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Normandy Cycling Holiday Itinerary
Normandy has a special resonance for the British. It was from here that the last successful invaders of our isle came. William The Conqueror hailed from Caen, and much still remains of his legacy.
Normandy also means the landing beaches of 1944 along with pure-bred Norman cows - the source of its rich, creamy sauces and famous cheeses. Oh and there’s apples, cider and calvados. We’ll discover it all on two wheels.
The Pays d'Auge
This is where it all happens on the culinary front. We’ll spend the early part of the week exploring the Pays d'Auge from Falaise to Pont-L'Eveque.
On our journey, we'll pass through Camembert on our way to Vimoutiers. It's difficult to visit cheese makers because of the stringent hygiene regulations but in Livarot we'll visit the only factory that still allows visitors, where we’ll also learn about Livarot and Pont-L'Eveque cheese.
No wine is made in Normandy, but the Pays d'Auge is the centre of French cider making and Calvados, a spirit distilled from cider. We'll visit cider makers as well as a calvados distiller in Pont-L'Eveque.
William The Conqueror
William was born out of wedlock to the Duke of Normandy and his mistress, hence his title 'William The Bastard' until he fluked a win over King Harold at Hastings and became 'The Conqueror', and King of England.
He married Matilde of Flanders, but they were cousins, which breached Church rules. To appease the Pope, William and Matilde built two vast ‘his and hers’ abbeys in Caen, the Abbaye-aux-Hommes and the Abbaye-aux-Dames. Both Abbeys are still there today in immaculate condition.
In addition William built Caen with a vast fortress at its centre, the town of Carentan and a castle in his birthplace of Falaise, and we’ll visit them all.!
The Normandy Landings
In June 1944 armies from the USA, Canada and Britain landed along the coast of Normandy at beaches codenamed Omaha, Juno, Utah, Gold and Sword in Operation Overlord.
The invasion was full of ingenuity. Churchill's pre-fabricated Mulberry harbour, the segments towed into place off the coast at Arromanches, became the world’s busiest port for the summer of 1944. The need for fuel led to the development of the Pipe Line Under The Ocean (PLUTO), then the largest pipe ever laid with the pumping stations back in England disguised as ice cream shops and houses.
In total more than two million Allied troops were landed, and after the war, more than 140,000 bodies were disinterred for burial and many deeply moving cemeteries are scattered throughout Normandy to the various nations - including the Germans stark resting place at La Cambe. We’ll visit all these sites, as well as the Caen Memorial museum and the Pegasus Bridge near Bénouville.
Day 1 - Saturday
We start our tour in Falaise at the Hotel de la Poste. New owners have transformed the menu at this hotel and we'll enjoy a real Norman feast.
Day 2 - Sunday
A gentle entrée into the Pays d'Auge. We’ll pass through Camembert on our way to Vimoutiers, home of the Camembert Museum (shaped like the cheese, naturally). We'll stay at the Hotel du Vitou in a delightful 25-acre nature park, and we’ll eat nearby at a lakeside restaurant. 30 miles.
Day 3 - Monday
We'll follow a new cycle path for the first part of our day to Livarot, where we will visit a cheese factory making Pont-L'Eveque, Camembert and Livarot – that's lunch sorted!
Cunning back roads will take us into Lisieux, where we'll visit the enormous Basilica of St Théresa. Her autobiography, 'Story Of A Soul', describes her 'little way'. She died of tuberculosis in 1897 aged just 24 and was canonised. Her story and her writings are incredibly moving and so is the Basilica devoted to her.
We finish our day at the pretty town of Pont-L'Eveque. We’ll visit renowned Calvados distiller Père Magloire and stay at the Lion d'Or. 37 miles.
37 miles / 60 Km. Click this link for detailed route map.
Day 4 - Tuesday
Rolling farmland takes us through Beaumont-en-Auge and Beuvron-en-Auge, half-timbered houses, apple orchards and traditional Norman cows. We join a cycle path near Troarn and cross the River Orne on our way to the Hotel Glycines in Bénouville, visiting the Pegasus Bridge museum on the way. 29 miles.
30 miles / 49 Km. Click this link for detailed route map.
Day 5 - Wednesday
A short ride along a cycle path all the way into the centre of Caen. We’ll visit William and Matilda's Abbey-aux-Hommes and Abbey-aux-Dames, as well as the enormous castle at the centre of Caen and the famous 'Caen Mémorial', the best of all the museums dedicated to the Normandy Landings. We'll retrace our steps back to the Glycine. 19 miles.
19 miles / 30 Km. Click this link for detailed route map.
Day 6 - Thursday
We follow our cycle path downstream to the port of Ouistreham at the mouth of the Orme and the Caen Canal. We visit a British cemetery and the Canada Centre at Juno Beach, but the highlights of our day will be the amazing Mulberry Harbour at Arromanches and the tapestry in Bayeux. We’ll stay at another Lion D'Or, this one in Bayeux. 31 miles.
31 miles / 50 Km. Click this link for detailed route map.
Day 7 - Friday
Today is about balance. First we'll visit the immaculately maintained American cemetery at Coleville-sur-Mer with its reflecting pool. After lunch we'll visit the enormous German cemetery at La Cambe, sombre, stark but still moving. We'll finish our tour in Carentan at the Auberge Normande, renowned for its cooking. 36 miles.
36 miles / 58 Km. Click this link for detailed route map.
Day 8 - Saturday
Transfers back to Caen
