A year ago I followed the footsteps of the Plantagenets all the way to Le Mans and Poitiers. This year we had settled on Normandy and decided to drive around instead of only using public transport. A car would make all the difference and bring us to far away corners. All of that trip was based on the amazing books of Sharon Kay Penman. She really brought this family to life, so that even almost 800 years later we felt their charisma. No wonder we searched for them on another trip tpoFrance.
The easiest way for us to get to Normandy was to fly to Paris, then taking the TGV from Saint-Lazare up north to Rouen, and from here on we used a car. Our trip covered quite a lot of castles, including one built by Richard Lionheart, and another that was the birth place of William the Conqueror.
Château de Falaise @Normandy
Like every other place in Europe Normandy offers way more history than just one family’s story. So many buildings are older and one can only assume that the heroes of our quest stood have before them as well. Like the Cathedral in Rouen, which earliest parts are from the year 750. For anyone who has seen ‘Vikings‘, the real Rollo is buried in here.
Cathedral of Rouen @Normandy
Normandy was also the site of more recent events. On June 6th 1944 it saw largest amphibious invasion in history on five different landing sites throughout Normandy. Arromanches, also called Gold Beach, saw British soldiers coming on land and later establishing an artificial harbor. It’s long gone of course, but Arromanches has a wonderful museum which tells you everything about this technical feat.
D-Day museum @Arromanches
But what would be Normandy without its many seaside towns and amazing food. All this history makes you tired, so at the end of the day you just want to relax and find your own harbor. Honfleur and Deauville come to mind, both beautiful places even when the weather doesn’t concur.
Honfleur @Normandy
Blue sky and lots of sunshine are so much more important when you are on a path overlooking the cliffs of Étretat. The white is almost blinding against the backdrop of the sea. We took a circular route along side them and enjoyed watching the frolicking seagulls.
the cliffs of Étretat @Normandy
We drove back to Rouen to return the car, but our journey ended in Lille, no longer in Normandy. Here we dived back in to history again. Before the Battle of Arras, men from all over the Commonwealth enlarged an already existing quarry underneath the town to a total of 20km of tunnel system. A week before the battle thousand of soldiers hid in here to surprise the Germans on the morning of 9 April 1917. What an engineering achievement!
Carrière Wellington @Arrras
Of course there were many more stops along the way. We were after all on the hunt after anything Plantagenets or deemed historic. Normandy offers the perfect backdrop for such a trip with beautiful towns and villages along the way and oysters everywhere. Most of all though, Normandy is the land of milk and apples. If you don’t fall in love here with Camembert and cider, then I do not know. Yours, Pollybert
