This year I have again returned to the Cherbourg peninsula
for a cycling trip taking advantage of the vast expanse of France’s countryside
and quiet country lanes. I was joined by two of my cycling friends and we had a great time. The winds were light and we had wall-to-wall
sunshine. This is my third trip to the Cherbourg peninsula and the surrounding
area and each time I find more cycle routes and places to explore. (Click here to see my 2014 trip blog)
It was a 6 day trip with the first and last day being
taken up with travel to and from France. A little bit longer than I would wish
but it did leave us with 4 full days of cycling. We covered about 175 miles in 4 days. Our trip started in Lewes
and we travelled down to Portsmouth where we caught the ferry to Cherbourg and
after staying the night we set off on a four-day cycling trip which ended in St
Malo. We took the daytime ferry back to Portsmouth and returned to Lewes by
train. Here are some notes of our trip:
After lunch at Gunwharf Quay we
cycled round to the ferry terminal and boarded our catamaran ferry which sped
us quickly in three hours to Cherbourg where we arrived on time at about 7:15 pm.
It was a short cycle ride to our hotel in the old part of
Cherbourg. The evening passed very pleasantly with first of all a beer to
celebrate our arrival in France and then a meal at a typically French
restaurant.
Here is a photo of the three of us. To avoid confusion
between my two friends, who are both called Peter, we adopted pseudonyms so I
will refer to them as Ringo, George and myself as JP (Jean-Paul).
Cycling Day 1
After
a pleasant and typically French breakfast, we set off at about 9 am to cycle
out of Cherbourg and begin our first day. We started promptly as our next night
stop would be Saint-Lô, some 65 miles to the south-east. We cycled east through
Cherbourg to avoid steep hills which almost surround the city or the busy main
road south. Actually, travelling east brings you quite neatly to the beginning
of a well signposted national cycle route from Cherbourg to Mont St Michel and
eventually to the south of France. I’ve cycled part of this route before but
this time we were travelling to Saint-Lô so we had to leave the route just
outside Cherbourg at Chateau
de Ravat.
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| WWII Memorial at Gourbesville |
In this area there are a number of memorials commemorating
those who lost their lives in the U.S. Army following the D-Day landings. Not
far from here is Sainte-Mère-Église which was made famous by the film ‘The
Longest Day’ in which they repeat a real-life incident from WWII of an American
paratrooper, whose parachute caught on the spire of the town church, and could
only observe the fighting going on below. He hung there limply for two hours,
pretending to be dead, before the Germans took him prisoner. He later escaped
from the Germans and rejoined his division. Sainte-Mère-Église was 8 km to the
east so we decided to keep a visit to that town for another day. We continued
our journey passing through other villages. Here is one depicting an American
aircraft:
Our journey was much easier after leaving Valonges with the
land levelling out as we began crossing the river basin of the Douve, La Sèves
and la Taute rivers and their many drainage channels. These channels and the crossing of the rivers
reminded me a little of the river Ouse below Lewes but the drainage basin which
we were crossing was much wider, – probably about 40 km of our route was
crossing this low-lying area. This whole area is part of the Parc naturel regional des Marais du
Cotentin. The rivers all drain into the river Vire estuary, north west of
the large town of Carentan which
is not far from the Normandy D-Day beaches. We kept inland of Carentan
continuing to follow the pleasant country lanes across the marshes. Just west
of Carentan we crossed the long-distance cycleway which runs along the former
railway track from the western part of the Cherbourg peninsula into Carentan.
Eventually we rose up a little out of the marshes and then came
down into Pont-Hébert where we
joined the cycle/footpath alongside the la Vire which takes us all way into Saint-Lô; the end of our journey
for day one. The route along the river is a beautiful one and a perfect way to
end our journey:
Actually, we have discovered that there is a cycle route all
the way from Carentan via Saint-Lô and the town of Vire to Mont Saint-Michel
and then to St Malo. The first part of this route follows the river Vire and
the second part follows another old railway track and then picks up with a
cycle track round the bay of Mont Saint-Michel. Perhaps this is a route for a
future cycle ride. For us we have just completed a successful first day and
earned a well-deserved pint in Saint-Lô. Our 1970s style hotel is right next to
the cycle track and conveniently placed opposite the walled city. The ancient
walls are still very much a feature of the town today but on closer inspection
we can see there has been extensive rebuilding of the town itself following the
fierce battle which was fought between the American Allied forces and the
German army after the D-Day landings.
