Adrian Ridley-Jones

My partner and I, along with my two sisters, spent three nights and two full days in Normandy on 6/7 June. Our father, who died some years ago and would have been 90 on 6 June, had landed on Gold Beach on the same date on his 19th birthday on D-Day in 1944. We wanted to see where he landed, go to the places that he did immediately after landing and try and get a ‘feel’ for what it was like and what he went through. Adrian picked us up from our chambre d’hôte in his landrover on the first morning and provided us with the most outstanding experience. Our expectations were completely fulfilled, plus some! He skilfully provided a continuous stream of relevant information and took us to all the right places. With his friendly and engaging manner combined with a comprehensive knowledge of both the bigger picture and the detail he delivered just what we went to find. His wife had most thoughtfully provided each of us with a tiny glass phial which we all used to take some sand from Gold Beach home, something that none of us had considered. Operation Overlord and the Battle for Normandy were such enormous undertakings that you can only begin to learn about it in two days. However, Adrian pitched his tour perfectly for our needs. We even managed to fit in the briefest of trips to a Sunday morning market to stock up with local cheese and wine and took in the Bayeux Tapestry at the end of the day. A very moving and worthwhile experience. We cannot recommend Adrian Ridley-Jones highly enough.