We had sunny weather for our crossing from Portsmouth to Cherbourg - though windy, and the sea was quite rough for a fast ferry.

Luckily the trip only lasted 3 hours, and several women found they were happiest at the back of the boat out in the fresh air, watching the wake and the horizon.

In Cherbourg, we were met by Justine and Mick who have taken over the running of the chateau where this holiday is based - Chateau Bellenau.

This is a wonderful small chateau, full of character and charm without being imposing or smart.

It also has peacocks in the gardens - wonderful gardens which we will have to explore another evening.

After some Kir and nibbles, we were soon sitting down to a delicous meal, the log fire burning in the fireplace.

No one stayed up late - all tired from the journey and ready for bed, though one or two lingered by the fire over coffee...

Croissants and cereal for breakfast, then we picked up our baguette packed lunches and set off for Pont D'Ouvre on foot - at a very reasonable time of 10am.

Pont D'Ouvre is the visitor centre for the Regional Park of Cotendin et Bessin - situated on the outskirts of our nearest town, Carentan.

The Parc covers all the Marais in this area - wetlands which are flooded in winter, and which supply rich pasturage in summer.

We took a track across the marais to get to the centre, passing a field with spotted Normandy cows on it even though the herds aren't yet officially back 'out on the marais'.

Unfortunately we found that the Centre was being re-built and was closed, bue we were able to walk to the hide beside the Douvre.

From the hide we spotted a great crested Grebe, as well as plenty of swans and coots.

Marai also spotted that the cafe by the car park was open - so we had a coffee before Justine and Mick arrived with car and minibus to take us to our main walk.

Our walk today was to start from Brevands - a small village with a 13th century church built on the site of an earlier chuch near the Carentan canal.

From here we walked down to the 'Port' where we stopped in the lee of a building for lunch - it being rather blowy beside the water.

The Carentan canal was built by Napoleon, who hoped to link the east and west coasts of Normandy, however, the project was never finished.

The tide was coming in against a westerly wind making for some very rough water, and we walked along the bank towards the Baie des Veys with the wind behind us.

Turning inland we then followed a farm track through the marais, passing Le Chalet (a large half-timbered building) that Napoleon built for his customs inspectors.

Our circuit took us past some old 'maisons de terre' (earth houses) which are common in this area, then on past Le Colombier - a stone-built manor farm.

Finally, finishing back in Brevands we passed a 'lavoire' where women used to wash clothes communally.

We regained Brevands church 5 minutes before Justine and Mick arrived to pick us up.

Back at the chateau, the terrace looked very appealing in the sunshine.

We congregated there with our cups of tea, little madelaines (cakes), and our sun glasses! All very civilised!

Before supper, some of us were to be found strolling in the garden taking photos in the evening light...

Dinner was a delicious lentil dish for the vegetarians, or real meat sausages in lentils for the rest of the group - and, were those sausages appreciated!

The topics that came up as we later sat in front of the fire were wide ranging - watching the flames by candle light before bed....

We woke to sunshine again, and after another lazy start, we were driven to Saint Fromond - a village about 20 minutes drive away on the edge of the marais.

From here our walk took us first along the River Vire, then beside a short stretch of canal before turning up onto slightly higher ground overlooking the marais.

We walked past small orchards, open fields ready for ploughing, trees full of mistletoe, an organic smallholding run by an English family...

Our route then took us up gently through an oak wood full of wood anenomes and primroses, to emerge onto higher ground.

At Le Haut des Landes we turned onto a old lane bordered by high banks full of spring flowers.

The lane dipped down then rose again, and we spotted a stunning spotted orchid in full bloom.

At times we could see the Abbey of Saint Fromond across the fields.

We had fun at one point - negotiating a stretch of serious mud churned up by a farm vehicle - then found ourselves a perfect lunch spot in the sun with views over the surrounding low hills.

Descending towards the abbey road, we passed the most stunning bank of flowers - everything all mixed together: primroses, cellandine, violets, wood anenomes, orchids....

