Hi , i was wondering which places that you have visited on the western front do you regard as your 'best visits'. Reasons for your 'best visits' being - atmosphere , things to see from the great war - trenches , relics etc , stories etc , etc , etc . Regards , Steve .

The Bois des Caures, near Verdun - the trenches have just been left to nature to reclaim, as have strong points, shelters and barbed wire. The most amazing place to walk around, preferably being guided by Christina Holstein and with a copy of the relevant chapter from Horne's The Price of Glory.

A close second is the Butte de Vaquais (and I think I spelt it correctly). Between 1915 and 1916 soemthing like 600 mines were exploded by the French and the Germans, completely destroying all evidence of the village that once stood there. Even better if you can organise a trip down the tunnels.

Although these are the best visits my favourite place probably remains the Somme.

See clue in signature!

Great because of the personal connection, the emotional aspect as a result, the chance to stand and walk around a place I had read so much about and the fact that I could navigate myself so easily around the area because of my prior knowledge.

Does it actually have to be a WW1 battlefield?

My "best visit" occured whilst visiting the Western Front (Verdun to be exact) but happened to take place when visiting the German rear areas where a battlefield of a different war was discovered relatively untouched. This place only poured fuel onto the fire and made my interest more avid about this particular war - which happens to be my main interest even to this day. (Even more so than WW1 !!!)

Dave.

Bruce.

Why "forgotten"? I'd never have rated Boezinge as such.

Dave.

Good so far guy's , keep em coming in . What about the No.1 'humbling experience' that brought a tear to your eye !!! Steve .

Ahh! I see! Thanks Bruce. (I now remember thinking a similar question to what I asked you when it was first aired (the "forgotten" bit was all dependant on what sources were used for research) - A question for the BBC, I think! )

Dave.

Its hard to know where to start, but here are my Top 8 in no particular order
Charles
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Butte de Vauquois - the tunnels are not to be missed

The Haute Chevauchee in the Argonne Forest - mine craters, trenches in the atmospheric forest

Hartmanswillerkopf - view across to the Rhine Valley and the rock trenches

Mondemont Chateau and the memorial to the Marne 1914 - Should be accompanies by the relevant chapter from George Blond's or Henri Isselin's books in the battle. Very evocative of the French Army in 1914 and attaque a l'outrance.

The Memorial to the Marne 1918 on the Butte de Chalmont. It compriese a staggering group of figures by Paul Landowski - Les Fantomes - my favourite memorial on the Western Front. Superb view too.

The walk from the German start line trenches facing the Bois des Caures into the wood itself. Standing in these trenches imagining H hour on 21 Feb 1916 is quite overpowering.

The 1915 Champagne battlefield in the Camp de Suippes. Untouched since 1915.

The Chemin des Dames - following the BEF of 1914. esp when accompanied by relevant accounts eg Bloems Advance from Mons

For me Sanctuary Wood. Just the thought of being stood somewhere so infamous. Sent a chill down my spine but so peaceful.

Four really.

1. Visiting my Great Uncle Herbert Burman's grave for the first time and seeing all those rows of Notts & Derby men....

2. Turning the corner at the top of the incline from the Thiepval visitor centre and getting the first full view of that huge memorial and then perusing the seemingly endless list of names to find all my Tibshelf lads....

3. Heilly Station cemetery - seeing the graves of German soldiers alongside those of the British. Equality and unity in death.

4. The elderly chap who owned the cottage we rented on the Somme last summer. At the end of the week he asked what we'd been up to. With my poor French and his poor English we finally got to the understanding that (apart from Disneyland etc.) I'd taken in a number of war sites. He became very excited, told me a long story that I couldn't really follow to do with an RAF man from WWII who his family had harboured and helped home, and then as we were about to drive off he used his finger to write 'UK - France 1945-2005' in the dirt on my car and shook my hand as though I'd played some part in the liberation. Obviously I can't claim any credit, but it made meel feel proud and humble on behalf of all the lads who did that 60 years ago.

Will be visiting the Western Front for the first time in June and can't wait.

Steve
My most emotional place , due to my Grandfather's involvement, has
to be the Windmill Site at Pozieres.
To stand there and read the words of C.E.W. Bean on the plaque and
then look across at the Thiepval Memorial really bought me undone.

Pete O
It may be coming up to your first trip to the Western Front but I will
lay money now that it wont be your last

Peter

I suppose in terms of the places I've been to - and I've only really been to Flanders there are two places - Hooge Crater cemetary and Nieuwport (sp?).

Nieuwport was fascinating - looking at all the sluices from the top of the Albert memorial and trying to imagine the rush to open them to stop the Germans. Then we walked along to the municipal cemetary where there were some war graves we didn't think would be much visited. We found them eventually, just a small plot of twenty or so, and it was very moving.

