Stage 4: Bayeux to Ouistreham (26 miles)

It's seven miles to the coast at Arromanches, the heart of D-day memorialisation. It's the site of one of the portable concrete "mulberry harbours" used for the landings, the remains of which you can still see in the sea.  The main D-Day museum is here, and is well worth a visit.

Then it's 20 miles along the coast to Ouistreham, with various D-day memorials on the way. Warning: there's quite a substantial climb coming out of Arromanches, but after descending to the sea again the rest is flat.

If you want to catch an afternoon ferry (usually 430) you'll need to get up early to see the D-Day sites as well, but there's also the option of getting an overnight ferry and having a longer more relaxed day.

If you get to Ouistreham early, there are some pleasant restaurants/cafes opposite the ferryport entrance, so you can relax until time to board.

Directions: Take D516 to Arromanches, then the coast route to Ouistreham. The latter is mainly lightly traffic roads, some going through the small coastal towns, and in some cases decent cycle paths along longer distance routes. Contrary to the map below, which is for general orientation, you can't hug the coast all the way, and sometimes the route is a bit unclear (eg you find yourself in a coastal town but it's not possible to continue along the seaside route), but as long as you leave enough time it's not too hard to find the way, and some of the places you may end up in are pleasant little towns.  

When you get to Ouistreham just keep going straight on until you get to the estuary, which brings you out at the group of cafes very close to the ferry.


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