We emerged onto a small road and now turned towards the Abbey.

L'Abbatiale de Saint Fromond is an imposing set of buildings with a working farm beside it.

The first monastery was founded here by Saint Fromond, but the church has been burnt by the Vikings then rebuilt several times - most recently after being bombed in WW2.

We took a look inside, and found some beautiful misericords under the fold down seats, and also spent time looking at the graves...

From here it was only a short walk back to St Fromond where unfortunately the cafe was still serving Sunday lunch, and had no hands spare to serve 12 thirsty women!

So while waiting for our lifts to arrive we took a siesta beside the river watching a yellow wagtail and hoping for a kingfisher.

Tea and cake on the terrace is now a habit, and we relaxed in the sun counting ourselves very lucky - especially since there was no wind to speak of today.

After dinner that evening, Justine gave us a tour of the gardens.

The Bellanau gardens are wonderful - especially if you love trees and follies rather than lots of flowers.

The chateau has the oldest palms in France, and the highest Monkey Puzzle tree.

They were planted so long ago when Pierre La Fosse inherited the chateau and imported trees from exotic climes.

There is a tiny chapel, pathways and bridges over waterways and a small lake, islands, grottos, and even a sort of peak you can climb for a view out over the trees.

Justine had put candles in the grottos for extra effect....

We also admired the asparagus in the vegetable garden, and took a tour around the perimeter of the waterways.

Not a cloud in the sky this morning as we set off for Chateau Pirou - a small, moated castle near the west coast which has been beautifully restored.

We fell in love with it immediately.

It was a human-sized castle, with a turret and quaint ramparts, twisting staircases, and even a tapestry - all be it one embroidered in modern times.

We spent a happy hour wandering around, climbing to the ramparts, checking out the bread ovens and inglenook fireplaces, and walking around the tapestry.

One woman wanted to take a day off to enjoy Pirou beach and the cafes there, while the rest of us drove a short way to a dune walk near the River Ay estuary.

We started from Creances Plage and walked north along the beach.

The sea was miles out across the sand and it seemed unimaginable that it could come in so far.

We followed a channel of the river Ay, then climbed up into the dunes to find a sun-trap for lunch.

Continuing north, we now walked among the dunes, spotting orchids that were yet to come into flower, and occasionally coming up onto a dune top for the view across the estuary.

Already the tide was coming in and the channels were widening.

At the tip we turned alongside the estuary, and marvelled at the fields of sand where carrots and leeks were being grown.

Many of the fields were already harvested, leaving the occasional leek for us to take back to Justine for dinner!

We wandered back through these fields of sand - often with manure piled beside them waiting to be added later, or already spread with seaweed from the nearby beach.

We finished our walk with a short stretch through the pines - then drove back to Pirou Plage to find Louise and have a cup of tea or some wonderful coffee.

When the nearby patisserie opened at 4pm, some of us were in seventh heaven!

Back at the chateau, we relaxed in the late afternoon ready for another delicious dinner prepared for us by Justine and Mick.

A relatively early start today - we breakfasted at 8.00, so that we could be off by 9.00 to near Arramanches in the neighbouring department of Calvados.

Our walk started from the village of Ryes, walking via a couple of manor farms to the village church.

Up the hill from here (a gentle hill!) we gained a broad ridge top which we followed towards the sea.

The weather was perfect - bright and sunny with a gentle breeze coming from behind us.

The sun shone through the young leaves and blades of grass making the colours really vibrant.

Further along, the sea came into view, and we gently descended for a while before turning north and climbing again to another short ridge top.

Now when we reached the sea we could see all of Arramanches' Mulberry Harbour spread out before us.

This harbour was towed and carried across the channel in pieces on D Day, and used to re-supply the allied forces.

From the cliffs above the small resort town of Arramanches you can still see huge concrete blocks out to sea, and one or two are washed up on the beach.

