We continued journeying north till we could go no further and reached Dieppe.
We broke our journey at Le Bec Hellouin. It is a lovely village with a very famous abbey.
Lanfranc was a teacher in the abbey. He was friend and advisor to William of Normandy. After the Norman conquest of England he became Archbishop of Canterbury.
There was a watercolour exhibition in the village – hence this unusual display.
It is an old town. Old towns have old doors…
At last we reached the beach and the English Channel though the French don’t call it this of course.
This coastline is referred to as the Alabaster Coast though the cliffs here certainly don’t put me in mind of Alabaster.
We visited the Canadian cemetery on the outskirts of Dieppe. I find these places very moving.
19th August 1942 was the date of the raid on Dieppe. Most of these graves are of allied personnel who died on that day. They were mostly Canadians.
Our last dinner in France was unusual in that it was served in an edible bowl!
France is a lovely place.
Wendy and Russell Cannan said:
Hi Roger
Always great to be nearing home after traveling. I read mainly history books – especially around WW1 & 2. This year i have read an excellent book by Patrick Bishop about the Dieppe disaster “Operation Jubilee”. During our overseas travels we have visited many Commonwealth War Graves. Very moving experiences especially as you walk along the rows and and note the ages of many of those who died.
Thanks for the most enjoyable blog!!!!
Cheers
Wendy and Russell
Roger said:
Thank you.
When I was in Arras a few years ago I visited German, French and Canadian cemeteries. So many deaths. Terrible.
Stuart said:
Lovely to journey with you. Great photos as always. Have a safe last leg back to ‘blighty’.
One last door? A rusty sea door on the ferry?
Roger said:
Thanks. I’ll look out for one. 🙂
Marcia Nalepa said:
These lovely little stories about your travels make us in N Z so envious of the wonderful historic treasures you can explore just a fast train ride from London – if only it wasn’t so far I’d be there regularly 🥲
Marcia
Roger said:
Thank you Marcia.
You know, if NZ wasn’t so far away, I would be there more often.