Day 10: 23/06/17 Pegasus Bridge

Today we decided to do a quick tidy up before breakfast to aid motivation... much better! Reading had, as usual, happened snuggled up in bed with a parent each, and then French started after a breakfast of Cereal and croissants. There was much trepidation and varying degrees of acceptance of using French UHT milk instead of the English milk we had finished yesterday. Esmé declared it ok, Patrick too, but AJ had decided it was unacceptable before he even tried it. I had yoghurt instead!

After breakfast it was French lessons again while Patrick stowed the last of the spares under Esmé's bunk.



Jobs done, we packed some lunch and set off for Pegasus Bridge. This was a key target that had to be taken during the D-Day attack to prevent German reinforcements from reaching the Allied soldiers arriving on Sword Beach. We had read stories about the soldiers of the airborne division who were flown in on Gliders to take the bridge from the Germans and the kids were keen to see the bridge in real life. The bridge itself is about 3 miles up the canal towards Caen, and although at one point we planned on taking Laurin up to Caen and stopping at the bridge, we decided against this as the harbourmaster said it wasn't really allowed to moor their. In the end, walking (or scooting in the kids case) allowed them to really reflect on how the commando reinforcements would have felt after a long, lumpy, seasick night at sea, fighting their way across sword beach, and then carrying their heavy kit the 3 miles to the bridge.

We crossed the new bridge and had a picnic waiting for the bridge to open. There was much discussion about how it works and both kids came away with a good understanding of the mechanics of the lifting bridge. Next we went to the Museum where we saw lots of exhibits including a model of one of the gliders, the original bridge, and various pieces of artillery. Spending the previous week reading real life stories of D-Day seemed to have paid off as the kids were really enthusiastic and interested. We were trying to make a film of the day and we have some lovely clips... just needs me to master the video editing software.

After the kids had spent some of their pocket money on souvenirs we crossed the road to visit the site where the first gliders landed. That was some navigation by the glider crew! Over the bridge again to the Pegasus Bridge Café which the pictures showed us had been there during German occupation, and then the long walk back.


All in all a great day, we were really proud of how the kids identified with the exhibits, although getting the balance right between making them aware of our history and the sacrifices made, and upsetting them too much, is a fine line. At the end of the Museum we watched a film (all in French) and AJ was in tears. He said he felt sad for the Soldiers, and also the German ones too!

Looking forward to meeting up with Sarah Crofts and Tabitha of veedubadventures tomorrow. Esmé has been feeling homesick and I hope talking with another young lady who has been living this nomadic life for the last year may help.