It’s been ten years since our last expedition.
So much has changed.
So much is just the same.
They say you should never go back, but France just keeps drawing us in.
This trip was last-minute and short. Rural Normandy was our destination.
Quiet.
Peaceful.
Full of cheese, cider and a few surprises.
So it was time.
Time to visit Normandy again.
For many years, Pork Belly and I spent three weeks every September touring France by car, exploring less well known regions as well as the famous sights.
We’d travel on a whim, armed only with a Logis de France book to check out the local auberges, a giant book of maps (paper Satnav!), a sharp knife for roadside picnics and, of course, a camera.
Random conversations with locals in shops, bars and markets would send us far and wide, stopping when anything looked interesting (or tasted good!), be it a cheese farm, vineyard, or the (disputed) real source of the River Loire.
Later, with children in tow, we opted for self-catering gîtes, close to attractions the whole family could enjoy – castles, theme parks and wildlife.
So I guess you could say we’re pretty ‘au fait’ with France – its language, its food, its customs.
And yet there’s always something new to discover.
Driving in France
Preparation is key, and we took nothing for granted, running through the most up-to-date checklists online.
• Driving licence
• Proof of ID (passport)
• Motor insurance certificate
• V5 registration document
• UK sticker (not GB any more!)
• Hi Vis jackets
• Warning triangle
• Headlamp beam converters
• And, not compulsory, but a good idea – First Aid Kit
What we completely forgot to think about, as it’s been so long since our last trip, was the new low emission zones in and around major cities.
A last minute check of our planned route the night before and – oops – Rouen needs a Crit’Air clean air sticker, even on the autoroute around the city. And you have to apply for one in advance, or risk a fine of up to 68 Euros!
In 2024 a permit costs just over 3 euros, plus postage, but obviously you need to order one to be delivered in good time.
Need a Crit’Air sticker? Don’t fall for online scam sites, use the official French Government system.
So now we had to make a last minute decision.
Which way to go?
Avoiding Rouen
Don’t get me wrong, Rouen is a beautiful city, with a medieval past, an amazing cathedral (thankfully not too badly damaged by the fire this summer) and a fascinating connection to Joan of Arc.
And yet, every trip we’ve ever made to France has involved getting lost in Rouen.
Whatever direction we come from, we seem to wind up on the wrong side of the river! Even the autoroute is confusing at times, skirting very close to the centre of the city and trapping the unwary into unexpected detours.
Now, with the added threat of a fine for not having our clean air sticker, we plotted a different route using minor roads through Totes, Yvetot and on to Pont-Audemer, with its network of tiny navigable canals between the ancient buildings.
And are we glad we did!
You see, that’s how we used to travel, way back when, using N and D roads, slowing down for every village and town. Taking our time.
And all these minor roads are still there, in good repair (no potholes!), tree-lined and rolling through the countryside.
Yes there are more windfarms than before, but open fields, grazing cows and the occasional farmhouse remain, many still offering ‘vente directe’ options to pick up local produce at the farm gate.
So we were back, in our comfort zone of gentle journeys and interesting detours.
Self-catering stays in France
It’s the only way for us.
Being vegetarian, and with an allergy to cow’s milk products, for me eating out in France, land of meat, dairy and rich pastries, is always a challenge.
It’s rare for a small, local restaurant to have even a veggie option on their set menu, let alone a vegan one!
Fortunately, the supermarkets are packed with dairy-free alternatives and the quality of fresh veggies and fruit is always high.
With a week of fresh bread, salads and a huge selection of sheep and goat cheeses to choose from, I was more than content.
As for accommodation, Gîtes de France® is our go-to resource for booking a self-catering stay in France.
It has a huge range of places, from large villas with pools to tiny, converted barns.
You can choose rural or urban settings and high or low levels of luxury.
And most of them are family-run, often with the owners living on site, ready with local information and on-hand to help if necessary.
We chose a converted barn, in the Pays d’Ouche region, miles away from any city or town. Situated on a farm, with a traditional Normandy farmhouse, it was the family home of the owner, a nonagenarian farmer’s widow, her daughter and grandson.
