Welcome to The Magnolias Bed and Breakfast Normandy France, we are an exclusive NO CHILDREN B&B. We offer peaceful, comfortable and affordable accommodation in our renovated Normandy country Farm House. We have 4 modern en-suite bedrooms available, a guest lounge with a classic Juke box and some comfortable chairs to relax in, we have a Tea and Coffee bar, a large breakfast room and Sams billiard room. We are English and speak English and basic French. Free broadband WiFi internet access in all rooms, free private parking, four acres of lawned gardens with seating areas and with countryside views around the property, evening meals are available if pre booked.
We are also the perfect base if you are looking in estate agents or Notaires to buy your dream or holiday home in Normandy. Our nearest town is Saint Lo and we are 30 minutes drive from several beautiful beaches and coast lines. We are open from the beginning of April and close at the end of October and we hope to see you in sunny Normandie soon. Any questions please ask via our contact page and we will reply promptly.
We have all the main tourist attractions within a short drive. The d-day landing beaches of Sword beach, Gold beach, Juno beach, Omaha beach, Utah beach and the famous town of Saint Mere Eglise, Haras National Horse centre, Bayeaux Tapestry The battlegrounds, Miles of empty beaches, Colleville Sur Mer, Mulberry Harbour, Military cemeteries and museums of the single biggest invasion force ever assembled. We are located in central Normandy mid way between Le Mont Saint Michel and Bayeaux, our nearest town is Saint Lo. We are a one hour drive from Cherbourg ferry terminal, one hour from Caen ferry terminal at Ouistreham, one hour from Dinard airport, 3.5 hours from Calais and 3 hours from Paris.
For photograghs, information, maps and images of The Magnolias b&b and Normandy look at our Bedrooms, Rooms and Gallery pages in the menu above and if you look on the page we have called WW 2 has the best and the largest collection of WW 2 Military Vehicle photographs of d day 75 and the surrounding areas I have ever seen. Many thanks to Mr Ian Muir for some of these. We are sports and classic car including vintage car friendly, cycle, motor cycle, trike, bike, biker and also people friendly and we have plenty of private parking within our four acre grounds.
Information and details below are an ongoing work of some of the best and different must see and visit historical areas in Normandy. Also below is some of the areas for Neptune of Operation Overlord the allied invasion of German occupied France that commenced on 6 June 1944 known as d day or J Jour in France. The Gallery page has some great maps, pictures and information of some these areas as well.
Sword beach stretches 8km from Ouistreham to Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer and is the eastern most landing site of the invasion closest to Caen the ultimate goal. The British 3rd Infantry Division where assigned to land here. The initial landings where achieved with low casualties but the advance from the beach was met with heavily defended areas behind the beachhead and included the only armoured counter attack of the day, mounted by the 21st panzer Division.
Juno beach spans from Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer to Courseulles-sur-Mer. The Juno landings were judged necessary to provide flanking support to the British drive on Caen from Sword, as well as to capture the German airfield at Carpiquet west of Caen. Taking Juno was the responsibility of the 3rd Canadian Infantry and Commandos of the Royal Marines all under the command of British I Corps. The landing initially encountered heavy resistance from the German 716th Division, but with strength of numbers had cleared most of the coastal defences within 2 hours of landing.
Gold beach was to be assaulted by the British X Corps between Le Hamel and Ver-sur-Mer. The primary d-day objectives for this Division was to establish a beachhead between Arromanches and Ver-sur-Mer which was crucial for the deployment of the Mulberry harbour, then head south towards Route Nationale RN13 reaching Bayeux and cutting the road to Caen.
Omaha beach the primary objective was to secure a beachhead of some 8km between Port-en-Bessin and the Vire River linking it with the British landings at Gold and reaching the area of Isigny to the west to link up with VII Corps landing at Utah to the west to provide a continuous lodgement on the Normandy coast of the Bay of the Seine. Taking Omaha was to be the responsibility of the United States Army troops with sea transport and naval artillery support. Very little went as planned during the landing at Omaha, as the defences were unexpectedly strong and inflicted heavy casualties on the landing US troops.
Utah beach is roughly 5 km long and was the right flank or Westernmost, of the allied landing beaches and is located between the villages of Pouppeville and La Madeleine. Despite being substantially off course the US troops landed with relatively little resistance, in stark contrast to Omaha where the fighting was fierce.
Saint Mere Eglise. Today centres on its role in the D Day invasion and a dummy paratrooper hangs from the church spire, commemorating the story of paratrooper John Steele. During the early landings paratroops where dropped directly on the town and resulted in heavy casualties for the paratroopers, some of the buildings were on fire that night and they illuminated the sky, making easy targets of the descending men. Some were sucked into the fire. Many hanging from trees and utility poles were shot before they could cut loose. The incident was portrayed in the film The Longest Day and John Steele was played by actor Red Buttons. Behind the church near the hotel is a spring believed by pilgrims to have healing powers, dedicated to Saint Mewan.
Saint Mere Eglise Airborne Museum was established in 1964 in the heart of the village of Sainte-Mere-Eglise, Normandy. This memorial museum will lead you into the story of the battle involving American Paratroopers of the 82nd 101st airborne divisions, which took place during the night of the 5th to the 6th June 1944.
Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial at Colleville-sur-Mer is located on a bluff overlooking Omaha beach and the English Channel. It covers a huge area and contains the remains of 9,387 American Military dead, most of whom were killed during the invasion of Normandy and ensuing military operations in World War II. Included are graves of Army Air Corps crews shot down over France as early as 1942. Notable interments. Two of the Niland brothers. The story behind Saving private Ryan. Theodore Roosevelt, jr, Medal of Honour recipient, Quentin Roosevelt, aviator killed in action World War I, Jimmie W Monteith Medal of Honour recipient and Lesley J. McNair U.S Army general, one of the two highest-ranking Americans to be killed in action in World War II.
Mulberry Harbour. A Mulberry harbour was a portable temporary harbour developed by the British in World war II to facilitate rapid offloading of cargo onto the beaches during the Allied invasion of Normandy. Three days after D-Day two harbours codenamed “A” and “B” were constructed at Omaha Beach at Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer for American invasion forces and Gold Beach at Arromanches for use by the British and Canadian invasion forces. Remains of the harbour are still visible from Gold Beach.
Le Mont-Saint-Michel, the rocky cone shaped islet in north-western France, in the gulf of Saint-Malo, connected by a causeway with the mainland. The islet celebrated for its Benedictine abbey, has small houses and shops on its lowest level. Above these stand the monastic buildings many of which date from the 13th century. Best time to visit is early morning or evening when lit up.
Christian Dior Museum at Villa Les Rhumbs, Christian Dior’s childhood home in Granville, is a Belle Epoque style cliff top villa overlooking the sea. It is the only Musée de France labelled French museum dedicated to a couturier and presents, for ten years already, Haute Couture garments on three floors. The garden arranged as an English landscape park by Madeleine Dior, the fashion designer’s mother is one of the rare today remaining artist’s gardens of the early twentieth century. The tearoom, located in the heart of Christian Dior’s childhood homes garden, overlooking the sea and the Channel Islands, is open during July & August daily from 12 to 6.30pm.