Why this ride
From Le Havre it runs 426 km to Le Havre; allow about 6 h 52 of riding. The stops in between: Sword Beach, Gold Beach, Omaha Beach and Juno Beach. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Le Havre and Juno Beach
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 426 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 6 h 52
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. 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
Le Havre is where the day begins. Next is Sword Beach.
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 107 km into the recorded legs. Next is Gold Beach.
3. Gold Beach
On the morning of 6 June 1944 the British 50th Northumbrian Division came ashore along this low, sandy coast between La Rivière and Arromanches, and almost everything you see from the dunes at Ver-sur-Mer is shaped by that day. Gold Beach was the middle of the five Allied landing zones, with Juno to the east and Omaha to the west, and it is the quietest of them to ride today: a string of small seaside villages, wide flat sands at low tide and a coast road that ambles rather than races.
Read the complete Gold Beach write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 134 km into the recorded legs you reach Gold Beach. Next is Omaha Beach.
4. Omaha Beach
The coast here is long, shallow and sandy, backed by low bluffs, and on the morning of 6 June 1944 it became one of the most terrible places in the history of the Second World War. Omaha was the code name given to a stretch of beach in the Allied landings in Normandy, assigned to American troops, and it was the hardest of the five beaches: the German defences on the bluffs were strong, the bombardment had missed many positions, and the tide and weather scattered the landing craft. Thousands of men were killed or wounded on the sand and the shingle in the first hours, though by evening the beachhead held.
Read the complete Omaha Beach write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Omaha Beach, about halfway. Next is Juno Beach.
5. Juno Beach
On the morning of 6 June 1944 the Canadian 3rd Infantry Division landed here, between Courseulles-sur-Mer and Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer, in the middle of the five Normandy landing beaches. Rough seas delayed the first wave, so the troops arrived after the naval bombardment had lifted and the German defenders had recovered. The fighting on the sea wall and in the seaside villages was fierce, and Canadian casualties that day were heavy, but by evening the division had pushed further inland than any other Allied force. Today the beach is a long, quiet strand of sand, with low dunes, villas with shuttered windows, and a few concrete bunkers still half-buried at the water's edge.
Read the complete Juno Beach write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Juno Beach sits at 150 km, about halfway. Next is back through Omaha Beach.
6. back through Omaha Beach
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Omaha Beach write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Omaha Beach comes up about 262 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Gold Beach.
7. back through Gold Beach
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Gold Beach write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 290 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Gold Beach. Next is back through Sword Beach.
8. 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 Le Havre.
9. Le Havre
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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
The route ends here after 426 km.
Leg by leg
Le Havre to Sword Beach
Le Havre → Sword Beach is 107 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Sword Beach to Gold Beach
Sword Beach → Gold Beach is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Gold Beach to Omaha Beach
Gold Beach → Omaha Beach is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Omaha Beach to Juno Beach
Omaha Beach → Juno Beach is 50 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Juno Beach to back through Omaha Beach
Juno Beach → back through Omaha Beach is 50 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Omaha Beach to back through Gold Beach
back through Omaha Beach → back through Gold Beach is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Gold Beach to back through Sword Beach
back through Gold Beach → back through Sword Beach is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Sword Beach to Le Havre
back through Sword Beach → Le Havre is 109 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.