In association with TRAVEL
We'd not been this way for some time. Travelling to France most years to mosey around in the ‘van and visit the French side of the family (our son is married to a French lady), we've used Eurotunnel. But with the unappealing prospect of queues at south coast terminals, we opted for the Poole to Cherbourg daytime Brittany Ferries’ crossing. It was time our Norfolk terrier, Bosworth, got his sea legs, and revisiting the Cotentin Peninsula appealed; it was years since we'd been there. We'd revisit some old favourites and check out some new ones on our journey southwest to the Dordogne.
Arriving in France, we drove through Valognes for old times’ sake, having stayed at the municipal campsite there many years ago. The town didn't look much changed, we recognised several landmarks, but we were en route to the Cotentin's east coast, heading for Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue.
We stayed two nights at Camping La Gallouette, perfectly placed for walking to the town and harbour, or along the adjacent sea wall to the Hougue. Saint Vaast, I discovered, is the patron saint for the healing of sight, with churches in Belgium and England dedicated to him, as well as those in the town itself. But what was a Hougue? I looked it up. It's a hill or mound, which made sense when viewed in the context of the surrounding flat coastal landscape and marshes.
The Hougue and its peninsula is home