I know that area a bit (West Cotentin coast), up to Goury, it is indeed lovely. I’ve visited with my wife twice (a while ago though, I think it is much more touristic now than it was in the 1990s) and I’ve taken pupils there, particularly on the other side of the peninsula, past Valognes, to visit Sainte- Mère-Église and the landing beaches, particularly Utah Beach.
There’s a tiny harbour called Port Racine right at the top of the Manche département, France’s smallest port and an impossibly picturesque spot. The boats are moored with ropes and cables right across the harbour, to maximise the little available space:
The area, around Goury (so, at the top left tip of the Contentin Peninsula) is called Cap de La Hague, and with its 500 feet high cliffs, its wilderness, dramatic coastline, hidden coves and stone walls is reminiscent of the Connemara or Ireland in general or (especially for the stone walls) parts of North Yorkshire.
The nearby hamlet of Goury and its mini harbour, turquoise waters and stone walls criss-crossing the fields. As you write, it looks directly onto the Anglo-Channel island of Alderney/Aurigny, 10 miles away.
Thanks for the photos, Frédéric - we found the whole experience absolutely stunning and definitely loved Goury which is just as lovely as the pictures.
We should reach Port Racine on the next exploration - or perhaps the one after that. Thanks for telling us about it
Managed to get this little beauty in Auchan Bordeaux Lac today-it has been a long while since we have had Black Bomber Cheddar (and apparently this is my Easter Egg!)
I worked in various PTT’s mail sorting offices (now La Poste) in the summer in the 1980s (as a student job), even in the 1980s it was mightily impressive how well the whole postal chain worked, it really was very efficient on the whole. I know that at the time PTT stood for “Petits Travailleurs Tranquilles” (!) but the system was smooth and granted, PTT workers were “tranquilles” but we certainly did bust a gut when necessary. A 1st class letter posted in, say, Biarritz before 4pm, had 90% chance to arrive in s.o’s letter box in Cherbourg or Calais the morning after. I remember doing the postal trains and the postal planes in Orly round the clock (loading and unloading the buggers), it was run like a military operation.
What worked less well in those days was the North of France-South East of France (Midi) traffic (Nice, Marseille, Toulon… Corsica too), for some reason it wasn’t as fast as for the rest of France, and I remember the PTT managers being a bit miffed with that as the “90% Jour + 1” targets were often missed with those areas. The word was that maybe they were a little too “laidback” down there and the unions a little too powerful. Not sure that issue is still valid, not according to my relatives in the Paris area, it’s much quicker than it was back then according to them. I also routinely receive post from Nice & area, where I have plenty of rellies, within 48-72 hrs (South-East of France to North-East of England then). Parcels can be much slower though.
