Cherbourg

Le bassin du Commerce

Brittany Ferries tempted us with a wonderful offer of cheap day-trip tickets on their Poole to Cherbourg route, so off we went. A sign at the ferry terminal promised a shuttle service to the town centre and also taxis, but as neither was in evidence we decided to follow the example of a large school party and walk into town. This was predictably boring and took about 25 minutes.

The road eventually reaches the Avant Port (the part nearest the sea), with view across the port of boats with a nondescript background of houses and restaurants on the other side.

We walked further along and cross the Pont Tournant (revolving bridge) which separates the two parts of the port. The immediate part of the Bassin du Commerce was more visually appealing (see above) and there was an impressive sailing ship moored on the far quay.

This was the Tenacious, the second ship of the Jubilee Sailing Trust (the other is the Lord Nelson which we saw recently in Dorset). According to the Trust's website "These are the only two tall ships in the world designed and built to enable people of all physical abilities to sail side-by-side as equals."

After a restorative patisserie, in the little square in front of the Theatre, we headed away from the town towards Fort Roule, perched high on Mont Roule.

The fort was originally a 19th century "star" fort, but during the war it was further developed by the Germans into a emplacement for coastal guns, supported by machine guns and mortars facing inland. Cherbourg was base for S-boats (Motor Torpedo Boats) during the war and its defences formed part of the "Atlantic Wall". The D-day beaches are of course not far away and the town itself was badly damaged in fighting after the landings.

This led us to two reflections: in most of France you don't see much remaining evidence of the war, but it makes sense that it should be preserved here.  And as we were having our patisserie, we immediately noticed that there seemed to lots of Americans around - and two American themed restaurants. Ah we thought, like ourselves, people whose parents fought in the war, perhaps coming to see Normandy and its beaches for themselves.

Just a little Googling to find our more about the Fort revealed a website about the Atlantik Wall seemingly listed all existing remains of forts, bunkers, gun emplacements, a blog with wartime photos of the Fort and forums in which enthusiasts shared their interest. I supposed I shouldn't be surprised: previous searches have revealed groups of people with a passion for windmills, water towers and all sorts of other structures.

We did not in fact follow the 1km path up to the top because we knew that the museum housed in the tunnels under the Fort was closed in 2011 and we wanted to save our legs for the rest of the town.

So we headed back into the centre and stumbled on this Art Deco gem.

Magasin Ratti was built 1920-27 in an Art Deco style and designed by Rene Levavasseur. An old photo (taken in 1944) shows that the blank concrete sections were originally windows. However, the corner tower, frieze and decorations above the upper windows remain striking.

We then wandered through the pedestrianised streets of the centre in the direction of the Basilique de la Trinite. There were some interesting old-looking houses and also quite a lot which were in need of, or undergoing, dramatic renovation. This group in rue des Moulins covers all possibilities.

The Basilica, dates from the 14th and 15th centuries. It seems a bit of a hotch-potch and, being on quite a constrained site, is very difficult to get a clear image of. There is a curious sort of high gallery above the nave.

We now adjourned to one of the many restaurants on the Quai de Caligny. In truth we made a poor choice, but the rose de Provence was very good.

After lunch we decided to venture out the north-west side of town to see the ruined Abbaye de Voeu. It was founded in 1145 by Mathilde, daughter of Henry I of England. The visit was all a bit of a disaster: the abbey was much further out than the map had suggested (or I misread the map, if you prefer) and was closed. The ruins were quite impressive, viewed over the wall, and the restored chapel looked appealing.

On the way back we noticed this exposed interior and admired the decorations.

Crossing Place de la Republique, we admired the Hotel Napoleon - located in a late 19th century bourgeois house, according to its website.

Finally, back in the centre, we visited the town's Art gallery, La Musee Thomas Henry. It had an excellent collection of paintings, including a number of portraits by Jean-Francois Millet (better known of course for his paintings of peasants) and a lovely little group of early Renaissance paintings (Fra Angelico, Lippi). Even better, we had the place virtually to ourselves.

Culturally refreshed, all that remained was to walk back to Ferry terminal.

Conditions: sunny, warm.

Distance: A staggering 10 miles in total, according the step count total provided by my pedometer. We were certainly weary enough.

Rating: three stars. We recently did a walk around Weymouth, which is similar in many ways to Cherbourg, but was, we thought, much more appealing. Cherbourg lacks presence: there is no dominant building, square or vista.