The route planned by Ringo ensured that we had no major
ascents apart from coming out of Cherbourg and that wasn’t very much. George
added a change to the route which meant to say we could come into Saint-Lô
along the river and not over the hills.
We had a pleasant evening, starting with a welcome beer!, enjoying an excellent three course
meal at the Brasserie Les Capucines at the foot of the ancient walls of the town. Prices
have gone up in France but this €27 menu for three courses was well worth it!
Details of our route & stats:
Actual moving speed was 15.6 kph
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Cycling Day 2
We
decided not to rush things the next day as we had a much shorter distance to
cover and we didn’t leave Saint-Lô until about 11 am. In any event it was a bit
misty. We walked up into the old town and saw one ruin to remind us of the battle
for Saint-Lô. It was clear that most of the buildings we could see had all
been built since 1945.
Our route out of Saint-Lô took us alongside the river for a
few miles but soon we had to turn west in order to reach our next destination
of Granville. We hadn’t planned
this route in any detail and so we were surprised with the amount of ascent
throughout much of the first part of the trip. Most of the route was on minor
roads although there were one or two busy sections. Lunchtime baguettes was
eaten at Cerisy-la-Salle which
stands on a ridge overlooking a wide shallow valley stretching away to the
south. I’m glad we bought our baguettes before we left Saint-Lô as the
likelihood of finding cafes, boulangeries or patisseries in
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Our hotel, Hotel Des Bains
was right in the centre. I had intended to go for a swim but even though we had
only covered 38 miles I was ready for a beer and so were Ringo and George! We thought we’d take
a look around and book dinner for the evening. We found some restaurants down the
hill on the edge of the marina. On enquiring we we told that eight o’clock was
going to be very busy so we decided eat straight away at the Le Vieux Greement. Towards
the end of our meal we were joined on the next table by a couple from Germany,
Claudia &
Details of our route & stats:
Actual moving speed was 15.4 kph
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Cycling Day 3
After
an excellent breakfast at the Hotel des Bains we cycled off south in parallel
to the coast. We had a few steep hills to climb and some busy but pleasant
seaside towns to go through but finally we were on the road overlooking the sea.
We could see in the distant bay Mont St Michel silhouetted against the wide white,
sandy flats and the blue sea; a beautiful sight. We dropped down into a very
pleasant seaside village – Saint-Jean-le-Thomas
where we had a very pleasant café au lait at a beachside café looking out to
Mont St Michel. Having come into this
village we had moved off the busy road. We now stayed on the side roads close
to the sea and eventually joined an off-road cycle/footpath which took as all
way along the edge of the marshy and sandy estuary right to the outskirts of
Avranches. We didn’t go into the big town but continued to weave our way along
the cycle route next to the sea leaving the estuary of la Sée and then skirting
the estuary of la Sélune until we got to Pontaubault.
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We crossed the bridge and
cycled into the village. We were hoping to find somewhere to eat. There were
three large restaurants but strangely, in the middle of August, they were all
closed! Fortunately, we had some oranges, bananas and other snacks with us so
we sat down beside the river la Sélune and eight our healthy lunch! Actually it
was quite enjoyable. We were soon off again and continued to follow the
off-road cycle and footpath. We were soon slightly inland from the edge of the
estuary and heading for Mont St Michel. We had joined a minor road and made
good progress across the flat landscape. The roads became busier as we got
nearer to our destination and when we turned northward we found we were in a
small city of hotels, restaurants and cafes. We decided to have a celebratory
drink at the nearest bar with outside seating with a view to the Mont. What a
mistake! Each large beer cost €10! We
were shocked but I guess if we had stopped
a bit further down the road the price would have been nearer to half that.
Having downed our point (50 cL) we cycled up the road to the special causeway
taking us across to the Mont. It’s worthwhile coming to see the iconic sight of
this monastery rising up out of the flat sandy watery bay even if you don’t go
inside which we didn’t. Ringo looked after our bikes while George and I went
inside the gates.
