A tour of the D-DAY beaches, UTAH, OMAHA, GOLD, JUNO, SWORD. Seeing the landscape, rather than looking at photos, gives perspective: the killing ground at low tide Allied soldiers had to cross before reaching the (comparative) safety of the sea wall is terrifying – 300 yards of open sand with only a mined iron obstacle for ‘protection’. The bocage, the deep thick Norman hedgerows wherein were hidden Germans with lethal machine guns or panzerfaust (anti-tank weapons), is still visible surrounding the small fields. And there is the sheer scale of the battle which can only be grasped from a visit, the miles of beaches from Utah to Sword, where there were 10,000 casualties on June 6 (equal, let us not forget, to the French civilian casualties on the day, victims of sometimes careless and cavalier Allied bombing). The cliffs of Omaha must be seen to appreciate the heroism of those men from the Big Red One (US Ist Div) who scaled the heights to outflank and overpower the formidable German defences.  And then there are the remains of Mulberry, still visible at Arromanches (where we stay at La Marine hotel on the beach), 80 years later. Historians squabble over whether Mulberry was worth the effort and expense but what is undeniable is the triumph of British ingenuity. [The new enlarged museum at Arromanches explains Mulberry in technicolor detail.] To tow, through the squalls of the Channel, a complete harbour was an achievement as impressive as that of Admiral Ramsay’s and Monty’s in landing on the mainland of Europe 150,000 men without being intercepted by German U-boats or E-boats. The deception plan, Fortitude, which convinced Hitler there would be another landing elsewhere – tying down all his armour east of the Seine – was the spooks’ finest hour. This tour covers every key site, including Pegasus Bridge, Merville Battery, Longues Battery and the Band of Brothers’ Brécourt Manor Assault.