Wonderfully warmly welcoming, it was truly rural.
And quiet.
Very quiet.
Only the occasional bray from the donkey or snort from the ponies in the nearby field to break the silence.
Dark skies, no traffic, twittering birds and buzzing bees meant nights of deep, dreamless sleep and long, lazy days.
We walked nearby footpaths to discover hidden streams, shopped in local markets, learned the history of the famous Normandy cheeses – Livarot, Camembert, Pont L’Eveque and Neufchâtel – watched them being made and, of course, Pork Belly sampled them all.
There was cider aplenty, a jazz festival in a medieval village and, on our last evening, a trip to a nearby goat farm to watch them being milked.
No TV, no newspapers, and only minimal work on the website (well we couldn’t have a week with no new competitions, could we?).
And when it was time to leave, we were ready for another slow trip home. No rush, taking those tree lined, pothole-free N roads, with a last picnic near the beautiful Pont de Brotonne.
Finally Fécamp
This was the last stop on our holiday, a final burst of tourism before taking Le Shuttle back home.
Back among the crowds, the beeping cars and crazy bikes down by the marina and a tour of the town’s main attraction – the Palais Bénédictine distillery and museum.
We loved the place when we were last there, around 40 years ago (yikes!) Then there was a fascinating museum, copper stills, stained-glass windows and a huge colourful wheel of the herbs and spices that go into the famous liqueur. Captured by PB, some of the photos appeared in a magazine or two.
It was a pleasure for the senses.
Oh dear.
Not any more.
The stained-glass and museum pieces are still there. The building itself is extraordinary, neo-Gothic and neo-Renaissance styles, all piled together with towering turrets and fancy crenellations.
But the tour, which is an eye-watering 20 euros per person in 2024, is an unaccompanied stroll through the old museum rooms plus a whistle-stop guided visit of the distillery (behind perspex and glass, for safety reasons) a lacklustre display of a few herbs and spices under plastic, a rapid tasting of three variations of Benedictine and an exit-through-the-expensive-gift shop departure.
They say you should never go back.
In the case of the Palais Bénédictine in Fécamp, we won’t!
But France?
Oh yes, we will!
Getting to and from France with the new, post Brexit rules
Flying is fast and convenient, but then you’re reliant on local transport or hiring a car at your destination.
If you’re going with your own car, you can take a ferry from Dover to Calais or Dunkirk, Newhaven to Dieppe, Plymouth to Roscoff, Poole to Cherbourg and St Malo, Portsmouth to Caen, Le Havre, Cherbourg and St Malo, or from Rosslare to Cherbourg and Le Havre.
We prefer Le Shuttle from Folkestone to Calais (because I suffer real bad seasickness!). We had to fill in our details before travelling, as you do for a flight, which we don’t remember doing in previous years. We assume it’s all part of getting ready for the new Entry Exit system.
Since Brexit, we’re back in the land of restrictions. You can’t take meat or products containing meat, milk or dairy products into France, and fresh fruits (apart from bananas, coconuts, dates, pineapples and durians), vegetables, plants and plant products need an inspection certificate which you have to pay for. So eat your fruit before you travel!
On the return trip, duty-free allowances are back, but they are generous for alcohol and tobacco.
Border controls are already more complex, with the 90 day-in-Europe rule, but when the new Entry Exit System (EES) comes into force, it will take even longer as it could require biometrics like fingerprints and facial scanning.
On this trip in August 2024 the departure via le Shuttle (a Thursday night) was straightforward. The return (on a busier Saturday night) took a lot longer at UK border control in Calais, where we were quizzed about where we’d been and for how long.
We’ll let you know how we get on when we go again after the new EES is in place … watch this space!
If you’ve enjoyed browsing our website, learned something new, or just had a smile because of what we do – we’d love your support to keep the good stuff brewing!
Where to next?
• New Entry/Exit system for Europe
• Weird and wonderful things to see in France
• Legends of Languedoc