‘Here lie heroes’: Exploring the D-Day beaches of Normandy

It is hard to imagine a more beautiful beach than that at St. Laurent-sur-Mer.

An empty expanse of sand sweeps along the northern French coast, backed by grassy dunes buzzing with bumblebees and dotted with wild flowers. Only the crashing of waves and the wail of gulls fill the silence.

It was a very different scene on June 6, 1944, when to the surprise of the occupying German forces, 34,250 American soldiers leapt from their landing craft into a rough sea and splashed onto the beach in the most fiercely fought battle of the D-Day landings. They met the German guns head on and were cut to pieces.

The codename for the landing site: Omaha Beach There were more than 3,680 US casualties to 1,000 German dead and injured. Many never made it ashore. Those who did, faced a hellish tangle of barbed wire, anti-tank defences, mines and a hail of machine gun fire.

Next week, we will stand in silence to remember all those who have fallen in war. In Normandy, that act of remembrance is daily. Communities refuse to forget the sacrifice at Omaha and the other D-Day landing sites – Utah, Sword, Gold and Juno beaches, the shell-mangled cliff-top defences of Pointe du Hoc, and the verdant marshes of the Marais du Cotentin, St Mere Eglise, and the banks of the Caen Canal, where British and American airborne troops were the first to parachute or crash-land in gliders on to occupied soil at the start of that longest day.

From Caen in the east to the handsome maritime city of Cherbourg at the tip of the Cotentin peninsula, scores of museums, memorials and cemeteries tell the story of Operation Overlord – and of those who were here. Many take the form of tanks and artillery pieces left behind by the allies, lovingly tended by the communities they liberated. Elsewhere, striking memorials stretch into the sky from dunes or beside country roads.

One of the most dramatic sits on Omaha Beach. Les Braves Memorial has tall fingers of steel rising from the sand, representing what sculptor Anilore Banonin calls the Wings of Hope, Rise Freedom, and the Wings Of Fraternity. Commissioned by the French government to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the D-Day, it was intended as a temporary structure but won the hearts of the public.

Inshore, at Colleville-sur-Mer, the American Cemetery is a sobering site; its 9,387 perfectly-aligned headstones telling the true cost of what happened that day. A Garden of the Missing carries the names of 1,557 more.

The largest Commonwealth cemetery is in the medieval city of Bayeux, where 4,648 graves, some unidentified, are joined by a memorial carrying the names of 1,801 missing servicemen.

The town, of course, is best known for its eponymous tapestry depicting a very different Norman invasion.

Poignant: Les Braves Memorial, Omaha Beach

At Ranville, 2,562 graves are tended by the British Commonwealth War Graves Commission. This is the final resting place of the men who fired the first shots of D-Day, in the fight to take the strategically important Benouville Bridge over the Caen Canal – better known as Pegasus Bridge (named after the unit’s flying horse shoulder emblem).

Here the British 6th Airborne Division, with men from the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry commanded by Major John Howard, scored the first victory of the day.

Their achievement is commemorated in a fabulous museum containing the original bridge and a Horsa glider.

Firepower: US tank, Utah Beach

Further museums at the Canadian landing site at Juno, the US site at Utah, and Arromanches, where the British constructed an extraordinary temporary “Mulberry” harbour are all absorbing and essential. Likewise the Airborne Museum at St Mere Eglise, where a model of a US paratrooper still swings from the church, his parachute tangled around the tower.

While major tourist attractions, all succeed in remaining dignified and respectful. There is no glorification of what happened here, no jingoism nor commercialisation. What remains, 71 years on is a sense of respect, gratitude and, yes, some justified pride, in what our forefathers achieved. All that is left for us, is to visit this stunning corner of France, marvel at their courage and make sure that it never happens again.

Savage beauty: Pointe Du Hoc, is littered with the debris of war. It was here the US ARmy Rangers scaled the cliffs to immobilise German artillery. Despite fierce resistance, the guns had already gone

THE FACTS

* Stay: Enjoy the great outdoors on the most beautiful stretch of the Northern French coastline at L’Anse Du Brick.

This five-star camping site, just a few miles outside Cherbourg, is part of the Les Castels group of quality campsites. Stay in a chalet, with beautifully equipped kitchen, lounge and bathroom - and outdoor deck with barbecue. Facilities on site include indoor and outdoor swimming pools (with water slide), cafe-bar, pizzaria and shop. And the beach is five minutes' walk away. And it's glorious!

For more information on L’Anse Du Brick and Les Castels visit lescastels.com 

* Tim travelled with Brittany Ferries from Portsmouth to Caen.

Brittany Ferries operates the longer routes from Portsmouth, along with Poole and Plymouth, to Western France, saving miles of unnecessary and costly driving.

Travel overnight by luxury cruise-ferry in the comfort of your own cabin with en-suite facilities or be whisked across the channel in just three hours.

From Portsmouth to Caen, fares start at £79 one way for a car plus two passengers.

Book online at www.brittanyferries.com or call 0330 159 7000.

* For bargains on ferry travel, go to www.AFerry.co.uk.
AFerry.co.uk is The Travel Gateway’s leading on-line ferry brand, featuring unique real-time comparison technology for ferries. This handy site covers ferry routes worldwide, with an AFerry.co.uk app for iPhone and Android.
* For more on the D-Day beaches go to brittany-ferries.co.uk/d-day-guide

WHERE TO STAY: 'Glamping' fit for kings with Le Castels five-star holiday site. More here....