France Trip - Day 27

Today was much cooler and more overcast. We drove to Utah beach, which is the smaller of the two beaches that the Americans landed at on D-Day.

There are memorials and equipment around the area outside the museum there. We had a wander around.

We decided to go into the museum, so left Oscar in the campervan. It was very interesting and kept us occupied for a while.

We drove on to the fishing village of Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue further up the Cherbourg peninsula to have a wander round. As we approached it we passed lots of signs saying there was an oyster festival on today.

The village was bigger than we thought, and busy, so it took us a while to find a parking space big enough for the campervan. Eventually we found a suitable spot to the north of the village, and set off walking back to the port by the promenade.

It turned out that oysters are a very big thing here. The tide was out so we could see loads of the racks they use to cultivate them. Baby oysters are placed in sacks and attached to the racks, and left to grow for up to 3 years feeding by filtering the sea water that covers them when the tide comes in.

On the dockside we came across the oyster festival itself, it actually seemed like it was quite a small affair.

We walked round the port to the south.

Further round there's a causeway to La Hougue, a peninsula that's almost an island that has a fort on it. We walked round it - first we tried to go clockwise but found there's a section where you have to walk along a narrow sea wall that's really not wide enough to pass anyone. So there are signs saying everyone should go anticlockwise, so we backtracked and did so.

We then went into the centre of the village, had a look at its church then had a drink sitting outside a bar.

As we walked back along the promenade we saw a kind of amphibious bus that was taking people on trips round the oyster beds and out to an island.

We drove back to the campsite. It was still a bit chilly for a barbecue so we cooked inside today - sausages, courgette, tomato, pepper, and mushrooms.