An advert on the side of my train from Caen, some 200km west of Paris, showed a weather map of France. Big cartoony sun symbols covered the whole country. Except for Normandy, where I was, which instead had a large grey rain cloud above it. Normandie fort et vert (strong and green) were the words alongside.

The Normans are proud of their soggy reputation. Without rain they wouldn’t have the lush countryside on which graze the cows that provide the cheese that is essential to every meal in this part of the world. And the reason I was here.

Some people come to Normandy for the beaches, the World War Two history, or to see the Bayeux Tapestry (which actually is coming to the British Museum in London in 2026 on a 12-month loan). But, as a committed turophile (cheese lover), I knew this

See Full Page