Greeted once more by a blazing sun and rising mercury, I decided to leave the rest of the family sleeping and stealthily make my way into Domfront for an exploration with my camera.

I drove up to the medieval part of the town and happened across a notice that explained that the town (more of a citadel) had been in the front line for almost 1000 years. It started off as a base for William the Conquerer, who was succeeded as master of the castle by a family that seemed to have little loyalty towards the royal families--whether the English or the French. This resulted in the town and castle being taken by the French king, who was in turn displaced twice by the English during the 100 Years War.

In more recent times it was occupied by the Nazis who fortified its hilltop position as a strategic strongpoint with commanding views of the flat Normandy countryside. As a result of the Nazi refusal to budge, the US airforce was compelled to bomb the town into rubble on 24 June 1944. Apart from a couple of original medieval buildings that survived this destruction, the town has been largely rebuilt to its original state.

Later in the day, we drove over to the little spa town of Bagnoles de l'Orne and spent a pleasant afternoon melting in the heat.

In the evening, when it had cooled down to a more comfortable temperature, Linda, Liam and myself went for a stroll down the lanes around the cottage, where we came across the Cravendale cows. Yikes!