Thank you for our free trip on Brittany Ferries on September 23-24 which we won in an Oxford Mail competition. We had a very enjoyable trip and would very much like to repeat it but are unable to afford the expense of another trip – even with special offers.

We left it until almost the expiry date before booking our but we were glad we had, as we were so lucky with the weather and enjoyed a luxurious cabin that enabled us to arrive fresh at Ouistreham on Saturday morning.

Never having driven on the right before (in my son’s case) and only once before in my case, we were a little nervous about disembarking in the dark but made our way to the outskirts of Caen before turning for the coast and the Normandy beaches, which my son wanted to see.

We had a second breakfast in Luc sur Mer and then headed down the coast as far as Arromanches, before turning back towards Caen (via Bayeux) to visit my long-standing French friend who has a summer flat in Deauville.

Though we got a bit lost in driving around the ‘Caen Peripherique’, we did eventually arrive in Deauville in time to have lunch in a Brasserie in Trouville, before continuing north up to Honfleur, where we had a little promenade followed by a ‘The Anglais’.

Finally, we drove back to Ouistreham, via Deauville, where we left my friend, who gave us part of a huge quiche that we managed to eat in a corner on the boat after re-embarking and before going to bed in our comfortable cabin.

We managed to have a quick breakfast of croissants and coffee before docking again at Portsmouth and then drove to the home of some friends who live at Titchfield Common.

We bought some delicious croissants to take with us for a communal breakfast, before heading back to Oxford, full of the wonderful experience which we had just enjoyed. Thank you so much.

JANE MERCER Pegasus Grange Whitehouse Road Oxford