That old chestnut of
packing up a wet tent. If you fold up a dry inner with a wet outer and squeeze
them into a tent bag, the inner is likely to get damp. If you have a warm wind
first thing, a good quality lightweight tent may dry in an hour. Alternatively, I
have front panniers that use for the inner and outer tents, keeping them apart.
If I stop for half an hour, I whip them out for a bit of a breeze.
So, with a bit of rain and the usual dew, the tents were
wet…
We rejoined the TdM for a short ride to Mortain to the
north-east. It was here that we encountered the first reference to the Battle
of the Cotentin Peninsula, part of the wider Battle of Normandy in WW2. Allied
forces, primarily American, landed to north on Utah Beach on D-Day and
elsewhere on the peninsula. Meanwhile the Battle of Cherbourg ensued as the
Allies secured more of Manche. The eventual success of the Normandy Landings
pushed the Germans back until they undertook an ill-fated counter attack on
Mortain.
Mortain suffered severe destruction during the war and like
many towns in Normandy it was quickly rebuilt after the war. One building, L’
Abbe]aye Blanche, just down the road in Nuefbourg, got away unscathed – which,
in some people’s books, was a pity.
Nice boulangerie and
café in NeufBourg.
The TdM rises slowly but surely, to almost 1000ft and the
long straight inclines, hemmed in by avenues of high trees, the path does have
a touch of tedium about it. We were cycling along on a Saturday and the path
was deserted – as it would be the following day. A road bike might be a bit
vulnerable to being chipped by gravel
but any other kind of bike should have been out in abundance.
France: twice the size of the UK physically with about the
same population yet the countryside always seems disproportionately deserted.
Minor roads are ideal with little traffic but roll into a large village hungering
for a café you might only find a very handy Coiffure if you are in desperate
need of a hair-do.
The TdM meanders quietly up through to just west of Vire at
which point it veers east and then north towards Carentan. We took to the roads
to head north-west to Coutances through Percy and Hambaye.
The hillage in this 25-mile stretch was of the steep,
rolling type, with one valley after another through lovely, tranquil scenery.
There was the occasional mega tractor to contend with on the narrow roads as it
went about its agricultural business. We
stopped off for pizza beneath a blazing sun at a deserted village restaurant.
As the afternoon wore on, clouds assembled behind and in front in preparation
for the night’s forthcoming entertainment – heavy rain and lightning etc. We
managed to get the tents up in between showers before we walked up to the
bustling town centre in the throes of a Jazz festival. The town features an
over-sized church that can be seen for miles. Not content with just one pizza,
we had another.
The campsite is down a hill to the west of the town centre.
It features stand-up crappers, which are always good for a laugh. Urban sites
possess the risk of increased barkage – intoxicated shouty people wandering
about, over-excitable teenagers out terrorising park benches with their smoking
and incessant text-messaging, and groaning traffic. 11€04 for the pitch.
67.7 miles 4560ft elevation
