Visit to Normandy June 2009

Normandy: 12th - 15th June 2009

Dianne Howes writes....

The April lecture on Houses and Gardens of Normandy was the inspiration behind the decision to arrange a trip to see them for ourselves! Early on the morning of Friday, 12th June, 42 members left Welwyn Garden City and headed south to Dover for the channel crossing to France. There was lots of excitement in the port as classic sports and racing cars arrived en route for the Le Mans Grand Prix. The crossing was smooth and we were on our way to Rouen shortly after mid-day local time.

Our coach driver, Graham, knows Normandy well and arranged a comfort stop at a delightful area for conservation which had a look-out tower giving wonderful views of the nature reserve. We arrived in Rouen with enough time to settle into our room and explore a little of the town before enjoying a set meal at the hotel.

On the morning of Saturday,13th June, we were taken to The Bois des Moutiers Chateau. The Chateau was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens and the present owner took great delight and pleasure in showing us around her splendid “Arts and Crafts” home. The garden, designed by Gertrude Jekyll, has an extensive collection of rare trees and shrubs in a series of valleys running down to the sea. From here we made a slight detour to visit the small church of Saint-Marguerite-sur-Mer. It has a commanding position over-looking the bay where Canadian forces came ashore during the D Day landings and it is the final resting place of the artist George Braque. Braque worked closely with Picasso and Matisse to develop the style of Cubism. The afternoon was spent at Le Vasterival, one of the finest private gardens in Europe. It was created in 1957 by Princess Studza who, at the age of over 90, still insists on greeting visitors and giving them an introduction to the features of the garden. The sweeping paths, long vistas and the huge variety of plants make this garden breathtaking in its scope.

On Sunday morning we had a guided tour of the Chateau de Miromesnil by the current owners. A splendid beech grove shelters the 16th-17th century chateau where the French writer Guy de Maupassant was born. Four centuries of harmonious architectural styles are evident in the chateau while an ancient cedar of Lebanon dominates the magnificent gardens. The kitchen garden contains a fantastic harmony of vegetables and flowers. A planned visit to Dieppe for lunch was curtailed due to a cycle race through the town. The afternoon was spent at Le Clos du Coudray, a garden and nursery with in excess of 6,000 species. The garden has a series of themed areas including a rose garden under planted with perennials, a shady garden with some fabulous hostas, a beautiful potager and long grassy paths winding through large borders.

Monday was our last day and after leaving the hotel in Rouen we made our way to the Chateau de Mesnil Geoffroy. A guided tour introduced us to the splendid sculpted woodwork to be found in the reception rooms of this elegant chateau built in the 17th and 18th centuries. The Rose Garden, Bird Garden and the French Park combined to stimulate the senses with their colours and scents. We broke our journey to Calais by returning to the same rest stop as our outward journey for a final “café au lait /noir” and were soon under way for the final stage of the return to the U.K. As we were lulled by the gentle movement of the boat we had time to reflect upon four days of wonderful sights and scents enjoyed in brilliant Normandy sunshine. A really good trip, with really good company!