Normandy D Day beaches

Friday 13th June 2025

We left the BVoF village of Le Bec Hellouin this morning heading further west and made our way to another BVoF village, Beuvron en Auge.

But not before a quick call at Leclerc supermarket (think Tesco Extra) for a data sim card to keep us connected.

Beuvron en Auge is indeed a pretty village, but it does have a less authentic feel to it than some of the other villages in the book.

It all looks a bit to recently rebuilt, which I suppose they all have rebuilt to some extent, but in this case it felt a bit more obvious.

A nice approach to Beuvron en Auge

These guys were English and had driven over on the ferry

It was still worth looking at the village and photographing it but was all clearly aimed at the tourist market.

With the Village visited and the supermarket sorted, we set off west towards Cean and the Normandy D Day Beaches.

Our destination for tonight is a paid aire at Lion sur Mer which is on the British D Day Sword Beach about 15 km north of Caen.

There's not a lot to see here except the long stretches of sandy beach, so familiar from so many photographers and films, with a row of large villas on the promenade. 

Some appear boarded up and disused, others are converted into guest houses and hotels, but all have a feel of slightly faded grandeur.

Sword beach

Lion Sur Mer village

I think we'll have a couple of nights in Lion Sur Mer for the weekend and see what events are happening in the area 

I also intend to cycle to Bénouville tomorrow which is the village famous for having the Pegasus Bridge, scene of a notorious battle by British forces.

They were tasked with landing and securing the bridge in advance of D Day to allow the troops to advance inland over the bridge.

There's a museum nearby so I'll no doubt learn much more about it.

After tea we has a sudden thunder storm with hail, thunder and lightening.