It is a very interesting area to visit, I have been a few times, but I tend to avoid festivals like this as the re-enactors are not my thing , I have found that out of season its nice and quite, and you get time to think, I usually take a few books with me to read as Is walk around, last time I visited I took my Irish Nephew on pillion en route to a daughters wedding in Italy
walking around the bridge Museum, he was surprised to see a family connection, his Grandmothers brother, an irish Para ( all my family connections are Great war) this year he returned with his dad, my younger brother and visited the grave
one thing he commented on, was how much better illustrated the various sites where,with interactive stuff and better signage in those intervening 6 years
of course when I visited many years ago I often found myself in company of the men who had fought there, and my parents generation were so close to it
My Brother was very impressed by the educational value of it as well, and seeing a German radar station that was not destroyed deliberately to confuse the enemy troops
I must be very old ( i am) but when travelling I prefer to read up and take several books written by those that were there and later guide books, so much easier to read if its bright and sunny, and no batteries
but I would recommend this tour to any newbies who have not visited, you will get so see so many things , also the Bayeux tapestry is worth a visit ( an Uncle who landed on Sword was a bit disappointed to see it, when he had R and R ) he found out later it was a a replica, as fatty Goering had a habit of nicking nice stuff for Karinhall , his high end drug den
its worth doing a bit of research first so you dont miss anything, the endless parade of re enactors who are usually much too fat and too old can overpower the dignity of the occasion
watching the longest day is a good start, quite a few of the actors were there the first time
and they even located a tank in the sand and re used it, especially the American who climbed he cliffs for real
I can reccomend this documentary, although American, it brings out many unknown facts
I generally find the american stuff awful, and they gabble
Professor Richard Holmes very excellent War Walks covers Operation Goodwood
and much more
and Pegasus bridge by Stephen Ambrose is a must read, and honest author who does not try to put himself in view all the time, his chance meeting with John Howard started the book off, and the interviews with those men are honest and reliable
oddly the gliders were manufactured in the Area I live, after Airpseed realised they did not have the capacity in London and the risk of bombing, moved by road in sections then assembled at Rissington, many were then flown from neighboring airfields built expressly for D Day
I take people around on tours of the area, many having been born and bred here have no idea of the history they walk past every day
Even Jeremy Clarksons farm was a wartime reserve airfield
and on the tube of you I would recommend watching the documentary made 20 year later featuring General Eisenhower
I would avoid many of the other so called channels documenting the invasion, as many of the commentators gabble, or are too fond of their own voices and new found fame, and rarely give you the most cogent facts, just repeating rubbish you can see elsewhere interspersed with video clips, usually of the wrong battles and wrong fighting vehicles or troops
growing up with uncles and Aunts who had been directly involved, I took time to listen to them, and it irritates me when some university educated idiot repeats the same mistakes time and time again
So if you have never been book early, and get to see some amazing bits of history
and fat blokes waddling around in ill fitting uniforms ( my dad would have a fit, at 90 he can still wear his REME overalls)
A tour like this is a great way to start you off, and like me you will no doubt return to explore further
seeing the filed where John Howards Pilot Landed the glider right on the fence line, makes you realise how much skill and luck was involved, and the cool head of Sgt Wallwork of the glider Pilot regiment, flying an unpowered wooden glider at night and landing exactly where asked
he hit Normandy first, well his head did as he shot through the screen
a few seconds later he was up and running and bringing in supplies
you can also Thank our King, for his prompt action in saving the original bridge, and starting off the creating of the excellent museum, a mere 100 metres away from the replacement
which is very similar just a bit longer
a replica glider sits not far away, today a Horse would not be allowed to fly, virtually everything about it fails the modern flying rules !!!
many parts of origional gliders are in the museum for you to examine, as a skilled tradesman that was mecca to me
