the sea and looking back up to the cliffs we wondered how it was ever possible to successfully attack the German positions there; first landing amongst all the shell fire with fighter aircraft constantly attacking and then trying get out of the boats and on to the beach with heavy equipment and wading deep in the water with full military gear on. After that and whilst still soaked, and no doubt cold, trying to run up the soft sand towards the gun encampments admist constant fire and artillery bombardment! Incredible. Thank goodness we have not had to do anything like that in our lifetimes.
From there we rode a little further East to a gun encampment memorial in Omaha. Climbing up to the position really made us realise the bravery and determination of the troops. Tragically a lot of Americans died in the assault but thankfully it was successful.
Next stop was the beautiful and moving American Military Cemetery. From entry in to the car park everything was immaculate and beautifully maintained. Sadly today's security issues meant queuing to get through airport like security before entering. The first is a museum building with a beautiful minimalist water feature over looking Omaha beach. Downstairs the museum continued but given time and the fact the weather was looking more threatening ever minute we headed out to access the cemetery proper. A short walk through beautiful gardens along the cliff edge to another memorial and viewpoint take you through magnificent wooded gardens. This perspective from up high further drilled in the enormity of the allied task - attacking a well fortified cliff top position!
On entering the lawned cemetery we were faced with line after line of stark white marble crosses. Perfectly laid out, completely symmetrical with the grass perfectly mown. Poignantly the odd red or white rose was laid at the foot of some of the crosses where people have been to pay their respects. Most have the names of the soldiers but sadly many are designated 'known unto God'. It was almost overwhelming and for a long time we walked slowly through the crosses in complete silence. We then walked over to the many beautiful memorial buildings, statues and fountains and marvelled at the thoughtfulness and grace of the cemetery before heading back to the bikes. Chris' description cannot begin to explain the wonder of visiting the cemetery nor describe the heroism of all involved in the allied campaign at the D-Day Beaches. We strongly recommend you visit yourselves to experience it directly.
Our plan from here was to ride down the coast rode towards Swords beach, the most easterly, and then head back to Blightly. It was a pleasant ride with many incredible sights along the way. Sadly we had little time to stop and take them in. After Juno beach we headed south to Hemanville-Sur-Mer to visit the British cemetery. The contrast was striking. We arrived at a tiny gate where we parked up the bikes and wandered through the unattended gate in to what resembled a village graveyard. There had been some recent replanting of shrubs and bushes around the statue at the entrance and the graves themselves were well tended with beautiful flowers at the foot of every one. There was a small chapel-like shelter at the end of the field and in a small copper recess was a folder with the names of all the soldiers buried. Yes there were many fewer soldiers here - circa 3,000 versus the 19,000 at the American cemetery, however, there was a clear difference in the budget available to look after the cemetery. We spent some time wandering around, and after getting over the stark contrast with the Omaha beach cemetery, were able to appreciate the beauty, peace and tranquility we found at Hermanville...
Now under some time pressure to head home we grabbed a quick steak frite / plat du jour at a local brasserie and then rode straight back up the autoroutes to Calais. The rain started but luckily good quality bikes and motorcycle gear kept us nice and dry. The only excitement we had was Hugo's bike giving him constant warnings he was about to run out of fuel. We pushed on as far as we dared but seeing a petrol station and with Chris' bike starting to get toward 50 miles of fuel left we felt we shouldn't risk going further. All was good until we left the garage to find that we couldn't get back on to our autoroute and had to take a significant diversion in the wrong direction! We then raced on towards Calais anxious we would miss our slot but thankfully we made it with minutes to go. No time to visit the terminal buildings and directly on to the train. During the many security/passport checks Hugo learned the silliness that can be had with Sena comms whilst one is trying to talk to someone else with your helmet on! That story is one to be told though not written about!
Departing Le Shuttle in Folkstone we said our goodbyes whilst re-fueling and then headed up the M20 homeward. We lost Hugo in the traffic and thinking no more of it headed home. We didn't hear anything from him for some time and texted to check all was well. Alas not - he had terrible food poisoning and had gone to bed feeling dreadful as soon as he arrived home. Being Hugo though he bounced back quickly and didn't miss the weekend's golfing activities with his family.
All in all a superb albeit short tour. If we were to do it again we would add another day and take more time to enjoy the museums, cemeteries and memorials. And we'd do some proper planning!
We parked the bikes near the Port de Honfleur and found a delightful brasserie - La Grenouille.
After lunch we set out to the beaches. Sadly due to our lack of planning we thought that they would be a short 10 - 15 minute ride away. In fact they weren't. After half an hour riding we arrived at Deauville and then made our way along the coast road expecting to come across loads of WWII memorial action! Unfortunately we did not. Instead after 15 or 20 mins we arrived in Villers-sur-Mer. Here we stopped at the local Office de Tourism to get some proper information and establish where we were and what we were actually going to visit.
Now confident with WWII sites maps in our hands we plugged in the nearest cemetery and hopped back on the bikes. Garmin, on Hugo's Ducati advised that this was only about 7 miles away. However, that is as the crow flies and we had set off before the full route became apparent. In short we had to ride south a long way to get to the first crossing of the river Orne. It would then be a long ride back up to the coast to get to the supposedly close cemetery!
