Day 3 From St Martin des Besaces to Touquettes

An early start for the mini team of cycle tourers, Libby, Jose and I; starting with a delightful descent and then some climbs into the area known as Switzerland of Normandy; perfect training for my forthcoming alpine experiences. There was even a little singing from us all, an eclectic mix from “I’m the king of the jungle”, to Simon & Garfunkel, via Metallica! Here the hills were rounded rather than jagged mountains; but the livestock with still very alpine with beautiful cattle, apologies for not knowing the varieties! We also avoided any run ins with farmers dogs for which I was very glad. The route took us down to a lovely river valley, from where we enjoyed a delightful paved cycleway alongside the river, divine!
Shortly after this I bid farewell to my touring friends, and headed towards my evenings destination; firstly, finding the French Symond’s Yat! The temptation to jump in for a swim was great, but today the distance was epic so I needed to crack on… up a 20% long climb out of the delightful valley!
I cycled through a beautiful fortified town, Falaise, impressive battlements of which I thought my godchildren and their siblings ,would be impressed, budding historians that they are!
Cherries lining the road alerted me to a cherry tree, which reminded me of the KT tunstall song we sing in choir… so I popped my trusty steed in beside the tree for a cheeky photo, before indulging in plenty of scrumped cherries, and a rendition of the song as I cycled along!
Cycling Southwards from the D-Day beaches I was struck by how long the liberation of France took; soldiers were fighting from one hedgerow to the next, slowly advancing day by day. I came upon a war memorial at a key strategic site, the Trun-Chambois Gap, a battle that occurred on 20th August 1944; a combined effort of Polish, American and Canadian soldiers. My grandfather was Canadian and served during the war, so I felt a connection to this site.
Again it took my mind to Ukraine where such similar battles are occurring daily; incurring injuries on both sides, affecting military and civilians alike. It saddens me so much that we have not learnt from prior experience.

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