A grey day in Bayeux

Spires of Bayeux cathedral tower over the medievial watermill on a grey November day.

Bayeux is world famous for the tapestry depicting the Normann conquest of England in 1066. The town was also the first to be liberated by the Allies in 1944. So swift was the advance of British and Canadian forces that Bayeux hardly suffered any damage.

It was here that France started rebuilding her post-war nationhood: when de Gaulle arrived he immediately apppointed a French Mayor who took over administration. So American and British command were left with no room for an occupation government.

Port-en-Bessin Hupain, harbour

The locked harbour of Port-en-Bessin, a small fishing town which claimed its place in history by serving as the petrol port during the first stages of the Battle for Normandy in 1944.

Port-en-Bessin is also where artist Georges Seurat, the founder of pointilism, painted many of his pictures.

Today the town is an active fishing port specialising in scallops (Coquilles St Jacques) and has a bustling Sunday market.

The black boat in the foreground belongs to a conservation group whcih works to preserve Norman fishermen's heritage.

Season of mists and mellow fruitfullness

This title is from the famous Keats poem about Autumn.

Bonfire Night in Normandy

Bonfire night in Vire, Calvados, 2006. The only such event in France, organised by a joint Franco-British committee...

William's Castle

November Sun brightens up the flags of Normandy, France and the European Union which crown the castle of William the Conqueror in Caen, Normandy.

Weathered

Wooden posts weather beautifully.

The whites of Normandy

The Beach at Treport, Upper Normandy.
White cliffs on both sides of the harbour, white pebbles on the beach, white beach huts, the sea a shade of white, white sailing boat and a whitewashed September sky.