The countryside was lush, with brilliantly green fields (bocage), hedges (borage), stone farms and barns, bare trees in bud, rich brown ploughed fields and plump black and white or pale brown storybook cows. Old stone crucifixes appear regularly at various points along the roads. We would count these as we passed. Wild primroses, daisies and buttercups dotted the steep banks along the roads and, here and there, a pink or white blossom tree. NO vineyards in these areas, just apple orchards which produce the local “cidre” and the fortified apple brandy “calvados’ for which the area is renowned.

“Cows grazing in fields and apple trees growing in neat rows: these are what first strike the visitors to Normandy. The cream is made into the cheeses and rich sauces that typify the local cuisine, while the apples are used for the alcoholic drink calvados for a region whose climate is unfriendly to the vine.” - guidebook