June 9, 2018
Day 75: Fecamp to Dieppe
Our B&B outside Fecamp had the great advantage of being right on our route. And since it was a B&B rather than a hotel, our bikes were more or less right outside and ready to load and go. Breakfast consisted of basically baguette and jam, and much as we love baguette we are finding it increasingly difficult to have it as such a main part of our diet.
Jacques, our host, came out to see us off so I was able to snap a photo. Without these photos we would never remember all the people who have been so kind to us in their homes on this trip.
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It was not only that the B&B was close to our route, but that route at this point was on the Veloroute du Lin. When we came down the hill and turned onto the Veloroute, it felt like we were on an expressway.
The Veloroute du Lin is brand new. In fact it is scheduled for completion "Summer 2018" and we did find lots of work to be done. But still it was fine, more than fine. It's a rail trail, 70 km long, running from Fecamp to Dieppe. The paving is new and smooth as can be, but it has other very pleasing attributes. It seems logical and what else would you expect, but all the design elements are consistent right the way along. I am talking about the blue crosswalk paint, the design of the crosswalk barriers - all in lovely cedar, the signage, the painting of upcoming town names and distances on the asphalt, the periodic all cedar rest areas with tables and garbage, etc. To be sure, there turned out to be several quite long stretches where the trail has yet to be developed. But for these, excellent signage put us on very small and quiet roads that in some cases were just as good as the trail itself would be. And sure enough, 70 kms later we were delivered to Pourville, just beside Dieppe, where the Veloroute du Lin intersects with the older, hillier, coast route.
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True to its name, the Veloroute du Lin took us through many fields of crops, lots of which was Lin - flax. The flax at this stage of development is bright green, and very pleasant to ride beside. Other main crops are oats and corn, all of which together with the ocean mist made this a great visual ride.
Of course it is not just the colour of crops that catches our attention, there is, as always, cows and buildings. Today we saw small groups mainly of Normande cows which are the loveliest, but also caramel ones, black and white, all white, and even red. With buildings, we continued to see a lot of flint in the walls, plus very decorative use of brick. Thatched roofs are making more of and appearance, as are half timbers. There are some with exposed vertical timbers, which we have not seen before. Thatched roof - half timber is an iconic Norman style that we could probably find on postcards.
Dieppe, our destination for today, is famous for the 1942 mostly Canadian raid that ended in disaster. On the other hand, Dunkirk, 200 km north, is the place where mostly British troups evacuated the continent June 4, 1940. The Germans had trapped the British in that northern corner by charging through to the Somme, at Abbeville.
These facts are good to have in mind to appreciate what happened next with us. We were cycling along from from Drosay. Drosay is a town inland from St Valerie en Caux. Stay with me now. Here are these towns on a map:
Drosay is 10 km from the coast. We were surprised to see a golf course there, with one man playing golf. As we approached he happened to leave the course and cross the road near us. We stopped to talk, and he pointed out a large rock nearby that had been carved. It was a memorial of something that happened on June 11 and 12, 1940. That is, a week after the evacuation of the armies trapped north of the Somme, at Dunkirk.
This involved a number, not sure how many, of the Scottish Black Watch. Trapped and unable to go to either Dunkirk or Le Havre, they tried to fight their way back into St Valerie. St Valerie is a tiny port stuck between high chalk cliffs. In this struggle, the Black Watch was assisted by a French unit - the 12th Chasseurs -(Cavalry). The French tried to get the Black Watch out, but they themselves would not be leaving.
As it happened, fog in the Channel prevented an evacuation on the night of the 11th (we know about that fog too!). After considering their own potential fight to the death, the Black Watch surrendered on the 12th. That was the same day that France surrendered.
There is a (rather hard to follow) eye witness account here. Here is the Black Watch commander with Rommel, the German general, at St Valerie. All this happened exactly where we were standing, and also 10 kms away.
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Inside the church at Dorsay we found the now familiar barrel vault ceiling. Also, in the stained glass, added to the usual heroic and mythical representations there was a world war related panel. Fair enough. What seems more or less current to us now will soon enough be ancient history.
The veloroute took us not directly to Dieppe, but to a valley and beach just to the west, at Pourville. The terrain here has a number of valleys at right angles to the water, with rivers presumably in them. At Pourville its the Scie.
Pourville also has WWII history to it. In the Spring of 1942, operation "Jubilee" was mounted, to try to get a foothold for the British/Canadians back on the continent. The attack was like the one that followed in 1944, with thrusts on multiple beaches. In this case the beaches had colour names, and Pourville was "Green Beach". The other seven locations were both west and east of Green. To the west, two - White and Red - were frontal assaults on Dieppe.
Pourville, like the other beaches, was a disaster. It's in a narrow valley and the Germans controlled the hills above. We climbed out of that hole ourselves today. No one shot at us, but we did have to contend with cuckoos on the narrow road. We watched some of the nearer near misses as they attempted to zoom around us on blind corners.
At the hill above Pourville we were also at a point from which Monet had done at least one painting. Here it is:
We continued climbing over the ridge and descended into Dieppe, following the "Avenue des Canadiens". While still at some height we got a peek down and it seemed like we were looking at another Le Havre. Oh, oh. We reached our hotel the "Egg Hotel" easily and directly - nothing like Le Havre. Our bikes went to their room and we went to ours, and the day could have ended there. But I thought I should go out for a peek and see if this truly was Le Havre or not. Leaving Dodie to nurse her knees (actually, just to put up with them) I zoomed out and was quickly surprised to find interesting buildings, a cafe scene, a lovely harbour, and a cathedral. Not Le Havre at all. Hooray. Tomorrow on the bikes, Dodie will see it too. For now, both she and any readers can have a look through my camera:
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Bonus: Wild Strawberries
Flying along at 13 kph Dodie, Dodie spotted a patch of wild strawberries! This was a big patch, with more wild berries than we almost have ever seen in one place. I sat in the middle and ate them like a bear. Dodie, I assume, was more dainty.
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6 years ago
6 years ago
Today's ride: 80 km (50 miles)
Total: 4,951 km (3,075 miles)
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Keep safe
Tricia
6 years ago
As I wrote, I was surprised to find the downtown intact!
We have been trying to read your blog a bit to see what is coming. But now, though we could get on the London-Paris for a bit, it seems best to continue up the coast until turning at the Somme and heading for Amiens.
6 years ago