Cas

Thanks guy's , i think that the list is endless and everyone seems to have a different place in mind . I don't know about anyone else but really enjoying your accounts so please keep them coming .
For the novice like myself who has yet to make the journey , which place would you recommend above all for the ultimate trip ? For my ideal trip family links aside , i would like to see as many original features ie trenches , dugouts etc and a good emotional trip to really get to know what these men had to endure . Steve .

Steve

For the "ultimate trip", you cannot leave out the family ties or the particular interests you have.

If you do, you are left only with the big monuments - whether it be the Menin Gate or Newfoundland Park.

Visiting the battlefield for the first time should be an emotional experience. And the second. And the third. And for me, that comes with a family link. I'm hoping to make my 4th trip this year and it will be the first time there hasnt been a direct family interest in where I'm going. No grave to visit. No battalion route to follow. I'm interested to see how I feel afterwards. Different from previous trips, I think.

John

The Chapel, Toc H, Pop.

The Toc H, yes, The concert party.

Also staning on Messines ridge looking west onto the Britsh positions. Lone Tree Cemetry and Spanbrokmolen mine. I was lost for words.

Thanks guys . John , what i should have said was that i do intend to make a trip in the future to follow in the footsteps of my grandfather , but was looking for the sort of trip beyond that that the complete novice like myself would be able underetake and to see and feel what more experienced travellers would regard as a 'not to be missed ' experience . Kind regards , Steve .

Must agree with LB1418 re. the chapel at Toc H. - extraordinary atmosphere. I would not describe myself as religious but it is the holiest place I have ever visited.

Many many others - a new one every trip. A grave to the namesake of my young son and the realisation of just how close in age they are - and my son is a child.

The sunken road at Beaumont Hamel very early on the morning of 1st July with the sun rising over the village church. What a privilege to have this place all to yourself.

The evening when I read the Exhortation at the Menin Gate. Organised by Jacky P who gave me 15 minutes notice (probably no bad thing !). With relatives names recorded above, a truly memorable experience. The Gate is the essence of the Salient, a bastion of Remembrance and the definition of dignity.

Try not to miss the Last Post Ceremony at the Menin Gate - very moving.

Buttes Cemetery Polygon Wood, do not know what it is about that place,A tranquill woodland setting listening to the birds singing???.
I will never forget walking from the road up the avenue of trees and then viewing Buttes for the first time.

One of my special places on the Somme is the Sunken Lane and Beaumont Hamel Cemetery. Visiting the small battlefeld cemeterys means something special to myself.

I have always described to unlike minded friends that a trip to the battlefields is one of the most humbling and poignant things I have done. also shed many a tear reading gravestone inscriptions.

We must all have the same thoughts that the hallowed ground we are walking on has witnessed such death and destruction which is hard to imagine nowadays.

Cheers

paul

Try not to miss the Last Post Ceremony at the Menin Gate - very moving.

Also the Last post ceremony at Ploegsteeret memorial which takes place on the first friday of the month.
Three of us were lucky enough to see that ceremony on our visit. I was suprised to see so many military( legion) and others taking part. So different to the Menin gate last post.

Cheers

Paul

Steve

In that case, get the relevent "good guidebook" and tack on whichever of the "big things" are in that area.

On my first visit, I did the same as you. Basically followed grandad's battalion on the Somme and round Ieper. I had both of Holts' guides which give good driving tours so it was easy to plan a route. Meant, say, I could walk from Maricourt to Montauban where he was on 1/7/16 but then do the "big thing" of Delville Wood which is a couple of minutes drive further on.

You can leave some of the smaller, but very interesting, places until your future trips (you WILL have future trips).

John

Steve,

Personally I wouldn't advise DIY/self-drive for your first trip. Like most people are advising, I'd suggest start with the well-known places - and have someone take you there, set the scene and available to answer the (probably) many questions you will want to ask. ,Sometimes, the places themselves will speak to you - with a little help from your Holts guidebook - but, for me at least, you need to understand what it is you're looking at to get the most out of it.

So, first time out, I'd go with a tour company. They'll take you to all the main places in Ypres and the Somme, and you'll enjoy the company of others who are all there for a number of different reasons.

