EASTLEIGH RAMBLER: THREE SAINT'S WAY

SAINTE-MERE-EGLISE TO CARENTAN 13.35 MILES

We left our hotel in Valognes and set off by bus to Sainte-Mère-Église. Getting off opposite the Hotel de Ville we walked onward to the centre of the town (0.15 miles) and turned left on the Rue Eisenhower passing to the right of the 11th century Church of St. Mary and left of the Airborne Museum and the Centre Paroissial, then forking right on the D17 heading for Beuzeville. We took the right fork again signposted to the camp site along the Rue 505E Airborne (0.36 miles). After passing a football ground, a coach park, tennis courts and the entrance to the camp site it became a narrow road between hedges and then an unsurfaced road. At a cross road of rough vehicular tracks we went right on the Chemin de Tortevas which took us along the back of the camp site. At 0.97 miles we found ourselves crossing a new road not on our maps. The Chemin de Tortevas continued on the other side and then we followed it left at a fork shortly afterwards. At 1.21 miles we found ourselves crossing the new road again to continue on the old road the other side. This new road connects with the E3 motorway to the south east of Sainte-Mère-Église and opens up the east side of the town for development. At 1.28 miles we reached the end of the Chemin de Tortevas where it joined the tarmac surfaced D67 and turned left along it.

At 1.43 miles where there was a cottage called La Tournerie on the left we left the road on the right down a rough vehicular track with grass down the middle. The Chemin de Fauville and the Manoir du Roueur (B&B location) joined our track from the right (1,59 miles) and we continued in the same direction now on that minor road. At 1.64 miles we turned left on a track which would take us to Econqueneauville where we emerged at 2.16 miles onto the Rue de la Capelle and turned left, and at 2.21 miles we reached the D67 again and went right. After passing the church with its prominent square tower we crossed the Ruisseau de Foi where there was crude form of cloth washing area with the water fed from the Ruisseau in which there was a collection of fish. Although we were to end up there we ignored the D387 (2.51 miles) to Sebeville on the right and continued on the winding D67 through the hamlet of Le Grand Hameau until at a left hand bend we took an unsigned minor road on the right (2.77 miles). The narrow tarmac road with grass growing in the middle continued between hedges and at a sharp left hand bend in the road (3.20 miles) there was a track ahead and one on the right, we took the latter.

The track continued between hedges and fields and at 3.71 reached a T-junction with the D387 (which we had passed earlier) with a house opposite. Turning left along the D387 we went through a slight dip in the road where we were only 9 metres above sea ;level despite being miles inland. We were in the Parc Naturel Regionaie des Marais du Contentin http://www.parc-cotentin-bessin.fr/ . We climbed along the route to enter the village of Sebeville, Most of the houses in this area were built of stone but this was one that appeared to be built of a mixture of mud (see photo below).

Just beyond it at a left hand bend in the road (4.06 miles) was the entrance to the Chateau which is a private property (see photo below).

Just beyond the chateau at 4.10 miles we turned left down another minor road and left the village behind heading east. To the left their were views across the valley to the route we had traversed earlier. At 4.86 miles we reached a T-junction with the larger D129 and went right but for only 30 metres and then turned left down a rough vehicular track continuing east. After right, left and right bends it came out onto the D524 (5.22 miles) where we went left towards the signposted cross roads ahead. We turned right down the D524E towards Sainte Marie du Mont. At a cross roads with the large D70 we went straight across the vehicular track opposite (5.68 miles). Shortly after we forked left to continue in the same south easterly direction passing the farm of St Martin on the left (5.89 miles). At 6.39 miles the track joined another coming from the right and continued in the same direction. On reaching the tarmac Rue de Holdy (6.53 miles) with hamlet of Holdy visible to the left. we continued on in the same direction along it. At the junction with the slightly larger D329E1 (6.57 miles) we again continued in the same south easterly direction along it. It almost immediately went left and we continued straight on down a rough vehicular track, still going south east. Sainte-Marie-du-Mont was across the fields to the north east. At 6.87 miles we turned right down another track, south west which at 7.79 miles took us out onto the Route du Limarais near the centre of the village of Vierville. Turning left we soon reached the T-junction of the D913 with Utah Beach 8 kilometres to the left and Carentan 8 kilometres to the right. We turned right but only as far as the Church of St. Eloi where we decided to have our picnic lunch. We were entering the territory made famous by the films The Longest Day and Brothers in Arms and the route taken by the US forces on 7th June 1944 (D-Day+1) after they extracted themselves from the difficult beach landing. This village was the site of their first temporary cemetery.