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It’s different to St Michael’s Mount in Cornwall as its French
counterpart has a small town clinging to the side of the Mont crammed with
shops, restaurants and one or two hotels. The buildings have been restored but
they look mediaeval which adds to the atmosphere of the place. We left without
seeing inside the monastery but were lucky enough to see this beautiful Mont on
a very sunny day with blue skies and blue sea. A cycle path of about 10 km took
us all the way down to our night-time stop at Pontorson. This town is the main
tourist town for those visiting Mont St Michel. Although I booked in June most
places were already booked up and to get a reasonable price we chose the most
average of hotels at Au Jardin St Michel.
However, although the rooms were basic we all had a comfortable night’s sleep.
The breakfast wasn’t much to write home about but it was typically French with
bread and croissant with coffee and juice. Our evening meal at Le Relais Montois in Pontorson was very
good. We had had a good day with some very great off-road cycling.
Details of our route & stats:
Actual moving speed was 15.7 kph
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Cycling Day 4
After
leaving a the hotel we followed the cycle path back towards Mont St Michel but
soon turned off to the west along another superb cycle/footpath through the
countryside. For almost all the way until we got to the coast we were shaded by
lines of trees either side of the path. It was a hot day so we were very
grateful.
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Eventually we came to the coast and followed the cycle path and the
wide grassy and sandy estuary to one side (the sea being almost half a mile
away) and the farmland to the other. After buying a large bunch of garlic from
a farm stall on the side of the road we stopped for a coffee at L'abri Des Greves sitting in the
sunshine outside the cafe/restaurant. We journeyed on in the beautiful sunshine.
At Le Vivier sur Mer we decided
to have a proper lunch stop. We chose the Hôtel Restaurant Le
Bretagne.
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Apart from being a member of Logis de France it had a restaurant
on the first floor overlooking the sea. We had an excellent meal, it was a
reminder of why one should come to France and enjoy their cuisine. For €23 each
we had a three course meal which ranks pretty high in any of the meals I’ve
ever had.
We rejoined the cycle route along the coast and found that
we could use the cycle track on the edge of the beach. It was bordered by a
wide expanse of grass before reaching the sandy beach and then eventually the
sea, which was still miles away. I guess when the tide comes in it does reach
the grassy beach side verge. The sandy beaches in this area are very flat and
hard and ideal for sand yachting which we saw in a number of places along this
coast. Eventually we curved round the bay towards Cancale so we knew must head
west towards St Malo across a small peninsular, away from the sea. By now we’ve
lost the well marked signposts and so we just headed west. Like the previous
day we hadn’t planned this route in detail nor did I have detailed map of the
way into St Malo.
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We tried to follow some mountain bike track signs that
finally had to rejoin the main road. We decided to head straight for St Malo
coming in north of the old town and eventually arrived alongside a wide seaside
sandy beach. There were lots of people on the beach enjoying this wonderful
weather. We passed on looking for the old town which eventually we see up
ahead. Soon we are within the ancient walls and passing along the busy narrow
streets towards our hotel which we find is in a quieter road. This hotel, the Anne De Bretagne is right in the
heart of the old town. We were soon off walking the ramparts which border the
sea on two sides. In centuries past St Malo would have been a formidable place
to try and attack. Today its city walls are still intact although some of the
buildings within the city are of post-war construction. Eventually we found a
cafe in one of the narrow streets where we sat and enjoy a bit of sunshine and
a very welcome beer! In true British style we finished the evening with an Indian
meal. Actually it was very tasty and with the warm atmosphere outside in a
narrow street within the city walls was very pleasant.
Details of our route & stats:
Actual moving speed was 14.3 kph
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The next day we packed up and cycled off to join the ferry
back to the UK. We have been very lucky with the sunshine and on the way back
the sun is still shone although as we neared Portsmouth we saw that the
forecasted change in the weather was on its way. We have been lucky with the
weather and had a great cycling trip and enjoyed each other’s company along the
route and during the evenings. Thanks to my friends Ringo and George (the two
Peters)!
