Beaches of the D-Day Landings and Le Havre

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Beaches of the D-Day Landings

   Port-en-Bessin is a working fishing harbour squeezed into a gap in the cliffs, and on the morning of 6 June 1944 it sat exactly on the seam between Omaha Beach to the west and Gold Beach to the east. British commandos took the port in the days that followed, linking the American and British sectors. Today the trawlers still come in with scallops in season, the boats crowd the inner basin, and a stubby stone tower designed by Vauban's engineers watches over the entrance. It is a fine base for exploring the whole stretch of the Normandy landing beaches.

   Read the complete Beaches of the D-Day Landings write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Beaches of the D-Day Landings is where the day begins. Next is Sword Beach.

2. 2. Sword Beach

   On the morning of 6 June 1944 this long, flat stretch of sand between Ouistreham and Lion-sur-Mer was the easternmost of the five Allied landing beaches in Normandy. British troops of the 3rd Infantry Division came ashore here, supported by commandos, including a small unit of French commandos under Philippe Kieffer, who fought their way into Ouistreham. The beach linked up with the airborne forces who had taken the bridges over the Orne and the Caen canal during the night, among them the famous Pegasus Bridge at Bénouville, a few kilometres inland. Lord Lovat's commandos marched to relieve the paratroopers there, led, according to the well-known story, by piper Bill Millin playing on the beach under fire.

   Read the complete Sword Beach write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Sword Beach comes up about 39 km into the recorded legs. Next is Le Havre.

3. 3. Le Havre

   Le Havre was flattened. Allied bombing in September 1944 destroyed the old centre, and the French state hired the architect Auguste Perret to rebuild it, which he did in reinforced concrete, with straight boulevards, uniform apartment blocks and a grid of open squares. At first the town seemed grim. Today UNESCO calls it a masterpiece of postwar reconstruction, listed in 2005, and in the right light the concrete takes on a warm, pale-gold tone. The tower of the church of Saint-Joseph, over a hundred metres high, is the landmark, and inside, the light through its coloured glass is dazzling, a thing worth ten minutes of anyone's time.

   Read the complete Le Havre write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 148 km into the recorded legs you reach Le Havre. Next is back through Sword Beach.

4. 4. back through Sword Beach

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Sword Beach write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Sword Beach, late in the day. Next is Beaches of the D-Day Landings.

5. 5. Beaches of the D-Day Landings

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Beaches of the D-Day Landings write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at Beaches of the D-Day Landings. That is the ride.