Page 6 - Shining On Newsletter - Autumn 2022

We made it onto the ferry without any fuss, and
since bikes were loaded first we were also the first
ones to get into the café for a traditional Full
English. I noticed that my passport was stamped,
which was the only difference from all my
previous years of travelling to France. No doubt to
keep track of the 90 day limit now we’re out of the
EU.

Over breakfast we touched base and it was
decided that some were going to take the direct
route (motorway) to their respective hotels and
some were going to take the scenic route. Paul
and I had booked a cabin, which made the
crossing more relaxed, and something that I

would recommend. We used the time to pair our
intercom systems which became really useful on
our daily ride outs. Meanwhile Barry took
advantage of Paul’s booked lounge recliner to
doze peacefully. (I actually bumped into my old
snooker hero Ken Doherty in the lounge, but he
wasn’t in a chatty mood, Ba)

We docked at about 2.00 pm continental time and
split into the respective groups. I, Paul, Barry and
Les took the scenic route, whilst Joe, Martin,
Kevin, Alan and Clive took the direct route. The
weather was warm but overcast and fortunately we
missed the odd shower crossing our path. We
made a stop at lunchtime in what we first thought
was Carentan (a famous battle town on D-Day),
but it was actually sleepy Periers, which also saw
its fair share of battle. We arrived at our respective
hotels late afternoon and instantly sampled the
hotel’s beer, which was very acceptable!
Both Arromanches and Bayeux are good bases to
explore all the WW2 sites. Our hotel in
Arromanches-les-Bains (the Maison du 6) was
superb, sitting right next to the sea and with a very
friendly English-speaking owner and a secure
compound for the bikes. The in-house restaurant
specialised in fabulous seafood, while it’s sister restaurant a short stagger away offered the same plus
many other classic French dishes, and had a well-stocked wine cellar.

Day one: The Arromanches 360 experience, Merville Gun Battery and Pegasus Bridge
After breakfast and wondering if Les had expired due to his late rising, both groups rendezvoused at the
360 Normandy cinema just outside Arromanches, which provided us with a great introductory
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