Why this ride
From Ouistreham it runs 426 km to Ouistreham; allow about 7 h 21 of riding. The stops in between: Beaches of the D-Day Landings, Utah Beach, Gold Beach and Pointe du Hoc. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Sword Beach and Pointe du Hoc
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 426 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 7 h 21
- 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. 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 Beaches of the D-Day Landings.
2. 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 comes up about 39 km into the recorded legs. Next is Utah Beach.
3. Utah Beach
Low dunes, a wide grey-gold beach and a sky that seems to go on forever: the westernmost of the D-Day landing beaches looks peaceful today. On 6 June 1944, troops of the US 4th Infantry Division came ashore here, on the eastern coast of the Cotentin peninsula, after paratroopers had dropped inland during the night. A current pushed the first landing craft south of their intended sector, onto a less defended stretch of sand, and Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt Jr., walking the beach with a cane, decided to start the war from right there. Casualties at Utah were far lower than at Omaha, a few kilometres to the east.
Read the complete Utah Beach write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 100 km into the recorded legs you reach Utah Beach. Next is Gold Beach.
4. 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
Gold Beach, about halfway. Next is Pointe du Hoc.
5. 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 sits at 194 km, about halfway. Next is back through Gold Beach.
6. 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
back through Gold Beach comes up about 247 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Utah Beach.
7. back through Utah Beach
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Utah Beach write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 321 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Utah Beach. Next is back through Beaches of the D-Day Landings.
8. back through 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 through Beaches of the D-Day Landings, late in the day. Next is Sword Beach.
9. 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
The route ends here after 426 km.
Leg by leg
Sword Beach to Beaches of the D-Day Landings
Sword Beach → Beaches of the D-Day Landings is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Beaches of the D-Day Landings to Utah Beach
Beaches of the D-Day Landings → Utah Beach is 61 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Utah Beach to Gold Beach
Utah Beach → Gold Beach is 74 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Gold Beach to Pointe du Hoc
Gold Beach → Pointe du Hoc is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Pointe du Hoc to back through Gold Beach
Pointe du Hoc → back through Gold Beach is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Gold Beach to back through Utah Beach
back through Gold Beach → back through Utah Beach is 74 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Utah Beach to back through Beaches of the D-Day Landings
back through Utah Beach → back through Beaches of the D-Day Landings is 66 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Beaches of the D-Day Landings to Sword Beach
back through Beaches of the D-Day Landings → Sword Beach is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.