fubar57
General
Karl commandeer the bridge?
The Travels of Tel's Tin Tent. (5 Viewers)
Crimea_River
Marshal
Glad you got those pics to co-operate Terry. Watching for more.
Good shots Terry!
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Airframes
Benevolens Magister
Sorry for the pause in the story - I've been a bit rough with the tail-end (I hope) of a chest infection, and trying to catch up on sleep.
So, to continue. We docked bang on time at 15.00 hrs French time, and disembarked smoothly and quickly, clearing Immigration without delays.
The journey from the port at Ouistreham to our hotel in Benouville was only 3.8 miles, taking just about 10 minutes max, and we arrived at Manoir Hastings even before the staff were due to open Reception at 15.30 hrs !
As this was the same hotel that we'd used last year, we "knew the drill", and were happy to sit and wait in the hot sunshine in the charming surroundings of the ancient courtyard. Check-in was soon completed and, after dumping our kit in our respective rooms, we relaxed with a couple of beers, before taking a stroll (or "scoot" in my case) around the village and bridge area.
Last year, we'd concentrated on the British Airborne Forces operations to take and hold the bridges over the Caen canal (Pegasus Bridge) and the Orne river (Horsa Bridge), so this little tour was just to consolidate things, and get more photos, and a "feel" for those areas we'd missed.
Rather than use the hotel restaurant on our first evening, we decided to dine at "Les Trois Planeurs" (The Three Gliders), on the site of what had been Cafe Picot at the time of D-Day, and just across the road from Cafe Gondree.
We had a pleasant couple of hours in the late afternoon sun, crossing the bridge to get more photos, before wandering back to the hotel to start to organise our plans for the following day, when we intended to commence our tour at Le Hamel, at the western edge of Gold Beach, where the tanks of the Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry came ashore on D-Day. This was to be the start of some very interesting visits, following the progress, and fierce battles, of the SRY (and associated units) from the beaches, and inland, across this area of Normandy, and will be described and illustrated as the thread progresses.
Pics below show parts of the hotel courtyard and some views around Benouville, with more to follow tomorrow, before we start out on the tour proper.
Pics 1 to 3. Hotel entrance and courtyard, with Karl sitting below one of the reminders of the battles which took place actually within this area, "spang" from a bullet or shrapnel (arrowed).
Pic 4. My room at left, conveniently arranged for disabled access. On the right (arrowed) is what we believe to be the remains of a crater from a mortar bomb, judging by the shrapnel damage to the nearby stonework.
Pic 5. Very convenient parking spot for my car, just outside my room.
Pic 6. Karl's first well-deserved beer !
Pics 7 to 12. General views around the bridge area of the village, with "Les 3 Planeurs", Cafe Gondree, and Pegasus Bridge. Note the wooden-planked walkway on the bridge. At the time of D-Day, the road bed on the original bridge was also surfaced with wooden planks, and not the steel mesh seen on the preserved bridge in the Museum grounds today. That was a later addition, when the bridge was lengthened after the canal was widened in 1964.
Back with more from the village tomorrow ......................
So, to continue. We docked bang on time at 15.00 hrs French time, and disembarked smoothly and quickly, clearing Immigration without delays.
The journey from the port at Ouistreham to our hotel in Benouville was only 3.8 miles, taking just about 10 minutes max, and we arrived at Manoir Hastings even before the staff were due to open Reception at 15.30 hrs !
As this was the same hotel that we'd used last year, we "knew the drill", and were happy to sit and wait in the hot sunshine in the charming surroundings of the ancient courtyard. Check-in was soon completed and, after dumping our kit in our respective rooms, we relaxed with a couple of beers, before taking a stroll (or "scoot" in my case) around the village and bridge area.
Last year, we'd concentrated on the British Airborne Forces operations to take and hold the bridges over the Caen canal (Pegasus Bridge) and the Orne river (Horsa Bridge), so this little tour was just to consolidate things, and get more photos, and a "feel" for those areas we'd missed.
Rather than use the hotel restaurant on our first evening, we decided to dine at "Les Trois Planeurs" (The Three Gliders), on the site of what had been Cafe Picot at the time of D-Day, and just across the road from Cafe Gondree.
We had a pleasant couple of hours in the late afternoon sun, crossing the bridge to get more photos, before wandering back to the hotel to start to organise our plans for the following day, when we intended to commence our tour at Le Hamel, at the western edge of Gold Beach, where the tanks of the Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry came ashore on D-Day. This was to be the start of some very interesting visits, following the progress, and fierce battles, of the SRY (and associated units) from the beaches, and inland, across this area of Normandy, and will be described and illustrated as the thread progresses.
Pics below show parts of the hotel courtyard and some views around Benouville, with more to follow tomorrow, before we start out on the tour proper.
Pics 1 to 3. Hotel entrance and courtyard, with Karl sitting below one of the reminders of the battles which took place actually within this area, "spang" from a bullet or shrapnel (arrowed).
Pic 4. My room at left, conveniently arranged for disabled access. On the right (arrowed) is what we believe to be the remains of a crater from a mortar bomb, judging by the shrapnel damage to the nearby stonework.
Pic 5. Very convenient parking spot for my car, just outside my room.
Pic 6. Karl's first well-deserved beer !
Pics 7 to 12. General views around the bridge area of the village, with "Les 3 Planeurs", Cafe Gondree, and Pegasus Bridge. Note the wooden-planked walkway on the bridge. At the time of D-Day, the road bed on the original bridge was also surfaced with wooden planks, and not the steel mesh seen on the preserved bridge in the Museum grounds today. That was a later addition, when the bridge was lengthened after the canal was widened in 1964.
Back with more from the village tomorrow ......................
