EASTLEIGH RAMBLER: THREE SAINT'S WAY

CHERBOURG TO MONT SAINT-MICHEL

DAY ONE GETTING TO CHERBOURG-OCTEVILLE

The Three Saint's Way - First I ought to explain what this walk is, before reporting on my journey along it. Those seeking the route will need to acquire Volume One of Two of books by Paul Chinn and Babette Gallard from Pilgrimage Publications http://pilgrimagepublications.com Both volumes cover the route from Winchester to St Jean d'Angely which would be undertaken normally by someone seeking to walk from England to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. At St Jean d'Angely the walker would join the French walking from Paris and from there on French and Spanish guidebooks would be needed. As you can see this series of posts on Blogger is going to relate to just one small section, that necessary to make a pilgrimage to Mont Saint-Michel.

The route in England - This is Hampshire County Council's effort called the Pilgrim's Trail and goes from Winchester to Portsmouth. http://www3.hants.gov.uk/longdistance/pilgrims-trail.htm They have there own guide which would be a useful supplement. The ferries from Portsmouth to Cherbourg ( www.brittany-ferries.co.uk ) only run in the summer so if you do this walk you will need to check how you are going to make the Channel crossing. It is possible to go via Caen when there is no ferry to Cherbourg and get the shuttle bus to the SNCF station in Caen and then get a train to Cherbourg. Otherwise you will need to get the train from Portsmouth to Poole and get the ferry from there to Cherbourg. The early departure from Poole necessitates being within walking distance of the ferry terminal the night before.

Cherbourg-Octeville (to give it the correct name) is a small port with an old town well worth exploring so allow at least half a day. After exiting the terminal building there is a pedestrian route on the right which will take you in the direction of town, otherwise you will need to use the shuttle bus which takes you not to the town but the other end of the path. It would have been much more sensible for it to go to the bus and railway station which are next to each other. Ensure you have a plan of the town before you leave the ferry terminal. See also http://www.brittany-ferries.co.uk/guides/france/normandy/cherbourg

Place to stay - I chose the Hotel Napoleon, 14 Place de la Republique, 50100 Cherbourg-Octeville +33 2 33 93 32 32 www.hotel-napoleon.fr an elegant townhouse offering unfussy, contemporary rooms with Wi-Fi on a nice square on the edge of the old town and near the gardens on the waterfront.

Place to eat - There are plenty of opportunities to get a good feed at a reasonable price and because of the cultural diversity every nationality and taste is catered for and whilst exploring the old town keep an eye out for one that suits you.

Place to visit - For an introduction to the town see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherbourg-Octeville One place well hidden away is The Museum Emmanuel-Liais one devoted to natural history, archaeology and ethnography and located in a park surrounded by walls whose address is 19 Rue Bonhomme, 50100 Cherbourg-Octeville see www.ville-cherbourg.fr In 1900, Emmanuel Liais, astronomer, explorer, hydrograph and meteorologist, former director of the astronomical observatory of Rio de Janeiro bequeathed his goods to Cherbourg, where he had been mayor for 10 years and this included his house and the botanical park.

Maps - The Guidebook mentioned above does not cover the first section from Cherbourg to Barfleur suggesting instead you take the bus there. This is a pity because I will illustrate there is much to enjoy if you travel east along the coast paths. So you will need some maps. French digital mapping can be obtained from www.anquet.com and digital and paper mapping from the producers IGN http://espaceloisirs.ign.fr/boutique/top-25-et-serie-bleue.html The Topo-guide FFRandonnée 200 - Tour du Cotentin available from https://www.ffrandonnee.fr/boutique/topo-guide.aspx?ref=200 contains all you need to get to Barfleur and would be useful on other sections too.