Normandy Sept 2026

Day 1 

We arrived into St Malo early in the morning and wasted no time in heading out on the Eurovelo 4 cycle path, mostly along the coast affording beautiful views across the water. We stopped in Saint Benoit des Ondes for a coffee & cake by the sea which was so nice we also bought lunch and cycled on to a lovely spot, near a windmill, for a picnic where we could see our destination: Mont St. Michel. We arrived at the hotel and most of us went off to explore the beautiful island followed by a drink in the sun. 

Day 2

Leaving Mont St. Michel we continued on the coastal path then turned inland onto the old railway line and cycled for miles through beautiful, rolling countryside. 

Our overnight destination was Mortain-Bocage which has a fairly famous history from the war. It is also perched on the top of a very steep hill which was the finale of our Day 2 ride. The rewards were a lovely hotel, with a pool, sweeping views and a fabulous dinner !

Day 3

Leaving Mortain we joined the Veloscenic route with a lunch target of Domfront, a characterful old medieval town, again on the top of a hill! We found a delightful cafe and took up residence for a couple of hours as people explored the various attractions including the castle ruins, art-deco, byzantine church and winding cobbled streets. We continued along the track into Flers: less historic but the hotel was nice and we found a fabulous restaurant that assembled a memorable steak tartare at our table!

Day 4

We left Flers for our largely road based and hilly day through "Suisse Normande". We paused in a pretty little town called La Carneille where a local, Claude, beckoned us into his garden for an impromptu lecture about the towns history and the eccentric and unusual collection of plants he had amassed. I think we spent over an hour with him.

 Leaving the village we had a mechanical incident with one of the bikes. Some PBB knowhow and help from a friendly local provided a resolution and we continued through the rolling hills of Suisse Normande before arriving into Thury-Harcourt for our final overnight stop.

Day 5

Our last day saw a return to the beautifully groomed cycle tracks following the river Orme up to Caen. Here we had a coffee break in the centre of the town before joining the canal path up to the Pegasus Bridge and onwards to Ouistreham.

 As we had plenty of time we cycled a couple of miles down the coast to a lovely sea side cafe for a slap up final meal, the same welcoming one used on the June Holiday. 

As we cycled back to the ferry terminal, stopping briefly at some of the war memorials, we were all unanimous that it had been a wonderful and memorable trip.

Stay tuned for Holidays and other trips during 2027 !