Guzzi Enthusiasts @ D-Day 80th Anniversary American Sectors, Normandy June 2024.

[Chris Jessop]

All hyperlinks removed by author.

Accommodation (5 nights) Tuesday 4th to Sunday 9th June 2024:

Hôtel de La Croix de Malte
5 Rue des Halles
50100 Cherbourg en Cotentin
France

There is a free garage for motorcycles and bicycles available upon reservation.

Hotel website: hotelcroixmalte.com/en
Official D-Day 80 website: en.normandie-tourisme.fr/highlight/80th-anniversary-of-d-day

Using Route Nationale N13, the Hôtel de La Croix de Malte is ideally located for visiting Sainte-Mère-Église where the paratroopers of the American 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions parachuted into Normandy on the night of 5th/6th June 1944, Pointe du Hoc and the American landings on Utah Beach and Omaha Beach.

If you would like to attend this event with fellow Moto Guzzi enthusiasts, please book directly with the Hôtel de La Croix de Malte or use your preferred hotel booking platform. You don’t have to stay 5 nights, choose the length of time that suits you best. Please let us know if you’ve booked so we have an idea of numbers attending.

Room availability as of 26th September:
3 x double rooms
2 x twin rooms
3 x superior double rooms
4 x single rooms

Points of interest and distances from Cherbourg:
Sainte-Mère-Église = 23 miles. See: airborne-museum.org/en/homepage
Parc Naturel Régional des Marais du Cotentin et du Bessin = 30 miles.
Utah Beach Landing Museum, Sainte-Marie-du-Mont = 32 miles. See: utah-beach.com/en
Pointe du Hoc = 47 miles. See: abmc.gov/Pointe-du-Hoc
Omaha Beach Memorial, Avenue de la Libération, Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer = 51 miles. See: musee-memorial-omaha.com/en/ & abmc.gov/normandy
Bayeux = 58 miles
Arromanches-les-Bains = 64 miles. See: musee-arromanches.fr/en/histoire
Pegasus Bridge, Ranville = 83 miles. See: musee.memorial-pegasus.com/en/pegasus-bridge
Merville-Franceville-Plage = 87 miles. See: batterie-merville.com/en/merville-battery

 

[GTM®]

Thanks for the continued posts on these Chris.

 

[Chris Jessop]

Room availability as of 17th October:

1 x double room (was 3)
2 x twin rooms
NIL x superior double room (was 3)
3 x single rooms (was 4)

 

[Chris Jessop]

As of 20th October, Hôtel de La Croix de Malte is now fully booked for the period 4th to 9th June 2024.

A search of all the major hotel booking platforms indicates that there’s still (mainly apartment type) accommodation available in the Cherbourg area during that period.

 

[Chris Jessop]

Although not strictly necessary for this area in France, we thought it advisable to obtain Crit'Air (Air Quality Certificate) stickers. With many vehicles expected to visit the Normandy D-Day 80th Anniversary temporary emission controls may be introduced at short notice.

For details of the Crit'Air scheme and to apply for stickers see the official French government website: certificat-air.gouv.fr

You will need to provide a photo or scan of your vehicles V5C (or similar) Registration Certificate.

 

[Chris Jessop]

With just 3 weeks to go until the D-Day 80th Anniversary we need to confirm the contact details for the Moto Guzzi enthusiasts that have booked accommodation in the Cherbourg area.

Please email your contact details to chris.jessop @ ukbuellgroup.co.uk

 

[Chris Jessop]

The weather forecast is looking good....

 

[Chris Jessop]

D-Day 80th Anniversary. 50 images can be found here ukbuellgroup.co.uk/d-day-80th-anniversary-june-2024

A record numbers of visitors attended the D-Day 80th Anniversary week in Normandy. The staff at various Tourist Offices all commented that they were surprised by how busy it was and how many people had come over from the USA and Canada.

The whole period was blessed with dry sunny weather and all the events, both official and unofficial, were well attended.

We attended the D-Day 70th Anniversary in 2014 and based ourselves near the British and Canadian beaches, Sword, Juno and Gold. For this year’s events we wanted to concentrate on the American beaches, Utah and Omaha. As expected, Cherbourg proved an ideal base for exploring these areas.

There were hundreds of motorcycles from all over Europe and Scandinavia in Normandy for the 80th Anniversary. Moto Guzzis were thin on the ground. We spotted 3 V85TT’s, a V7 Stone, a 1400 California, a V100 Mandello and a V100 Stelvio. We didn’t see a single Buell.

Large numbers of French police motorcyclists were on the roads during the week. They were kept busy keeping main intersections flowing and escorting various VIP’s around. During one visit to Utah Beach a group of 12 police motorcyclists parked up for lunch. Jane asked if they would mind posing for a group photo with her and they kindly agreed.

The sheer scale of the effort that went into the Allied landings takes some understanding. The various memorials commemorating the American losses on the 6th June 1944 and during the subsequent Battle of Normandy made for sobering reading.

A visit to the American Military Cemetery above Omaha Beach is a must when in the area. A key memorial site, it contains the perfectly aligned headstones of 9,387 soldiers who fell in combat. There’s also a Garden of the Missing where the names of 1,557 soldiers are engraved. The American Battle Monuments Commission visitor centre is well worth a visit.

We had plenty of time to visit all the D-Day related museums in the area. A lot of the displays show personal stories of many of the combatants. The modern immersive presentations allow visitors to better understand the relevant history, from preparations for D-Day through to the liberation of Paris. The role of the French Resistance is also well documented. Some 22,000 French citizens were killed during the Battle of Normandy. A factor that is often overlooked.

Although some of the roads and attractions were very busy, we are glad we went. It was a terrific experience, and we learned a lot more about the American involvement in D-Day and their liberation of Cherbourg in particular.