The other alternative is to drive to and from Poole and get some sort of boat to Caen - they are reasonably fast. However, it would be a long day and 'he died driving back from Poole having gone on a day trip to Cean to look at their rubber tyred trams' is not the way I want to go. Yes, rubber tyred trams, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caen_Guided_Light_Transit - seems the best description to me of what they are.
[ETA - the second one of these is wrong, see comments]