title	Pegasus Bridge, the British Memorial, and Arromanches, Normandy - 2nd June 2026
intro	It's the first full day of the trip to Normandy on a C-47 Dakota, and the high winds have put paid to the day's scheduled parachute drops. Instead, Nosher, Clive and the "Essex Last of the Summer Wine" group cram into the one hire car we have between us and head out, firstly to Pegasus Bridge - the site of the crucial opening salvo of the D-Day landings - then on to the British Memorial near Ver-sur-Mer, which is one of the very few places where it's still remembered that the US didn't actually win the whole of WWII single handed, and finally to Arromanches, where the British Mulberry Harbour, built to land materiel to sustain the invasion, still remains as testament to those events over eighty years ago.
imgp9546	It's time for breakfast in the Hotel du Louvre
imgp9548	A view over the new Pegasus bridge
imgp9549	We head off to look at the memorials
imgp9551	The memorial to Major John Howard
imgp9552	Milling around near Pegasus Bridge
imgp9554	Flags of nations
imgp9555	Clive gets a photo
imgp9560	A six-by-six rumbles over the bridge at Bénouville
imgp9564	We stop for lunch at the Pegasus Bridge café
imgp9567	A very-French house
imgp9569	Clive inspects another six-by-six
imgp9575	It's all American-vehicle-tastic
imgp9577	Clive waits for a photo
imgp9579	A Willys jeep gets ready to head off
imgp9585	The convoy departs
imgp9591	A Willys jeep called Suzie
imgp9594	Gondrèe's Pegasus Bridge café
imgp9595	Ham and cheese baguettes are brought out
imgp9598	The 1994 version of Pegasus Bridge
imgp9600	The gang in Bénouville
imgp9602	A bunch of re-enactors cross the road
imgp9603	We have a look round the Pegasus Museum
imgp9605	The original Bénouville/Pegasus bridge
imgp9610	People on Pegasus Bridge
imgp9614	This bit looks like Jodrell Bank
imgp9617	A Bailey Bridge at the Pegasus Museum
imgp9618	A replica of a Horsa glider
imgp9620	Inside the Horsa glider
imgp9627	The peeling skin of an actual Horsa glider
imgp9628	The frames and stringers of an original Horsa
imgp9629	Inside the fuselage of a Horsa glider
imgp9632	A photo of the original bridge after its capture
imgp9633	The lattice ironwork of Pegasus Bridge
imgp9638	Another view of the original Pegasus Bridge
imgp9642	We visit the British Memorial behind Gold beach
imgp9651	A C-130 Hercules buzzes the beach
imgp9655	The British Normandy Memorial near Ver-sur-Mer
imgp9658	Stone columns, carved from local stone
imgp9665	David Williams-Ellis's sculptural centre-piece
imgp9671	A view of the D-Day wall
imgp9677	Silhouettes in a field of wild flowers
imgp9681	A fancy French Gite up the road
imgp9683	Flags on the beach at Arromanches-les-Bains
imgp9686	Part of the Mulberry Harbour on the beach
imgp9690	Banksy-esque graffiti on a wall
imgp9691	The village of Arromanches
imgp9692	We stop for a beer in a nearby café
imgp9694	One of Clive's mates shows up on his motorbike
imgp9695	The gang in the Hôtel de Normandie
imgp9703	Clive gets a photo of the vintage motorobike
imgp9713	Clive's mate is ready to ride off
imgp9718	Soldiers from the Netherlands practice a parade
imgp9723	Jeeps on the beach
imgp9731	Soldiers on parade
imgp9736	The parade finishes near some giant ironwork
imgp9740	A stack of Mulberry components on the beach
imgp9745	Concrete relics on the beach
imgp9751	Arromanches from the beach
imgp9755	A lone figure gives a sense of scale
imgp9756	Close up to Section 449
imgp9758	Worn-away concrete is like giant gap teeth
imgp9760	Rust and green
imgp9764	Arromanches through the concrete structure
imgp9765	More people inspect the concrete relic
imgp9770	The original 1944 Mulberry Harbour is still there
imgp9775	The buildings of Arromanche
imgp9777	A dog sits in a shop door, bored
imgp9778	More Willys jeeps
imgp9780	Le garagiste
imgp9782	Arromanches
imgp9788	The decorated walls of a small hostelry
imgp9789	A view along the narrow street to the sea
imgp9800	Yet more Willys jeeps
imgp9804	A motorbike and sidecar rides into town
imgp9807	We're back at the hotel's basement car park
imgp9808	The fancy Hotel Napoleon
imgp9809	A colourful tag on roller shutters
imgp9810	A view of the marina by Quai de Caligny
imgp9811	A derelict bar - Bar le Belem
imgp9812	Rue Tour Carrée
imgp9813	On Rue Henri Dunant
imgp9814	La Cave du Roy
imgp9816	Bill-poster dereliction on Rue Henri Dunant
imgp9817	A view from the hotel bedroom window