We also went to see the short film at the 360 degree cinema - a very moving compilation of war correspondents' footage intersperced with shots of Normandy today, and finishing with the a view of the war cemetaries....

After lunch looking on the cliffs nearby, we walked down through Arramanches with time for a coffee before catching the public bus to Bayeux.

We now had a whole afternoon for this lovely small medieval town, including seeing the Bayeux Tapestry, and wandering the narrow streets, occasionally overhung by a half-timbered house.

The Bayeux Tapestry was amazing - the detail, the expressions on the faces, the scenes of Norman life, the history...

Afterwards, most of us walked to the cathedral, and some of us went down into the cript to see the frescos.

The Little Train around the old town then appealed - a lazy way to see everything!

We all met up again in time for an early dinner in Rue Saint Jean near the river.

We enjoyed a wide choice of dishes - omelettes, fish dishes, pizza or salads, and finished with some delicious desserts.

Mick and Justine came to pick us up - kindly adjusting the pickup time at short notice when we were ready a little earlier than planned. The sun was just setting...

Back at the chateau, some women sat around chatting over a cup of tea before bed.

Last walking day - and again the sun shone for us. Today we were headed for Utah Beach where the Americans landed there during D Day.

We set out along the beach towards La Baie des Veys, headed for the nature reserve at the point.

Cart-racing horses were being exercised on the sands as we walked along, and there was a flock of oyster catchers to be seen at the waters edge.

At one point, two setters joined us and seemed likely to adopt us for the day - not great news when you're headed for a nature reserve!

We headed up onto the dyke which forms the outer boundary of the reserve, but found the path overgrown with brambles and soon returned to the beach.

We had a lovely break looking out at the sea. The tide was on its way out, and now we could see a flock of cormerants at the edge of the sand.

We walked on, keeping to the sand when a certain amount of salt marsh vegetation built up between us and the gorse.

Unfortunately, this meant that when we turned towards our nature reserve path again, we had a wide tract of mud to cross, including several channels.

It was guite an effort to get across the mud - and definitely not one that we'll repeat next year!

Returning to our path, it was now bordered by gorse and the smell of coconut was superb in the warm sun, so we stopped for a breather to enjoy the view inland across the marais.

Carrying on, we now passed a small hamlet called Houseville, and after following a pretty lane, we reached another hamlet called le Grand Vey looking out over the bay.

Unfortunately, the little cafe here was closed despite local info to the contrary, and some of the group decided that without refreshment they wouldn't be able to go further!

So, while 5 of us walked back to the cafe where we'd parked the minibus, the rest relaxed in a sunny spot and waited to be picked up.

The 5 of us who walked back along the other side of the nature reserve spotted 3 coipu swimming one of the wide ditches.

Coipu were introduced here after the war when people didn't have enough to eat - however they are now considered a pest as they eat the tree roots along the marais ditches.

All back at Utah beach, we had a coffee or tea at the eccentric Roosevelt cafe - full of WW2 memorabilia and old newspaper cuttings.

At the chateau, Justine had discovered a freshly built crow's nest in the main chimney - so Mick had to turn chimney sweep before the fire could be lit again!

That evening we had the first of this season's crop of asparagus as a starter.

This was followed by galettes, then chocolate mouse.

After supper we gave Mick and Justine a thank you present, and they in turn gave Marij a palm seedling as a thankyou for help she had given in the garden.

Early start with breakfast at 6am. We were all ready early despite being reluctant to leave. Our ferry back was from Caen and would sail at 9am.

In Caen, Mick and Justine came into the ferry terminal for a coffee with us.

Lots of hugs all round when they left - they had been wonderful, and we had felt so well looked after and catered for.

For this return trip we were sailing from Caen on a big ferry. You had the feeling that it wouldn't lean in the waves whatever their size - and it didn't!

We had a very calm crossing, sitting around chatting and reading on comfy seats in the bar, wandering out on deck for a breath of fresh air... A relaxed finish to a relaxed holiday!