Crossing the Seine - Poissy

In retracing the English chevauchee route, there was a specific reason why we overnighted at Poissy.  It was a crucial point in the English march and a drama unfolded there.

Edward III's invasion caught Philippe VI off guard and he was ill-prepared to defend his country. Each day's march brought the English closer to Paris and heightened the threat on Philippe's capital.  Little did he know that King Edward had no intention of a direct assault on Paris; his goal was to draw the French into a pitched battle on ground of his choosing.

Before leaving England, King Edward had arranged for additional forces from Flanders. To make the rendezvous, King Edward's army needed to march north and he needed to cross the Seine. Heavy rains made the fords impassible and King Philippe had ordered all the bridges destroyed. At Poissy, the bridge had been wrecked but the timbers were still intact and tossed below.  English carpenters worked quickly to replace the timbers but before they finished the reconstruction French troops appeared on the other side of the river. Balancing along a foot-wide timber a small, and incredibly brave, contingent of archers and men-at-arms went ahead to successfully secure the bridgehead.

Poissy Bridge Footings --
 Originally 30+ pilings.

When I read about this feat of daring, I could only imagine what those men must have felt.  One wrong step and down they'd plunge into the swift-running currents below with no chance of rescue.

That bridge at Poissy remained intact until WWII.  After the war, a replacement was built about 1000 feet upriver from the original footings.  My picture (right) doesn'd do justice to the width of the river. So I searched online and found another that might provide better perspective.

This is more like it! 

I think it does.  It shows the width of the river and the many arches constituting the ancient bridge.  I'm still amazed at the courage of the men who made that crossing possible!

From Poissy we headed west following the Seine. When planning this day's itinerary, we thought we'd make good time and there might be a lot of 'drive-by' visits. But we soon discovered we were no longer traveling backroads and had to contend with commute traffic. Think of the Seine as a freeway in the States with each communter town burgeoning along its route.

In spite of the congestion, we managed to find Epone, situated on a steep hillside above the bank of the Seine. Located in the town center, the church was built in the 11th-12th centuries. I managed to get a peek inside although it was in the midst of a furneral sevice.

It looks like a upside down ship's hull. 

Epone St. Beat

Summer in Giverny 

Our trek wound through one congested town after another and I have to admit it was beginning to wear on me. Once again, we encountered a 'barre' and had to find an alternate route even though our GPS genie was insistent. By fortunate accident we found ourselves driving through the village of Giverny. This is the town made famous by the paintings of Claude Monet.  Had we a more flexible travel schedule, this would have been a wonderful place to stop, especially at this time of year when the crowds were minimal. Alas! 

Next we stopped at Verronet, a small village on the Seine where Henry II (Plantagenet) situated one of his more elegant fortresses. It came as a bit of a surprise to find it not atop a cliff but right on the river.  Although I don't know for certain, I suspect this fortress at one time must have guarded a ford here.

Verronet 

And I just had to take a picture of the building adjacent to it (to the right of the arch in the picture) for no other reason than it was so uniquely charming and bowed. It was perched atop the end of the old bridge pier. Might it have been a way station in its lifetime?



One of the places I most wanted to visit on this stretch of our journey was Chateau de Harcourt. Godfrey de Harcourt supported Edward III's claim to the French throne and his familiarity with Normandy may have been why Edward III chose to land in Normandy rather than invading through Gascony and Aquitaine.  I knew in advance the chateau closed on November 15 but had hoped to catch at least a distant glimpse of it.  I didn't ... but you can since I swiped this photo from the internet.

Chateau d'Harcourt

The Harcourt brothers were clever - while Godfrey played nice with Edward, his brother supported Philippe.

I was surprised to discover how close the d'Harcourt estate was to the Cotentin Peninsula where the English army landed. For some reason, I imagined it would be much farther east.  Given how beautiful and rich the surrounding land seemed to be, I can understand why the brothers played both sides - who would want to risk all this weath? Next to the Vexin, this area is something truly special.

Traveling through this part of Normandy, we  discovered that it abounds with thatched roof cottages much like the Cotswolds in England.

Harcout Village Cottage

It's the only region in which we've seen them. How fascinating!
(Also, John, if you're reading this, we passed through a small village call Pommereux.)

It was now quite late in the afternoon and I had no desire to try to find our Caen 'old town' Air BNB in the dark during rush hour. Caen is a modern metropolitan city with a population of about 100, 000 crammed into very narrow streets.  We arrived while it was still light and parking karma was with us. We found a spot outside a boulangerie just across from where we were to meet our hostess, Christine.

Caen was another significant location on Edward's invasion route.  It was the first major fortified town that prepared to defend itself and the first test of the prince's military prowess.  More later. Bon soir and abientot!