WHEN you see the children playing happily on Omaha Beach it’s almost impossible to imagine this is the place where so many young men died.

Even the bladed sculpture sitting incongruously in the sand can’t convince you this is where the bloodshed recalled in Saving Private Ryan and The Longest Day actually occurred.

Move a little way from the beaches and the reminders become more numerous and compelling – the big gun batteries overlooking the coast, the many museums and the cemeteries, including the one where the brothers who inspired Saving Private Ryan lie.

Further away still in space and time there are the mementoes of another great invasion, this time in the other direction, when the ruler of this land set out across the sea to seize a kingdom. These, the memorials of two great dates in the history books, 1066 and June 6, 1944, are what I have come here to find.

It’s a task that can seem ridiculously easy at times. Only a few minutes from the ferry port of Ouistreham, itself at the eastern end of the invasion beaches 66 years ago, you find something that fairly reverberates with the events of that morning – the Pegasus Bridge. Here, gliders containing British paratroopers landed in the first act of D-Day to seize the vital crossing. Though the bridge has had to be replaced, the larger newcomer is a replica of that captured by the paras. The original is preserved in a museum a short distance away.

Arriving in Caen reminds you how events still within living memory are enmeshed with those of a millennium ago. The city has a number of striking landmarks, including a marina, but rather more ancient are the great castle and two medieval abbeys. The latter, one for monks and one for nuns, were the creation of Duke William, whose victory at Hastings ensured him the English crown and the title of the Conqueror.

William was buried in the Abbaye aux Hommes and his queen, Matilda, in the Abbaye aux Femmes.

The abbey is a hugely impressive building, whose architecture and furnishings reflect centuries of change. From the 11th to 18th centuries it housed a community of monks, later becoming a boarding school and now a major civic building.

The abbey’s magnificent state is all the more impressive when you consider that in the summer of 1944 it was home to hundreds of refugees, yet escaped the immolation by Allied firepower that engulfed the rest of the city, perhaps protected by the Red Cross markings on its roof.

Dominating the town centre are the imposing walls of Caen Castle, which now contain an intriguing mixture of public space and historical research and display.

Until October 31, visitors can learn about the fine limestone known as Caen stone, used to construct not only the castle but such post-Conquest English landmarks as the Tower of London and Canterbury Cathedral. On the outskirts of Caen is a very different building, known simply as the Memorial.

This is a thoroughly modern museum which covers not only the events of 1944 but the whole Second World War, plus the Cold War that followed, including a concise history of vital events in 20th-century French history and a Soviet MIG jet in one of its airy halls.

South of Caen is Falaise, scene of the last bloody struggles of 1944’s Battle of Normandy and another victim of the devastation of modern warfare.

However, its castle still looms impressively on a crag at the town’s edge.

This was the birthplace of the Conqueror, whose (somewhat idealised) statue stands in the town’s square, though modern research has revealed only a few rocky outcrops in the present castle’s lower reaches survive from his day.

Other elements were built by William’s medieval descendants, while French king Philip Augustus added the tallest tower, which offers a stunning view of the surrounding area.

The edifice was falling into disrepair until a massive restoration project was launched in the 1980s, leading to its opening to the public in 1997. The interior deliberately eschews attempts to re-create a “cod” medieval atmosphere, instead offering intriguing insights into the reality of life many centuries ago.

West of Caen lies Bayeux, which escaped the destruction wreaked on so many Norman towns and villages because it was liberated shortly after D-Day. As a result it has retained its magnificent cathedral and its narrow medieval streets – something drivers should note before blithely venturing into the home of the Bayeux Tapestry, actually a remarkable embroidery showing the lead-up to William’s invasion of England, and the Battle of Hastings which sealed his conquest.

If you think you know the tapestry from the pictures you’ve seen of it, think again.

The real thing is a whole lot more impressive than the snippets in books, and it’s well worth using the audio commentary.

But the area also bears the marks of a more recent invasion. Bayeux itself is home to a large British military cemetery, while it is a short journey to Omaha Beach, scene of the American sacrifice.

A massive American cemetery is nearby, at Colleville-sur-Mer, which contains the graves of the Niland brothers, whose fate inspired Saving Private Ryan.

At Longues-sur-Mer you can explore big German guns in their emplacements, while yards away is a command post made famous in The Longest Day as the place where a German officer first spotted the D-Day invasion fleet, though sadly it wasn’t actually complete on June 6, 1944.

And at Arromanches you can see the remains of the artificial Mulberry harbour that was towed there to supply the invasion armies, and a museum, complete with highly knowledgeable staff, devoted to it, one of many museums and memorials along the D-Day coast.

Such is the richness and proximity of these reminders of the past, and the heady mixture of ancient and relatively modern, the heritage-seeker can feel almost overwhelmed. However, Normandy is relatively easy to get to from our shores and locals are welcoming to their many modern British invaders, so take your time and enjoy the experience.


Eating and sleeping

I WAS able to try only a few eating places during my fairly busy few days in Normandy, but my experiences were good ones.

Most unusual, in a way, was Dolly’s in the centre of Caen, which actually specialises in English-style food, and is well worth a look.

In Falaise I had dinner at Le Jardin, again in the town centre, which was an excellent meal accompanied by friendly service.

It was a similar experience the following evening in the dining room of the hotel Le Lion d’Or in Bayeux, and I also had a perfectly good lunch in one of the restaurants at the Memorial in Caen.

NORMANDY provided a fascinating contrast where accommodation was concerned.

Le Lion d’Or is an hotel full of character in the centre of Bayeux, whose walls are adorned with autographed photos of past visitors ranging from author Ernest Hemingay to Generals Eisenhower and Montgomery and Hollywood stars John Wayne and Tom Hanks (liondor-bayeaux.fr).

Just outside Falaise is Domaine de la Tour, a bed and breakfast set in a former country estate which provides and oasis of peace for the weary traveller (domainedelatour.fr).


Fact file

Brittany Ferries sails direct from the convenient ports of Portsmouth, Poole and Plymouth to the popular holiday regions of western France, saving miles of driving, fuel costs, tolls and overnight stops.

You can choose to cruise across by day or overnight, or take a high-speed service arriving in France in as little as 135 minutes.

• Portsmouth to Caen
Return fares from Portsmouth – Caen start from £154 return for a car and two passengers, based on a stay of up to five days. For more information or to book, visit brittanyferries.com or phone 0871 244 1400

Brittany Ferries also offers a range of ferry-inclusive motoring holidays. For more details, visit brittanyferries.com/holidays or phone 0871 244 1444.

For more details about the area, log on to the Normandy Tourism Board website normand-tourism.org, the Calvados Tourist Board website, calvados-tourisme.com, and the Bayeux-Bessin website, bessin-normandie.com