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20/07/2026

Random photos that didn't make the first cut 📸

Just under 2200 miles covered within 7 days and temperatures up to 40°C 😅

11/07/2026

French west coast trip and why I do it...

10/07/2026

Days 6 & 7

8:00 start at Antheor with hotel dogs seeing me off and travelling 560 miles throughout the day.

One big diversion through a single track mountain pass because of fires and a few other diversions delayed things.

Another seriously hot couple of days, my cheese slices melted in my tank bag and phone struggled again. Made it to Laon at 22:30 for a much needed airing of clothes and shower. Never sweated so much before.

Last day was a 2 hour ride to the Eurotunnel but delayed with queues at border control. Eventually made it through and then another 4 hours on the UK side with traffic and congestion the whole way back.

08/07/2026

Day 5

175 miles covered to reach the final destination of Antheor.

The viaduct here was a main rail line used by the Germans to link France and Italy. 617 Squadron took part in an operation to destroy it but it was unsuccessful. It was later destroyed by the Americans prior to invasion.

Operation Chastise veteran and squadron bombing leader Flt Lt Robert "Bob" Hay lost his life on this operation. A shell exploded injuring him in the chest and head. He died of his wounds and is buried in Sardinia. His is the last grave of 617 Squadron I haven't yet visited but hope to soon.

Was planning to get ahead with a few hours riding back towards home but decided to spend the night here instead. Means a long day tomorrow getting as far as I can back north but nice to relax for a bit.

07/07/2026

Day 4

A few hours drive to Oradour-sur-Glane. The village where 642 men, women and children were murdered by the Waffen SS on June 10th 1944. The town remains preserved in an abandoned state as a memorial.

Just down the road at Limoges is the ex Gnome Rhone Aero Factory. The first time that 617 Squadron under Leonard Cheshire were allowed to do their own target marking. Cheshire made several low passes at around 50ft to warn the French workers before dropping his marker. Almost every building was damaged or destroyed and only one French worker injured. The iconic looking buildings from the original low level photos can still be seen.

Finally a long hot trip south and finally at 21:30 made it to the South Coast at Montpellier.

420 miles covered and highest temperature I saw was 38°C, phone decided to shut itself down several times due to heat. Was going to see the coast tonight but decided to let all the bike kit dry and get some rest.

06/07/2026

Day 3

Finished up at Lorient round the U-boat Pens.

Had a 3 or so hour ride to Saumur to see the rail bridge and the neighbouring railway tunnel entrance and exit. On June 8th/9th 1944 617 Squadron used the Tallboy earthquake bombs for the first time here. The Tallboy bombs pierced into the mountainside and exploded inside the tunnel completely destroying sections of it.

Next was another few hours riding to La Pallice for yet another U-boat Pen. This was another 617 Squadron target and also the filming locations of Das Boot and Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Finally to La Rochelle for the night. A really nice town, just a shame to only be spending an evening here.

Overall 320 miles covered. The heat has been horrific, the highest I saw on my phone was 37°C. Riding is like having the heat in a car on at full blast. Everything is soaked in sweat but showered off and found some kind of street market to cool down with a few beers.

Early start needed tomorrow as a lot of miles to cover and want to beat the heat. It's supposed to be hotter tomorrow and heading further south won't help

05/07/2026

Day 2

Only 156 miles covered by a but mostly keeping off the main roads.

First stop was the U-boat Pen at Brest. Unfortunately couldn't get too close as it's still on French Naval property but still worth the visit.

Then an hour's ride to Douarnenez where three crew members of the 617 Squadron Lancaster "Dark Victor" are buried. An unbelievable and moving story well written up by those that survived and can be viewed here: https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/collections/document/43465

A few moments spent at the beach in respect, which may well have been the beach where the bodies of these men washed up.

Finally up to Lorient to see the U-boat pens there. Managed to have a quick look this evening but will have a proper look in the morning.

Bike it going well, turns out it runs a lot better when the fuel pump has constant power, I think this may have been an intermittent issue for a long time without realising.

04/07/2026

Day one of the first proper trip of the year.

Almost didn't happen when an intermittent fault with the bike turned into a permanent one last night. Fortunately I managed to track it down to the fuel pump relay which I luckily had a spare of.

250 miles covered without issue now leaving Plymouth on the overnight ferry to Roscoff, France...

01/07/2026

The 8th and final loss of Operation Chastise (The Dambusters Raid) was Lancaster AJ-A piloted by Sqn Ldr Melvin “Dinghy” Young.

Young was nicknamed “Dinghy” from having ditched two aircraft previously in the water. The first led to him and his crew floating in the Atlantic for 22 hours before rescue and the second being a ditching near Plymouth.

On the 16th May 1943 Young in AJ-A took off from RAF Scampton at 21:47 and began their journey to the Mohne Dam. AJ-A reached the Mohne without issue and awaited their turn to drop their mine. They watched Gibson drop his, then would have withnessed Hopgood’s aircraft crippled as their overshot mine detonated beneath them. “Micky” Martin in AJ-P was next and dropped his mine but still no breach. Young began his bombing run with Gibson and Martin either side flashing their navigation lights to distract the German gunners from AJ-A. Young successfully dropped his mine causing the first visible cracks. The Dam wash finished off by the next mine dropped by Maltby in AJ-J.

After the breaching of the Mohne the surviving aircraft who had dropped their mines headed back for home except for Gibson and Young who would oversee the next part of the Operation at the Eder Dam. Once the Eder had been breached all these aircraft returned for home. AJ-A made it all the way to the Dutch coast at Castricum Aan Zee before at 02:58, so close to safety, they were hit by flak and crashed killing all on board.

12 days later two bodies were found washed up: Young and Sgt David Horsfall.

Over the next two weeks the rest of the crew began to wash ashore. These were:

Fg Off Vincent MacCausland

Flt Sgt Charles Roberts

Sgt Lawrence Nichols

Sgt Gordon Yeo

Sgt Wilfred Ibbotson

All are buried at Bergen General Cemetery.

29/06/2026

This time last year I had reached my goal of Tromso in Norway.

Two full days of riding in gale force winds just to make the port in Hirtshals, Denmark (probably the scariest thing I've ever done).

Then Bergen, Nesbyen, Trondheim, Jokkmokk (Sweden), Finland, Alta and finally Tromso plus many places in-between.

At least a couple of thousand miles by this point.

Massive emotional highs and terrible lows.

Meeting people I'll never forget and days ridden without talking to a single person.

Days in unbearable heat and others in freezing temperatures as I entered the Arctic Circle

Visiting the resting places of braver people than me with unbelievable and tragic stories and also crash sites with remains still in place as if it happened not long ago.

A day I'll never forget running on pure adrenaline riding almost constantly from around 07:00 to 01:00 the next day in mostly pouring rain. Several terrible unmade roads leading to hours of diversions, herds of reindeer blocking the roads giving sudden reality checks of the amazing area and world you are actually in. The midnight sun tricking you as to how long you've been going for and hours of never seeing another car or human.

A truely unforgettable experience that genuinely changed my life and the way I view the world. Both the history I was following and the unbelievable memories of the trip itself. It's just a shame photos never do it justice.

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Ladbergen
49549

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