Once we arrived we realised that this was in fact Pegasus Bridge and so we stopped at the Bridge Museum. We don't think any of us knew what to expect and all of us were amazed at the quality of the exhibitions and the astonishing ingenuity shown by the Allies and their incredible bravery. What impressed us most about the Pegasus Bridge museum were the gliders used to land the British soldiers in France. The soldiers in them must have been very brave as the gliders were nothing more than wooden cabins with very large wings. They largely seemed to have crash landed along the French coast but very few were lost. Also Nick (Bailey) liked the Bailey bridges deployed to cross the Orne...
After a good wander around we decided that we should head for a hotel and selected the Omaha Beach Hotel. This took nearly an hour to reach and as we arrived it started to rain so we headed in for the evening and called it a day.
We were slightly frustrated that we had not managed to find more sights but we had enjoyed the bikes, the ride and each other's company, so all in all a good first day. The hotel was pleasant and we had a fulsome dinner in the restaurant followed by a walk around the grounds before hitting the sack.
Friday May 12th 2017
We woke up to a bright sunny morning and had an early breakfast followed by a speedy get away to make the most of the fine weather. The forecast was for much worse to come! We made the short ride down to Omaha beach immediately arriving at the main memorials on the beach. It was very poignant and walking down to the sea and looking back up to the cliffs we wondered how it was ever possible to successfully attack the German positions there; first landing amongst all the shell fire with fighter aircraft constantly attacking and then trying get out of the boats and on to the beach with heavy equipment and wading deep in the water with full military gear on. After that and whilst still soaked, and no doubt cold, trying to run up the soft sand towards the gun encampments admist constant fire and artillery bombardment! Incredible. Thank goodness we have not had to do anything like that in our lifetimes.
From there we rode a little further East to a gun encampment memorial in Omaha. Climbing up to the position really made us realise the bravery and determination of the troops. Tragically a lot of Americans died in the assault but thankfully it was successful.
Next stop was the beautiful and moving American Military Cemetery. From entry in to the car park everything was immaculate and beautifully maintained. Sadly today's security issues meant queuing to get through airport like security before entering. The first is a museum building with a beautiful minimalist water feature over looking Omaha beach. Downstairs the museum continued but given time and the fact the weather was looking more threatening ever minute we headed out to access the cemetery proper. A short walk through beautiful gardens along the cliff edge to another memorial and viewpoint take you through magnificent wooded gardens. This perspective from up high further drilled in the enormity of the allied task - attacking a well fortified cliff top position!
On entering the lawned cemetery we were faced with line after line of stark white marble crosses. Perfectly laid out, completely symmetrical with the grass perfectly mown. Poignantly the odd red or white rose was laid at the foot of some of the crosses where people have been to pay their respects. Most have the names of the soldiers but sadly many are designated 'known unto God'. It was almost overwhelming and for a long time we walked slowly through the crosses in complete silence. We then walked over to the many beautiful memorial buildings, statues and fountains and marvelled at the thoughtfulness and grace of the cemetery before heading back to the bikes. Chris' description cannot begin to explain the wonder of visiting the cemetery nor describe the heroism of all involved in the allied campaign at the D-Day Beaches. We strongly recommend you visit yourselves to experience it directly.
Our plan from here was to ride down the coast rode towards Swords beach, the most easterly, and then head back to Blightly. It was a pleasant ride with many incredible sights along the way. Sadly we had little time to stop and take them in. After Juno beach we headed south to Hemanville-Sur-Mer to visit the British cemetery. The contrast was striking. We arrived at a tiny gate where we parked up the bikes and wandered through the unattended gate in to what resembled a village graveyard. There had been some recent replanting of shrubs and bushes around the statue at the entrance and the graves themselves were well tended with beautiful flowers at the foot of every one. There was a small chapel-like shelter at the end of the field and in a small copper recess was a folder with the names of all the soldiers buried. Yes there were many fewer soldiers here - circa 3,000 versus the 19,000 at the American cemetery, however, there was a clear difference in the budget available to look after the cemetery. We spent some time wandering around, and after getting over the stark contrast with the Omaha beach cemetery, were able to appreciate the beauty, peace and tranquility we found at Hermanville...
Now under some time pressure to head home we grabbed a quick steak frite / plat du jour at a local brasserie and then rode straight back up the autoroutes to Calais. The rain started but luckily good quality bikes and motorcycle gear kept us nice and dry. The only excitement we had was Hugo's bike giving him constant warnings he was about to run out of fuel. We pushed on as far as we dared but seeing a petrol station and with Chris' bike starting to get toward 50 miles of fuel left we felt we shouldn't risk going further. All was good until we left the garage to find that we couldn't get back on to our autoroute and had to take a significant diversion in the wrong direction! We then raced on towards Calais anxious we would miss our slot but thankfully we made it with minutes to go. No time to visit the terminal buildings and directly on to the train. During the many security/passport checks Hugo learned the silliness that can be had with Sena comms whilst one is trying to talk to someone else with your helmet on! That story is one to be told though not written about!
Departing Le Shuttle in Folkstone we said our goodbyes whilst re-fueling and then headed up the M20 homeward. We lost Hugo in the traffic and thinking no more of it headed home. We didn't hear anything from him for some time and texted to check all was well. Alas not - he had terrible food poisoning and had gone to bed feeling dreadful as soon as he arrived home. Being Hugo though he bounced back quickly and didn't miss the weekend's golfing activities with his family.
All in all a superb albeit short tour. If we were to do it again we would add another day and take more time to enjoy the museums, cemeteries and memorials. And we'd do some proper planning!
