Normandy then Home

Saturday 19 July

Still at Camping le Brevedent in Normandy. 

A mainly rainy day with very heavy downpours, thunder and lightning and it was very hot.   We did venture to the pool for a dip mid-afternoon but our thoughts of sunbathing were somewhat curtailed due to more rain.

Sunday 20 July

Raining again!!  We bade farewell to our neighbours Derek and Mary who are sailing home today. Before they left they gifted us a box of real Yorkshire Tea which was very kind. I almost asked them if they had any gin or whisky left  but Sarah thought that would be rude. So we exchanged addresses instead.  

After a morning indoors we ventured out to Blangy to see what Painters Day was all about.  

It consisted of a number of amateur painters displaying their creations around the village.  Some were quite nice, but nothing outstanding enough to tempt us.

We drove on to look at the Chateau de Saint-Germain-de-Livet at Liseux.   It is a small Chateau, very attractive from the outside with lovely gardens, but you can only go in on a guided tour which was in French.   You did get a few notes on a piece of paper in English.   We arrived at 3.15pm and were told by the girl in the ticket office the next tour was at 3pm!!  Whilst we stood looking a little puzzled a chap appeared and said “or now” and he smuggled us in to join the 3pm tour. In addition to ourselves there was an English family of 4 and a Dutch family of 3. The guide didn’t speak any English or Dutch so there were no questions at the end.

In the evening we drove back to Blangy as they were having a firework display, held at another caravan park (we weren’t tempted to move).   For a small village it was very good.

Monday 21 July

Visited Pont L’Eveque, a lovely small town about 8 miles away.   It was market day with some excellent food stalls.   We spent a small fortune on food once more.

In the afternoon we did a 5 mile walk from the nearby village of Pierrefitte.   It was a pretty walk, thankfully not difficult in the heat.

Tuesday 22 July

Decided to head out to the coast to visit Deauville.   A very genteel town with some magnificent mansions built in Normandy style.   The best way to describe Normandy style is to say that the houses all look like something out of the Adam’s Family.  

As at least one reader knows, Deauville is a renowned centre for horse racing so we walked out to the racecourse and the beautiful Villa Strasbourg behind it.  The whole town was decorated with flower displays, the most extravagant of which was outside the Mayor’s Office.   

It was market day here too.  Went for a quick look, which took a long time and relieved us of more money.    On our way back to the car we had a look at the beach of which there is miles, covered with colourful parasols which have a built in wind break.  All along the promenade there were beach huts and shops and paddling pools for youngsters.   A really lovely place.

Beach Parasols at Cabourg

We drove on further down the coast to Cabourg which also boasts a profusion of flowers, some great houses and an excellent high street.   On the way we were stopped in a queue of traffic as we waited for a crane to be loaded on to a low loader when a chap ran in the back of us.   Fortunately he wasn’t going at any speed so no major damage was caused.    It was a little difficult to communicate as we couldn’t understand each other.    However, after much arm waving and phone calls at the site we carried on our way.   On returning to the campsite I enlisted the help of the receptionists who did a great job of helping me translate the accident form and making some phone calls for me.

Very hot today.

Wednesday 23 July

Went for a walk from the village of Saint Hymer in the morning but in the afternoon we lounged around as it was extremely hot.

Thursday 24 July

Hot and humid this morning so we thought we would have a beach day.  We went back to Deauville and hired a parasol and some deck chairs.   

We wandered down to the sea for a paddle – it was a quite a long way as the tide was going out.  However, later in the day it was a much longer walk, to get waist deep we almost had to walk in Bournemouth!   It was busy on the beach but as it is so vast I can’t image It ever gets full.   Definitely the right place to be as the temp reached 30 degrees.

In the evening a family in a tent nearby were playing Irish gigs on their fiddles and their kids were doing a spot of Irish dancing.

Friday 25 July

Had a bit of a tour around today.   We visited the towns of Livarot, Vimoutier and Orbec ( where the lady at the Tourist Office was so helpful Sarah couldn’t get away and came away armed with enough information on Normandy to warrant several trips).   

We also went to Camembert which is the smallest village considering how much cheese comes from there.   There were a couple of houses, a farm, a visitor centre and a museum.    However, the museum was shut for lunch.

Came back to the site to find the Dutch man in the caravan opposite hopping around on crutches with one leg in plaster.    He had managed to break his ankle body boarding.  This meant they had to go home which the kids were none too happy about.

In the evening we went to the open mic night again and it turned into a really good night.  The Irish fiddlers did a couple of numbers, followed a mother on piano, daughter singing – they had written a song that day to perform!  We had a chap who sang the Eric Clapton song “you look wonderful tonight” with no accompaniment at all.    The biggest set came from a bunch of teenagers of differing nationalities who had got together and formed a band “The Smiles”.   The keyboard player came on first and sang by himself, he had a really good voice.   He was then joined a female lead singer and a number of others playing instruments and providing back vocals.   They were very good, doing a range of songs old and new, from the Beatles to Maroon Five.

Saturday 26 July

Pottered about today in the sunshine.  We did a few chores before, later in the day, packing up and taking the awning down ready to move on the next day.

Sunday 27 July

Drove to Guines, near Calais (193 miles).  Arrived at Camping La Bien Assise in time for lunch.   This is an excellent site that we have stayed on before.   In the afternoon we went out to the coast at Wissant.  It was extremely busy and difficult to park.  We commented “so this is what high season looks like”.   We had an excellent meal in the on-site restaurant in the evening.

Monday 28 July

It was pouring with rain so our plans to go walking were no good so we ended up going to an indoor shopping centre and parted with some more Euros.

Tuesday 29 July

Drove to Calais port and boarded the 9.00am Ferry Crossing to Dover.  Smooth crossing. We arrived home at about 5pm.

Epilogue

Did we enjoy ourselves – yes. Will we do it again – yes.

I can’t say we had brilliant weather but we did manage to do everything we wanted to do.

It is difficult to select the highlights because we saw and did so much. The Pyrenees and the Picos de Europa are probably at the top of our highlights list. The scenery was superb, the walking good but on occasions tough and we stayed on some lovely sites.

Galicia and the Northern coast of Spain were well worth seeing but I don’t think we will go back. Been there, done that but the food wasn’t great and we did often struggle with the language.

Best campsites - Camping Pyrenees Natura near Argeles Gazost, Le Brasilia on Canet Plage, Les Gorges du Chambon in the Limousin, Camping Paisaxe at Vilanova de Arousa.

We were both pleased that we included Normandy in our itinerary. Very picturesque villages, huge sandy beaches and lots of good walking opportunities. We will definitely return to Normandy but earlier in the year before the school holidays and when the apple blossom is out. Also, we only saw a very small part of it.

With hindsight I think we should have returned a couple of weeks earlier as the school holidays were kicking in. In addition to the sites getting busier the cost of a pitch more than doubled.