After spending a lovely week with our friend Sue, getting doggy cuddles, eating too much cheese & sleeping in a proper bed we were on the road again. We had booked the CCP close to Honfleur , so had 3 nights to plan. Le Mans was discussed but decided against it (not sure why) We wanted to cover off 1/4 of the journey, we found Sainte Suzanne as it has the title of (one of many) The Most Beautiful Villages of France. A medieval village with a castle, ramparts, narrow cobbled streets & 12th century Romanesque church. Apparently it’s the only “City” to have resisted William the Conqueror. It’s pretty compact, so we were able to whizz around it in a few hours. Not content with just sitting around, we found out that there was a megalith tomb dating back to BC 3975! Instead of doing the sensible thing & getting the bikes out, we walked the 4 mile round trip! The weather for the next few days was going to be hot & sunny, so we made our next stop a two nighter. Fortunately we found another “Beautiful Village” stop at Le Bec-Hellouin. We chose to stay at a campsite with a pool. The abbey was founded in 1034 & 2 of the abbots went on to become Archbishops of Canterbury. The half timbered houses were decked with flowers & it was a beautiful place. Again, as it was so small, we were able to see everything in a few hours. The next day was a scorcher, so we took advantage of the pool & had a quiet day in preparation for our arrival in Honfleur the following day.
Sainte Suzanne
Le Bec-Hellouin
