Cycle Touring in France: Hills, hills and more hills

It seemed a good idea to travel along the coast towards Dieppe, stopping at all the seaside towns along the way, but when the towns are separated by cliffs it means each one is reached by going downhill steeply and then back up again on the other side. Our legs got a real workout and we were really glad to reach Saint-Valery-en-Caux, especially as we were cycling into a strong headwind all afternoon. No wonder there are wind turbines in this area. There is also a nuclear power plant nicely hidden behind lots of trees!

We managed to get a special deal in a three star hotel by the pleasure port and it was wonderful to have a hot shower and relax at the day's end. We visited the museum today which is set in a house that King Henry IV visited on his travels. It had a special exhibition about galets (pebbles) which were the lifeblood of this area. They have been collected on the beach for hundreds of years and used for architecture, ball mills and, when heated and ground, for chemicals, paints and sandpaper. Most of the houses here are made from a mix of bricks and pebbles (flint) and have quite a character. They are only on one side of the river though as the other was destroyed by Rommel's tanks in 1940. Yet again, the war features in these towns along the Normandy coast. There is a stone obelisk on the hill to commemorate the 51st Highlanders (Canadian) who liberated the town in 1944.

Church built after the war- inside are lots of boats and fishing equipment, with stones listing those lost at sea.