Visiting Normandy for D-Day +65

A few helpful quick tips for people planning to visit Normandy for the 65^th Anniversary of D-Day. From the UK, look at the British Legion site, and from the overall French perspective, check the official programme of events here.

Firstly, make your cross channel ferry reservations as early as you can. Now that P&O no longer travel the western crossings direct to Normandy, the remaining services – Brittany Ferries and LD Lines - will fill up quickly. There is not likely to be a problem on the short crossings to Calais and Boulogne (unless the French fishermen blockade the ports again, which is always possible – but to get to Caen (Ouistreham) on the north coast nearest the landing beaches, or Cherbourg for the second phases of the invasion, or Le Havre for the consolidation, early booking is probably a good idea.

Hotel bookings will be essential. Try Logis de France for real independently owned hotels (see this blog item). Reasonably priced chains include Mercure, Ibis, Accord.

There are also some very cheap hotel chains, such as Formule 1, which are acceptably comfortable at very low prices. I prefer independent, quirky, little hotels which are usually cheap, in interesting towns, and all very different. Speaking as little French is probably essential, though.

A useful initiative is the Normandie Pass, which for a one off fee of one euro, provides reduced admission to museums, events and non D-Day attractions, products and services. If you want to see as much as possible, it can save you a fair bit of money, as well as lead you to some unexpected places and events.

There is a very large number of events being planned throughout the region. To find out details of what and when, visit any local Tourist office – Office de Tourisme, or Syndicat d'Iniative - where you will usually find English speaking staff, large volumes of usually free leaflets, guides and other materials. Look for the 'i' symbol on signs and streets.

None of the organisations mentioned here have paid anything to be named. Alas...

Coastal foraging/peche a pied

A new book from the chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall called Edible Seashore – River Cottage Handbook 5 talks about foraging for shellfish, seaweed and other splendid foodstuffs on British seashores. His article in the Guardian introduces the book, and includes some decent recipes.

He is talking about a rare activity in the UK. In France, on the other hand, seeking out food on the low tide beaches is pretty much a standard practice. Here in Normandy, la Peche a Pied is hugely popular on the major low tides of the year. In the Bay of Mont St Michel, where the beaches slope very gently, the four lowest tides, at the equinoxes and solstices, reveal huge expanses of sand and rocks normally covered. People descend by the thousand, carrying buckets, rakes, spades, diggers, nets and very often uniquely personal implements, and spend as many hours as the tide allows digging, sieving, poking around, netting and generally foraging and fossicking. Whole families, from toddlers to great grandparents work together to gather enough for a good meal.

The beach at St Martin de Brehal, for example, is more crowded at the December solstice low tide than it is in high summer.

All the major beaches where it can be worth foraging have regular updates on water quality, wildlife

health and populations, so that everyone can know what is safe to eat, and what to leave alone to protect the species. This is if course available at the mairies, but also on signs at the beaches, usually on the life guard station. There are many guides, such as this local official site, and many books and other sources of information.

Generally, most areas have limits on the number of each species any one person can collect, and for many there are minimum sizes to ensure that the young have time to grow and reproduce. The main species are much as in the UK: crabs, shrimps, cockles, mussels, whelks and so on. Many beaches are sites of shellfish farming, and the relevant species should not be collected from there. Most common are oyster farms (ostreiculture) and mussels (conchyliculture).