Ouistreham - Merville-FRANCEVILLE-PLAGE: 14km 16 min
Pegasus Bridge
Pegasus was the code name given to a tipping bridge over the River Orne near the town of Ouistreham. The bridge was one of the main targets of the British 6th Airborne Division, which landed with some gliders in its vicinity during the Normandy landings, on the night between 5 and 6 June 1944. Since then the bridge has been permanently named Pegasus Bridge ( Ponte Pegasus), in memory of the operation.
The primary purpose of the capture of Pegasus Bridge was to secure the eastern flank of the operational scenario, preventing a counterattack that would wipe out the entire invasion force.
The initial assault was carried out by 181 soldiers with 6 Horsa gliders, led by Major John Howard. They landed about fifty meters from the bridge, 16 minutes after midnight on 6 June. The few German guards who guarded the structure, despite the proximity, did not hear the gliders land and were thus knocked out after a firefight that lasted about ten minutes, making the bridge the first target captured on D-Day. Among the soldiers killed in the operation was Lieutenant Den Brotheridge, who was the first allied victim of D-Day. (Wikipedia)
PEGASUS MEMORIAL MUSEUM
1 Avenue du Major Howard -
14860 RANVILLE
Free parking along the road, lunch and visit of the museum. Admission allowed for dogs.
And here, let's go back to
Saint-Laurent-sur-mer : since the race is Sunday, we have to oversee the location for logistics.
Merville-FRANCEVILLE-PLAGE - Saint-Laurent-sur-mer: c.a. 70 km.
First we go to Lidl for shopping, to Arromanches to load and unload and finally we reach Saint-Laurent.
Attracted by a sign "Aire de Camping-car ICI" we stop for the night.
It is a large flat lawn divided into pitches that is part of a house: the owners are renovating it and making their land available (for a fee, God forbid) to stop.
I'm sorry, but I put a negative review on P4N: € 8 to sleep in a meadow without any service does not seem honest to me considering that across the road there is a (badly) marked sleeping area for campers. For 2 € - which we paid - we were told that we could do the water supply, too bad that the owners were not present until late in the morning and the water tap was closed. Surely in a few years it will be very nice to stop there, not now! Also in the evening we hold a heated discussion because:
- the kids keep insisting on going home
- until Sunday we are "confined" to Omaha Beach due to running
- I will not be able to see the cliffs of Étretat nor the rest of the trip planning
Maybe that's why I was so relentless against the rest area ??
Rest area
8 Rte de Port en Bessin, 14710 Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer, France
no services
Parking
Free parking signposted for overnight stop
PARKING de l'Église
7 Rue de l'Église, 14710 Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer, France
no services - yes separate collection