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We decided to include Normandy within this series simply because everywhere we have travelled so far one mans name kept on cropping up - William the Conqueror. So, in the final programme, we went to where it all began for the man who would change the world that we now live in.
After a late night journey through the EuroTunnel on Le Shuttle which was as smooth and as quick as ever, we drove for three hours to the west of France and Normandy. We based ourselves in Caen (Con) because of its central position in terms of places to see and because of its importance with William. It was here that the Duke of Normandy built a huge castle, two Abbeys and made good his plans to invade England.
However, 900 years later Caen was also the centre of an entirely different power struggle. Hitler placed his 'Atlantic Wall' all along the northern coast of France. A huge line of gun emplacements pointing towards England. Hitler always expected the Allied forces to attack closer to Calais and he would never have expected them to choose the tiny fishing village Arromanches as the centre for their invasion, which is precisely why the Allies did land there. In one hour between 6.30 and 7.30am on the 6th of June 1944 120,000 astonishingly brave men and 20,000 vehicles landed on the sands under very heavy fire. Five beaches were used in all. Two Mulberrys were dragged across the water, (Mulberry was the name given to the enormous floating harbours that were built in Britain but assembled in Normandy) the day after D Day. Over 2 million men used the Mulberry 'B' which can still be seen in Arromanches. The five beaches are all within a few miles of each other north of Caen and are very well signposted around Longues Sur Mer which is also where the German gun emplacements have bee left as they were.
We also visited the Bayeux Cemetery in Bayeux which is just on of the many which cover Normandy. 4,600 dead are buried there with another 1,800 unnamed soldiers in the memorial next door. Including civilians, over 50 million people lost their lives in the Second World War which is why there is a memorial for peace in the city of Caen. Set within its own gardens for peace is a centre that guides visitors through the build up to war, the horror of war and points out our duty to maintain peace. This is an extremely moving experience and I recommend that you allow no less than half a day to try and take it all in. Open all year but closed January 1st to 15th. Normandy Telephone: 00 31 06 06 44.
Whilst in Bayeux we had to go and see the most famous piece of cloth in the world. The Bayeux Tapestry. It's not actually a tapestry at all, but an embroidery. 230 feet long and 20 inches high it tells the whole story of the Norman invasion of England. It was probably made for William's wife Matilda by William's half brother Bishop Odo, and was embroidered by monks in an English abbey. The work was put on display in Normandy to show the people why William had done what he did, and what happened. The Bayeux Tapestry is in the Centre Guillaume le Conquerant, Rue de Nesmond, Bayeux. Open every day except 25th December and 1st January. Telephone: 00 33 31 92 05 48.
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