D-Day Beaches and the Battle of Normandy

June 2024

What you can expect

Thought-provoking sites and museums, with a professional battlefield guide bringing alive the momentous events of the world's biggest amphibious landing and the fierce fighting throughout Normandy as the Allies tried to establish a foothold on mainland Europe. 5 days' cycling; 4 nights’ hotel and breakfast, 3 dinners; luggage transport, full back-up and assistance throughout the day.

More detail

This trip is a meander from Caen through the Calvados, Orne and Auge departments which saw most of the action in the summer of 1944. It makes for a good short excursion with plenty of time to stop and look at the sights and soak up the atmosphere and history. You don’t have to be a veteran to appreciate what went on here 75 years ago. You will see the place where the only Victoria Cross awarded on D Day was won; where Panzer ace Michael Wittman caused havoc on a British convoy; the smallest Commonwealth War Cemetery in France; and where a fleeing army desperately tried to escape. The hotels are all friendly and family run. Days 3 and 4 have some hills hence this trip is rated as moderate.

Accompanied by experienced battlefield guide, you will gain a unique insight into the D Day landings and the subsequent battle for Normandy whilst also enjoying some very fine cycling.

If you arrive by the overnight ferry from Portsmouth you will see Sword Beach to your right as you approach shore; on your left a couple of miles inland are the guns of the Merville Battery, which we will visit on day 5.

The ride above visits predominantly British and Canadian beaches and sights after the first day although we do visit the famous US cemetery at Omaha Beach and the Pointe du Hoc; if you would like to visit other sites we can tailor it accordingly. Similarly if you have a reason for visiting a specific site in Normandy please let us know and we will do our very best to incorporate it in our tour.

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Your Next Adventure Awaits

What you need to know...

Start Location
Ouistreham

Finish Location
Ouistreham

Country/Region
Battlefields by Bike

Grading
Moderate

Shortest Day
60 km

Longest Day
78 km

Total Days
5 Days

Total Miles
355 km / 221 miles

Departure Dates & Prices

Month	Dates	Tour Price	Single Supplement*	Bike Hire From	Enquire	Book
June 2024	10th to 14th June 2024	10/6/24 to 14/6/24	£1,095	£295		Check Availability	Book Now

*A single supplement is only payable if you would like a guaranteed room to yourself. If you are happy to share with another traveller of the same gender, no supplement is payable.

Day 1

After disembarking at Ouistreham we familiarise you with the first morning's ride by way of original intelligence maps used by a friend of ours as he came ashore on the Landing Beaches in the first wave on D-Day. We follow the coast road west, along Sword and Juno beaches, and, passing Gold beach, we arrive in Arromanches where remnants of the artificial Mulberry Harbour are still very much in evidence. Along the way you will pass the spot where de Gaulle and King George VI landed on 14 and 16 June 1944 respectively. After lunch we continue along the coast to the Longues Battery, a well preserved part of the 'Atlantic Wall' and used in the opening scenes of the film 'The Longest Day'.

This is the end of the Bristish and Candian sector but we continue along the beaches to Omaha Beach and the American cemetery at Colleville; it is on a grand scale and is worthy of exploring. After this we ride to the Pointe du Hoc where US Rangers scaled ladders to assault the clifftops; this is living history as the battlefield remains pretty much unchanged since 1944 with plenty of craters and bunkers to allow you to envisage the scene.

From here we pedal to Bayeux, where there is plenty more to see in the form of the Bayeux Memorial, and of course the famous Tapestry commemorating another invasion 900 years previously. We stay the night in Bayeux wher you are free to explore the town tonight (dinner not included) (80km / 50 miles).

Day 2

From Bayeux we head south through the country that saw much of the fiercest fighting of the Normandy campaign. Passing the small Jerusalem war cemetery, we go on to Tilly sur Seulle and then to Hill 112, where the 43rd Wessex Division met fierce resistance in late June to early August 1944. From this highpoint you can see Caen in the distance and Rommel said that ‘whoever controls (Hill 112) controls Normandy'. From here we travel west to Villers-Bocage, where British forces took a pounding from Panzer Ace Michael Wittman (who later died elsewhere in Normandy), and onwards to our hotel on the other side of Mont Pincon which offers spectacular views over Normandy. (80km / 50 miles).

Day 3

The approach to Falaise crosses the beautiful 'Suisse Normande'; this is a hilly area but once at Falaise the hard work is done for the day. Falaise was virtually destroyed but William the Conqueror's castle remains and the church was rebuilt from the ruins. Falaise was the beginning of the end for the Germans in Normandy as driving south, the Canadaians aimed to link up the US army which was coming from the west, thus cutting off lines of retreat. Heading south through the lovely countryside of the Falaise Pocket we ride to a small town where our comfortable hotel displays photographs of a German panzer turned turtle in the river outside. (72km / 45 miles).

Day 4

From our hotel we ride around Argentan which was almost totally destroyed by allied bombing as it stood on a vital cross roads, and then on to Chambois, where the Falaise Pocket was closed on 19 August 1944. In the last days of the Battle of Normandy the entire German 7th Army was attempting to escape through the jaws of the pincer movement and we see the place where this occured; relics are often found here, such was the destruction and the desperation of the Germans to get out with or without their equipment. It’s a short (but uphill) ride to Mont Ormel where Polish troops, encircled by the enemy, fought off counter attacks from the 2nd SS Panzer Division before being relieved by Canadian troops on 22 August 1944, thereby ending the Battle of Normandy. The rest of the day is spent heading north to Lisieux, passing through the villages of Camembert and Livarot on the way, and some lovely and unspoilt countryside. These are home to the two most famous cheeses of the region, which we will taste tonight at dinner. (78km / 48 miles).

Day 5

Lisieux back towards Caen is a pretty ride through unspoilt countryside, predominantly flat, including the lovely village of Beuvron en Auge. This is apple and cider country. When we approach the coast it is at Merville, where the 9th Battalion Parachute Regiment, who with only 150 out of the planned 750 men reaching the rendezvous, nevertheless destroyed four German gun emplacements which could have wiped out the Sword landing beach on D Day. Our route brings us in the same way as these brave men. There are various displays here and it is well worth the entrance fee. Afterwards, we go south to Ranville with its war cemetery, then the short distance to Pegasus Bridge, where there is also an excellent museum. The last site of our trip is the first house to have been liberated, on the far side of the bridge, and then it’s a quick 5km ride up the canal towpath back to Ouistreham, or south to Caen, for the journey home. (64km / 40 miles).