You'll see a variety of things such as:

Preserved trench sites - Sanctuary Wood, Yorkshire trench in the Ypres area, Newfoundland Park down on the Somme.
Original battles site hotspots - Hill 60, Hooge, Passchendaele in Ypres area and assorted places on the Somme over a 16-18 mile frontline (1-6-16) area......Serre, Beaumont Hamel, Ancre valley, Thiepval etc .
Quite a few cemeteries, large and small. I quickly get cemetery fatigue without knowing the story of at least some of the guys who are buried there. Failing that, get beyond the faceless regimentation of the sea of tombstones by reading the family inscriptions at the base of most graves.....or the beauty of some of the notes left in the cemetry registers by other visitors from all over the world. I particularly love some of those left by school children...who have not grown up with the history but who suddenly see and are profoundly affected for the first tiime. Never fails to move me and remind me that these are all men who were connected to life and loved ones just as we are.
Large mine craters....Hooge, Caterpillar, Spanbroekmolen around Ypres....Hawthorne Ridge, La Boiselle etc on the Somme.

My wife suggested I went on one of these trips 10 or 12 years ago... and it blew me away. I got the bug on that first trip and I've been peeling the layers off the onion ever since.

David

On the Somme for me it has to be Mametz, Trones and Bernafay Woods. Standing at the Welsh Memorial looking towards the Hammer is always a moving experience and I will never forget a lone Welsh flag stuck in the depths of the wood itself. On my most recent visit to the Menin Gate there was a small Welsh choir who sang a version of what I think was "What a Friend I have in Jesus" - can't be sure of this but it was wonderful.

The woods around Verdun with their trenches, relics etc are incredible places (but for how much longer I cannot guess) and I would agree with an earlier reply that the Butte De Vauquois is amazing.

Walking from Langemarck to just before Poelcappelle on the Poelcappelle road may not be the most visually stimulating of walks but given that my grandfather was captured just in front of Rose House (Now Rosenhoff Farm) for me it is very special. As is the wind swept farmland that lies between Roclincourt and the Commandants House (ignoring the motorway of course), and the area between Fampoux and Rouex (also if you can ignore the motorway) - the list goes on.

Danny

Thanks guys , i wish i could go tommorow !!! The sunken road at Beaumont Hamel seems to crop up alot . Can someone please shed some light on the history of the sunken road and what can you expect to see nowadays ? Regards , Steve .

Steve

What you will see is a sunken road. Sunken roads are all over the place. There's another "down the way" near Trones Wood that rarely gets a mention - unless you've got an interest in 30th Division units.

John

emotionally speaking my first ' last post ' in Ypres had me close to tears. Visiting my wife's great grandfather at Bailleul and realizing that I was the first ' family' member to do so. Standing at Bonté Redoubt on a hot july 1st afternoon just as my great uncle had in 1916. Half past five in the morning, placing flowers at Alec's grave in a grey, mist laden Serre Road Number 2 on july 1st. The day he died.


Bois Brulé for trenches, dugouts and wire. ( St Mihiel salient )

Walking up the slope to the Mort Homme from the German lines for atmosphere.

Les Eparges for spectacular.

Steve the Sunken Road at Beaumont Hamel is particularly famous as it was in No mans land the morning of 1st July 1916. It was sheltered from the enemy by the high bank and occupied prior to zero hour by means of a tunnel. The reason it and its occupants are famous is because they were filmed there by the offical cameraman Geoffrey Malins shortly before going over the top. It is a truely haunting piece of film seeing these young men knowing that most never made it more than a few yards over that bank barely minutes after they were filmed.One can stand in exactly the same spot. On the ridge over the otherside of the road is Hawthorn crater wnich Malins also filmed being detonated. The accompanying few seconds of a battalion of the Middlesex attacking is recognised as probably the only authentic recording of the attack anywhere on the front that day.

My most moving experiemce my very first visit to a CWGC cemetery in Flandres Brandhoek outside Ypres. A misty morning with very little visibility, no intrusion from the modern waorld and it seemed as if the war was still just there across the fields, most moving and like most hooked from that moment on.

Go and stand by the entrance to Mansel Copse cemetery, alone if possible, after reading the words on the stone inscription. Brought a tear to my eye I don't mind telling you..

Then there's the Welsh memorial seat at the back of Dantzig Alley cemetery. Look out over the back, from left to right, you get a fantastic panaramic view of part of the advance from 1st July.

My only advice would be take plenty of photographs, you'll regret it later if you dont..

Mark

On a glorious summer's day, I found the Chemin des Dames to be truly spectacular. One can only look down the slopes to the Aisne in incredulity that anyone tried to attack uphill, and in some cases, succeeded.

Walking from the south-eastern corner of High Wood down the track which was known as 'Wood Lane'.

For some reason, I always seem to walk it at some point during a weekend visit to the Somme.

The 1st Birmingham Pals were decimated thereabouts on the evening of 22 July 1916 when along with the Royal West Kents they attacked from the Longueval/Martinpuich Road to the German positions in Wood Lane.

