Hedgerows in Normandy

All you really need to do to 'find' hedgerows is look. By the time you get anywhere near the beaches you will have passed hundreds of miles of them. In fact, the closer you get to the beaches, the fewer you will see.

Normandy is a major agricultural region of France. Denudation of the forests began during the megalithic period. Without trees for fences, the only means of separating fields was with bushes. Over hundreds/thousands of years, the bushes and their root strutucre became more entagled. The trimmings, which were allowed to drop in place, began to create a berm.

Along the roads, muck thrown up from clearing ditches made the berm grow at a greater rate. This hedgerow/berm/ditch complex was the barrier to vehicular movement during the invasion. The simpler hedgerows between the fields gave the foot soldiers fits.

Hedgerows are visible even from the freeways. It's just that the ones you see are running perpendicular to the road. The nearby ones that run parallel to the highway were destroyed by right-of-way clearing during the past fifty years.

The notion of having to go some distance to find a hedgerow only applys on a seaward approach. The area immediately adjacent to the beaches was unsuitable/marginal for agriculture -- hence no dividing hedgerows. The few that remained were cleared by the germans to provide unrestricted fields of fire and passage between the coastal defense positions. As the need for a fences returned after the war, wire fences were used since it was a tad inconvient to wait a few hundred years for bushes to grow to keep the cows out of the cabbage patch.

The pressure of post-war population growth made the use of formerly nonagricultureal land more economical. Thus, the closer you get to the beaches, the more likely you are to see more modern fencing and fewer hedgerows.

The natural hedgerow is not unique to France; it is common in many parts of the UK as well.

Ed, thank you for the essay. Liked it a lot.

Sadly a lot of hedgerows in Normandy and Brittany were razed after WWII when agriculture became more intensive and many small fields were merged in order to make fewer but larger ones, which are more tractor-friendly.

we have just spent a week in St Marie du Mont (near Utah Beach and the first village to be liberated) There are hedgerows everywhere. As you drive out of the village towards Utah beach turn left at the cross ( I think it is the D14)and you will find the monument to Band of Brothers. Brecourt Manor is just down the road from the monument and you will see the fields and hedgerows

A few years ago we caught the east end of the beaches out of Cherbough. Hedgerows were everything. I don't think you will have any problem finding them. I think ten minutes on any side road would do it.

That is what I liked about the Battlebus tours. They take you back on the small roads, they explain the difficulties of the troops trying to see past the hedgerows, let alone trying to move over them. Until I saw them up close like this, the impact of them had never been so clear.

As others have said, it is not hard to find hedgerows in Normandy. However, our Battlebus guide pointed out that the hedgerows today are not nearly as tall or numerous as they were during WWII.

One of the best sources of information for locating "hedgerows" in Normandy is Major and Mrs Holt's "Normandy Landing Beaches." A wealth of information and an absolute must for the independent battlefield tourist. In addition, two maps are very important to guide you through hedgerow country: Michelin Normandie regional map #513 and Normandie Battlefield map #102. The latter is a reprint of the famous 1947 battlefield tour map which will help pinpoint actual battlefields, bunkers, and gun emplacements. You may also like to read Donald Burgett's "Currahee!" which goes into wonderful detail of the 101st hedgerow battles and magnificently describes "dead mans corner." Be sure to eat at Le Rapiere in Bayeux...you'll love it!

Jo - We stayed at a Gite called the Walnut Cottage (see below). It just so happens that this is almost in the heart of the Battle of the Falaise Pocket and it was wonderful to learn about this part of the invasion of France.There are hedgerows all around there. The owner told us that a Germal helmet was reportly found in the attic of their barn years after the war.

BTY - it was quite difficult to find this Gite, we returned after dark and were lost for awhile.

Best, Bill

"This B&B and gîte are located in the Normandy countryside between Vimoutiers and Gacé.
w w w . g i t e s o f n o rm a n d y . c o m"

Thanks for all of the suggestions, everyone. We did get a copy of Major and Mrs Holdt's book and are looking forward to our trip!

Jo,

We took our three sons (9, 11 and 13) last summer to Normandy. Stayed at Le Tardif in the heart of Bayeux - lovely, old B&B with a garden out back. It was my "Danielle Steele" moment! But - best part, we hired a private tour guide, Danielle, who gave us a tour of the whole WWII area. Tour went from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and included everything you would ever think of seeing - along with the "side sites" like an old church that had been used as a field hospital, complete with blood stains on the benches. This was August and we didn't see anyone else. My husband and I - more importantly our sons - were enrapt.

We had to rent a car for her to drive, but it was worth every cent. She was born right around the date the Allies landed and grew up there. Then moved to the U.S., married, ran a travel agency I believe and then moved back. She drove for Spielberg when he was there. I can't recommend her enough. I mention this because her English is perfect so we all understood the tour.

Here is her web page. http://pagesperso-orange.fr/normandyours/

And e-mail: [email protected]

Have fun!

Another great small town to stay in is Arromanches. It is right in the middle of "Gold Beach". We stayed at the Hotel de La Marine--which is right on the beach. We could look right out our hotel room window and see the remains of the British "mulberry harbor" still sitting on the sand!! This hotel also has a great restaurant!!