Sword Beach and Mont-Saint-Michel and its Bay

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. 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 is where the day begins. Next is Pointe du Hoc.

2. 2. Pointe du Hoc

   Pointe du Hoc is a headland of grey cliffs, about thirty metres high, between Omaha and Utah beaches on the Normandy coast, and it is one of the most moving places on the whole D-Day shore. On the morning of 6 June 1944, some two hundred and twenty-five US Army Rangers under Lieutenant Colonel James Rudder came in by landing craft, fired grappling hooks and rope ladders up the cliff, and climbed under fire to take a German battery thought to threaten both beaches. They found the guns had been moved inland, tracked them down and disabled them, then held the position for two days against counterattacks. Fewer than a hundred were still able to fight when they were relieved.

   Read the complete Pointe du Hoc write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Pointe du Hoc comes up about 76 km into the recorded legs. Next is Mont-Saint-Michel and its Bay.

3. 3. Mont-Saint-Michel and its Bay

   The tide here is one of the great shows of Europe. In the bay of Mont-Saint-Michel the sea can retreat for kilometres and return with a speed that has caught out many walkers, and at the biggest tides the difference between high and low water is around fourteen metres. On those days the mount, a rocky island crowned with a Benedictine abbey, can be surrounded by water, or stand alone on a plain of wet sand, depending on the hour. The causeway that used to link it to the shore has been replaced by a bridge so that the water can flow freely again.

   Read the complete Mont-Saint-Michel and its Bay write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   about 215 km into the recorded legs you reach Mont-Saint-Michel and its Bay. Next is back through Pointe du Hoc.

4. 4. back through Pointe du Hoc

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Pointe du Hoc write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through Pointe du Hoc, late in the day. Next is Sword Beach.

5. 5. 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 at Sword Beach. That is the ride.