17/09/2026
26 for 26 – No.25 | The Changing Tides
Some of Normandy’s most beautiful sights are the ones that don't stay the same for very long…
And this week's gem is something you can experience right here on our doorstep.
The tides of Normandy.
If you've visited our beaches in summer, you may have noticed just how dramatically the coastline can change. One minute there's an enormous expanse of golden sand stretching towards the sea… the a few hours later, the water has rolled right in, the beach has almost disappeared and the whole landscape looks completely different.
We never get bored of it because the sea writes a different story and picture every day.
The Normandy coast has some wonderfully dramatic tides, and September and October are particularly lovely times to experience them. Around the equinox and during the bigger tides, the difference between high and low water can be spectacular.
And that means that even somewhere you've visited before can feel like a completely new place.
Take Omaha Beach, for example.
It's less than 10 minutes from Le Pressoir and one of our favourite places for a stroll.
At low tide, you can walk for what seems like miles, explore the shoreline, look for shells and admire some of the amazing sand sculptures that appear and even make your own (as we did recently with some of our lovely younger guests)
Then slowly, almost imperceptibly at first, the sea begins its journey back.
And those little treasures you've found along the way?
Well… they're on borrowed time.
Which brings me to the photos I've taken for this week's post.
I'm rather fascinated by the sand sculptures and pebble towers (or little cairns) that people build along the beach.
Some are tiny. Some are surprisingly elaborate. Some look as though they've taken hours of very serious pebble engineering.
And yet every single one is temporary.
The tide will come in. The water will wash over them. And they'll be gone.
Perhaps that's part of their charm.
There's something rather lovely about creating something beautiful simply because it's beautiful right now, knowing that nature will eventually have the last word.
From the beaches around Arromanches and Port-en-Bessin to the wider Normandy coastline, the changing tides are part of the landscape and part of everyday life.
They reveal rock pools, sandbanks, shells and seabirds, change the way the light falls across the water and give photographers something new to discover every few hours.
This last week we also checked the tide times and took to the waves on a Duck Boat Tour at Arromanches, out around the Mulberry Harbour. It was fantastic, the commentary was fascinating and fun and the view up close was thought provoking and looking back to shore gave us a perspective we’ve never experienced before - we can highly recommend this tour.
So if you're thinking about a September or October escape, don't imagine that Normandy's beaches are just a summer destination.
Wrap up, grab your camera, check the tide times and go exploring.
You might discover a completely different coastline from the one you saw in July.
And if you happen to build yourself a little pebble tower while you're there…
**Take a photo… Because it probably won't be there tomorrow.** 😉
Our tip? Come for the beaches… but stay long enough to watch the tides change them.
P.S.
And talking of being inspired by the sea…
There was another special moment this week at Le Pressoir. Our lovely guests, Louise & Tony bought four of my original paintings - Silver Leaf Waves, Adrift, Tranquility and Before the Storm.
All four have this coastline, this sea and waves at their heart, so perhaps this week's pebble towers and changing tides were particularly appropriate!
I love the thought that a little piece of Normandy - and a little bit of my love for its coastline is now travelling home with them.
Perhaps that's another kind of changing tide… things you find here stay with with you long after you've left.
