If travelling on foot, then there is a train station at Bernay and you will find train timetables and an online booking facility at SNCF's web site (www.sncf.com) who will also post pre-ordered tickes to some European countries. If you would rather make a telephone enquiry, their telephone number (0)8 36 35 35 39 is manned by English speaking operators. If you have a bicycle, then check that the particular train you are catching permits their carriage.

If you're from the UK and want to keep costs to a minimum, then consider driving to Portsmouth (www.portsmouth-port.co.uk) with a pushbike, park and do the rest of the journey as a foot passenger with bike. If you had been thinking about restricting the ammount of tackle you carry, then this may well be the incentive you need for 'minimalist' fishing. Portsmouth port has long term car parking at the ferry terminal and once over the channel the bus service from the ferry port into Caen takes roughly 20 minutes and the train from Caen to Bernay takes around 45 minutes. Typically if you caught the overnight ferry, then you'd arrive at Bernay just in time for breakfast and obtaining your permit.