This is the best ferry crossing as you get a decent night's sleep - the boat gets in at 8.15am, unlike the others which tend to be about 6.30am. The restaurant is good and a three course meal with wine is pretty reasonable. Managed to get in the holiday spirit with a bottle of wine, then slept well, although it was quite rough.
The day dawned bright and the sea was a deep blue. The coast road east from St Malo is beautiful; little sandy coves and rocky islands reveal themselves around every bend.
Got to Cancale by about 10am but that was too early to savour the local delicacy of oysters, so continued on towards Mont St Michel, crossing the mrshes instead of the main road. This was a good choice - no traffic and flat roads with glimpses of the Mount all the way. Fantastic.
After lunch at Beauvoir which was incredibly good value (sandwich, strawberry tart, orangina and coffee for 7 euros) the route went inland through lovely countryside where the landscape changed into the Normandy cider apple orchards with cows grazing beneath, where reminders of the local produce were never far way. Alas I had no room to buy any of these tempting foodstuffs.
As usual when cycle touring there were unexpected beautiful places around every corner, in this case the pretty town of Ducey.
My stop for the night was Domfront. Hotel was comfortable but the restaurant was closed so had to make do with the grill, which was nothing special. 147 km done.
Day 2 went through similarly lovely country all day. First stop was Bagnoles de l'Orne, a genteel spa town in a clearing in the forests where elderly invalids go to take the waters. The Belle Epoque architecture around the lake was very attractive.
Then east, passing beautiful chateaux behind gates such as the Chateau d'O.
The turning point on the route was the French National Stud, home of highly bred racehorses. Started by Napoleon to ensure a steady supply of high quality horses for his army, it is now maintained by the state and is beautifully manicured, with wonderful buildings evocative of a bygone age.
Gentle roads followed, fortunately in between the two big hills I had seen from a distance, to the old town of Falaise, where I stopped for a coffee. This was home of William the Conqueror and his castle can still be seen to this day. Continuing on the countryside got hillier as the Suisse Normande approached. On the descent to the river valley I overtook a tractor going full pelt who seemed a bit surprised to see me pass.
The Suisse Normande is a beautiful area, unspoilt and characterised by twisting roads going up the sides of hills - hence its name. There was not much traffic and this area was a delight, although hard work.
There was one last big hill then a series of typical Normandy rollers which were pretty tiring, before the descent to Aunay sur l'Orne. This is a pretty town which was completely destroyed by the Allies just after D Day to prevent a German counter attack. It has been rebuilt with great care. The hotel was in the centre and the restaurant a delight. The five course dinner started off with local foie gras, followed by a proper 'trou normande', which consisted of an apple sorbet doused in calvados. The waitress was waiting for me to tell her to stop pouring but I did not, so think I got good value. Then a local speciality 'ris de veau' - veal sweetbreads. I don't normlly like innards but this was exceptional, cooked in a rich cream sauce. I cannot remember what I had for pudding as by now my wine had taken effect, but it followed a local cheese board. 166 km today.
Day 3 started off a bit of struggle. The legs were on strike, probably too full of calvados from the night before. I had to get to Cherbourg by 3.15pm and at first this seemed unlikely as every slight incline was a struggle. However, as with most cycling exploits, the easier times follow the hard and luckily there was a section accross the marshes where I had a good hour and covered 35km, thus making up time but as importantly getting over the bad patch and into a good rythmn. Got attacked by a suicidal dog which rushed across a main road to bark at me.
The whole area of the ride saw heavy action in WWII and reminders were everywhere, here of an officer in the Grenadier Guards.
The final 60 km were hard work across rolling country with short sharp hills which are the type I do not get on with very well. Finally, the long descent into Cherbourg arrived and I got to the ferry port at 3.14pm, with a minute to spare. The great thing about travelling by bike is that you get waved onto the ferry first and can be comfortably sitting down before the motorists come on board, having missed the queues for food and coffee. 128 km today.
A great little tour seeing some wonderful sights and unspoilt countryside, jusy right for a fairly athletic three days, which set me up nicely for the following weekend's excursion. The obligatory photo of the bike follows.
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