A report from our Foreign Corresponent Lesley Willies
A Vintage French Adventure
Who would have thought it possible that seven sleek, classic Morgans driving round the French countryside could be upstaged? Certainly not the 14 members of Anglemog whose Spring Foray 2026 took them on a 10-day driving tour of Normandy and the Loire Valley. Yet our convoy of seven vehicles was eclipsed by the 3,500 2CVs in the Loire region attending the 31st National Meeting of French 2CV clubs! However, in true ‘entente cordiale’ style there was plenty of mutual appreciation of each other’s vehicles as we all explored the normally quiet lanes of the Loire Valley!
Our trip had begun five nights earlier in Normandy where following a six-hour ferry crossing from Portsmouth to Caen we checked into the beautiful Hotel Domaine de Utah Beach for a couple of nights before moving on to the impressive La Ferme de la Ranconniere hotel in Crepon. Not surprisingly the focus of our stay in Normandy was very much the D-Day landings of June 6th, 1944. Whilst many members had already experienced the moving memorials, museums and cemeteries along the coastline, others were visiting for the first time. Without exception everyone, whether they had seen them before or not, was moved by the respectful way the sacrifices of so many were remembered and commemorated. For most of the group the highlight was the British Normandy Memorial in Ver-sur-Mer. Formally inaugurated on 6th June 2019, the 75th anniversary of D-Day, and officially opened by The Prince of Wales on 6th June 2021, the memorial overlooks Gold Beach and records the names of the 22,540 servicemen and women under British command who died on D-Day and the subsequent Battle of Normandy. We were also fortunate to see the Standing with Giants installation which features 1,475 giant silhouettes each representing a life lost under British command on D-Day itself.
Other highlights of our six days in Normandy included visits to Arromanche with its abandoned Mulberry B harbour; the Omaha Beach Museum and American cemetery and the Normandy Victory Museum. We also took in some of the other more uplifting sights the region has to offer with some members opting to drive around the beautiful Cherbourg Peninsular whilst others visited local towns including Bayeux - though any ideas of seeing the tapestry were scotched as it is currently being packed up to be displayed at the British Museum later in the year!
A 340-kilometre drive south brought us to the Loire Valley where our base for four nights was the Auberge du Centre in the small village of Chitenay. Of course, the main attraction of the area is its incredible chateaux and we were spoiled for choice. Heading off in different directions we managed to visit many of the area’s offerings including: the Chateau de Chombard, the largest chateau in the Loire Valley, renowned for its Renaissance architecture; the Chateau du Clos Luce, Leonardo da Vinci’s final home and the Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire famous for its annual International Garden Festival where landscape architects and artists from around the world are invited to design temporary, immersive gardens. When we were ‘chateaued out’ members enjoyed scenic runs to towns and villages including Orleans, Blois, Ambroise and the troglodyte village of Troo with its houses built into the cliffs.
Of course, no holiday report would be complete without a mention of the weather - COLD! But fortunately the 10 days worth of rain that had been forecast before we left the UK did not materialise and the vast majority of our forays were made with the hoods down (and heaters on!). A huge, huge thank you must go to Jan and Ray Alderman who organised the trip ably assisted by Dave Waite and Roger and Christine Upward. Merci beaucoup, on s’est eclate (which google translate assures me means ‘we had a blast’!).
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