The Church of St Eloi. St Eloi is French for Saint Eligius c. 588 – 1 December 660) is the patron saint of goldsmiths, other metalworkers, and coin collectors. He is also the patron saint of veterinarians, the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME), a corps of the British Army, but he is best known for being the patron saint of horses and those who work with them. Eligius was chief counsellor to Dagobert I, Merovingian king of France. Appointed the bishop of Noyon-Tournai three years after the king's death in 642, Eligius worked for twenty years to convert the pagan population of Flanders to Christianity. Extract from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Eligius

The markers commemorate the route taken by the US Forces.

We continued down the D913 out of the village and down to Pont Perrat, keeping out of the way of the traffic something we had not had to do all morning. After a slight climb the other side we turned left down the D913E1 in the direction of Angoville au Plain (8.59 miles). Here the American flag still flies on poles next to the French one. We stopped at a cross roads with this memorial to the 101st Airborne. (8.90 miles).

We walked across the road to the church (see below) and went inside

It is home to a famous church that was used by 2 US Army Medics as an aide station during the Battle of Normandy in World War II. Robert Wright and Ken Moore of the 101st Airborne treated a mix of 80 injured American and German wounded Soldiers and a child. Blood stains are still visible on the pews. Two stained glass windows commemorate the 101st Airborne Division, the first one is dedicated to the two medics of the 2nd Battalion of the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment (101st Airborne Division). The second one honoured the American parachutists. Extract from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angoville-au-Plain

From here we headed south along the Rue de l'Eglise. After ignoring a no through road on the left we arrived at a fork in the road and went left down the Rue des Presles (9.10 miles) forking left again at 9.22 miles, the route to the right leading into the farm of the same name. The track continued to another tarmac road in the village of La Haute Addeville (9.52 miles) and at the junction was another memorial to 2nd Lieutenant George E Schmidt flanked by American and French flags. He was killed taking the farm from the Germans. Here we turned left along the road passing an old covered wash house on the right, forked left by a bus shelter at 9.67 miles and after a right hand bend turned left at a T-junction (9.92 miles). At 10.01 miles it was right fork and ten we entered the hamlet of Le Basse Addeville where it was a right fork again (10.11 miles). We soon had the grounds of the Chateau du Bel Esnault on our left and on reaching a cross roads went briefly left to look at its lovely façade (see picture below) (10.45 miles). Here a display board recounts the exploits of Colonel Johnson who had the misfortune to land by parachute close to this German held building. It was also at this point that we re-joined the GR223.

Returning uphill to the crossroads we went left and then the road went under the N13. At a large farmhouse with lovely stone farm outbuildings we went down left along a vehicular track. (10.79 miles). This was to take us down towards the La Douve River meandering around in a large flat alluvial plain. At a T-junction (11.30 miles) quite close to the river we turned right and followed the track nervously passing a messy itinerant camp. The narrow road at only 4 metres above sea level took us to a T-junction with the D974 (11.66 miles) opposite the headquarters of the Regional Park. It was a large and well trafficked road and we turned left along it towards Carentan on the other side of the valley. The first bridge we crossed was that over the River Jourdan with the old stone bridge next to the modern one. We were now back on the Route de la Voie de la Liberte and the scene of fierce battles to capture Carentan. The next bridge was over the La Douve River at 11.86 miles. My companions ignored the bar on the left and I had no choice but to do likewise. The next bridge was over the River La Groult and then we reached a roundabout 12.24 miles where we continued straight on through an area of showrooms and industrial premises towards the centre of town.

At 12 80 miles and just before we reached the older part of the town we diverted into Le 101Airborne Restaurant-Bar for refreshment. Continuing on we forked left into the quieter Rue Sebline through old residential areas finally emerging after 13.32 miles in the Place Vauban (see picture below).

The accommodation at the end of that stage of the walk was the Hotel Le Vauban at No 3 Rue Sebline, Carentan 50500 France facing the square. Email levaubanhotelcarentan@yahoo.com It was a small hotel centrally located with plenty of parking nearby. We had a good breakfast and gave it 8 out of 10.

The evening meal was taken at the Hotel Restaurant L'Escapade, 28 rue du docteur caillard, 50500 Carentan, France. (Picture below) It served very good food, was doing a good trade, had a good atmosphere and was full of bric-a-brac of all descriptions.