Monday 20th May 2019
This morning we made a very late start from Isigny and after a small supermarket shop headed for Cerisy la Foret. Along the way we saw signs to La Mollay Littry which as far as we knew was a Twin Town of Bovey Tracey our local town in Devon. We headed towards it and on entering the town, quite by chance, we arrived at Rue de Bovey Tracey!
With the greatest respect the town doesn't seem up to much but then neither does Bovey Tracey.
As we were leaving we stopped to look at the town boundary sign which we hadn't noticed on the way in. This doesn't look so good! Only current twinning with another town in France and one in Germany! It didn't take too much research to find out what had happened: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/02/23/french-town-ditches-devon-twin-favour-essex-rival/
We moved on to the Aire de Camping Cars at Cerisy la Foret and stopped for the day. The Aire is in the middle of an absolutely sensational sculpture park.
Really amazing and there are many more which I didn't photograph.
Next to the Aire is a field with a horse and two donkeys.
We took a walk around the nearby lake.
There are more sculptures here.
From the lake there are also fantastic views to the Abbey of Cerisy la Foret.
We decided to visit the Abbey. Not cheap - it cost 6 euros each to get in! Here's the chapel.
This is where the Abbot held court.
This box allegedly once contained a bone belonging to St Vigor, the founder of the Abbey. The bone was supposedly donated to the Abbey by William the Conqueror! I'm not sure why the bone isn't in the box anymore.
The main space of the Abbey is quite magnificent.
This is looking back in the opposite direction.
When this was a monastery there would have been many more buildings here to house the monks. What happened to them? Maybe the French Revolution had a similar impact on monastic culture in France as did the Reformation in England? Any ideas?
We strolled back to our van through the Abbey Graveyard. Mainly modern burials, many of which were marked as victims of war. The Second World War Battle of Normandy took place around here.
There are a few more statues in the Aire itself.
What a brilliant place!
Today we travelled 23 miles (37 kilometres). We are at N49.19838 W0.93190
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