I had decided that it was time to move-on and maybe further south. Leaving the campsite at Grand-Fort-Phillipe early, it was a chilly 14 degrees but by lunchtime it had warmed up to a balmy 16.5 degrees. I followed the coast as far as Dieppe then cut south a short way to catch the motorway heading south-west and Caen. I was going to camp at Bayeux as I wanted to see the tapestry, but it seems the Tapestry is not open at the moment as it’s gone on tour. I saw it last year but wanted to see it again.
So, thinking of a Plan B I decided to carry on and ended up on the Cherbourg peninsula. There are plenty of campsites in the area, but at this time of the year many are closed, but I found one that was still open at Sainte Mere Eglise. If you know anything about D-day then you will know the significance as in the town square there is a mannequin hanging from the church tower to remember the soldier from the US 101st Airborne who got caught on the tower when the paratroopers dropped into this area. Sainte Mere Eglise was one of the first town in France to be liberated by the Allies, and just opposite the church is the 101st Airborne museum.
I found a place to camp at Camping Sainte Mere Eglise. Each pitch has lots of space, the electric is free and the showers and toilets are also great. It only costs 13eu a night, and it’s only a short walk into the town. On the way across today I made a small detour to a Decathlon to buy more camping gas, but it’s been a journey of around 480km today. 300 miles. It’s taken me most of the day but who’s counting the time…