Terry

Fully in agreement with Jon's posting on the Aisne.

Thanks guys . Salient guide , regarding the 'few seconds of footage ' you mention showing a battalion of the Middlesex , do you know which battalion was filmed ? Also is it possible to access this footage ? Regards , Steve .

Some years ago I was taken into an old British/Commonwealth tunnel - the soldiers who expanded it had scrawled their names/regimental numbers on its walls. One man had drawn a picture of his girlfriend (matching the tatoo on his arm) on the wall. He was burried in the cemetery nearby.

It is sad that she would never have known that in the depths of the earth he was still thinking of her. Sadder still that he never made it home.

Brendon.

Saddest for me was the exit at the WW1 museum, in Ieper. They had a wall of old photogrphic prints from soldiers who never came back to pick them up. Their faces still haunt me.

Le Trou Aid Post near Armentieres and St Symphorien Mons are two of the most striking cemeteries I have visited.

On my first visit to Talbot House Poperinghe I could smell Woodbines cigarettes but nobody else in the group could. Not smelt it again on a subsequent visit.

Every visit to the Western Front is special to me, but one of the most rewarding events was finding the exact spot where Captain Francis Cresswell, adjutant of the 1st Norfolks, died on 24th August 1914. My father, a great friend and I spent about half a day following the events of that day and finally narrowed down the place using the war diaries and accounts. It was amazing when Dick placed a wreath in his memory, at the right place.
Sadly, we were unable to top it off with a visit to his grave, as he is buried miles from where he died, and lies in Auberchicourt British cemetery.

Ulster Tower, Caterpillar Valley and Tommies bar.
Tony

Two in particular stand out:

(i) Walking up a series of tracks from the rebuilt village of Craonne up the hill towards the Chemin des Dames in the baking heat and finding a series of semi-collapsed French dugouts which went back God-knows how far under the main road into the blackness. The floor was littered with old pots and drinking canteens, just as if the residents had just stepped out for a while.

(ii) Having been invited to the 80th anniversary commemoration of the battle of Fromelles, we parked up overnight at what is now the battlefield park, but was then just a jumble of blockhouses and rough grass. We slept (or tried to) in the car, but it was a pretty spooky night, and not difficult to imagine some kind of 'Menin Gate At Midnight' scene with spirts of dead soldiers wandering across the battlefield.

As a Devonian, Devonshire Cemetery, or more to the point the atmosphere that surrounds it and the adjacent copse, must be very, very near the top; but Ramparts Cemetery at Ypres is so close to it, and the old Lee Enfield we found on the lip of the Hawthorn Ridge crater the other year adds a special poignancy to that place too.....as for the other 'Great War', how about the 'Para's' cemetery at Ranville in Normandy, or the main CWGC site at Bayeux? I mention WW2 if only because, of all the moving places dotted along the old Western Front, surely the most chiling and emotional is the Mur des Fusilades at Arras?

Done a lot of the 'usual' stuff round Ypres. However many times I go there I am never ceased to be moved/amazed. Originally being from Worcester I have always been interested in Gheluvelt. One day I was really pleased to find the monument down a side street in Gheluvelt

regarding the 'few seconds of footage ' you mention showing a battalion of the Middlesex , do you know which battalion was filmed ? Also is it possible to access this footage ? Regards , Steve .
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The battalion was the 16th Middlesex. The footage is contained in the double video 'The Battles of the Somme and Ancre.' And probably several other videos here and there.

I have to endorse the view of Squirrel - Le Trou Aid Post Cem is just amazing, an oasis in the middle of acres of uninspiring countryside.

Jon.

Definitely Polygon Wood.
Robbie

Standing on Orange Hill, Monchy Le Preux and looking over the ground that the Northamptonshire Yeomanry, 10th Hussars et al charged over to reach the village under heavy shellfire. For me, with two relatives involved, it is a place of awe and wonder.
Jerry

Ah, forgot Anzac Cove on Gallipoli, but wrong front!
Jerry

Thankyou very much everyone . There is enough suggestions there to last a lifetimes visiting . It's so refreshing to see how passionate you all are about your favourites , different places mean different things to different people , that what makes it so interesting !!! Going off at a tangent from the original question , WHICH places have given you a real sense of unease even to the point of not wishing to return . I wonder if any places from the original question crop up this time . Regards , Steve .

Boy, what an interesting follow-up question! I think anywhere with a natural eeriness, or even just a silence, about it can feel odd to our fragile human sensitivities. For me, I'd have to say 'woods', and in particular Bourlon Wood, the copses around RE Grave, Ploegesteert Wood and, if only looking in from the finges, the ever-ominous High Wood

Ever - ominous, eerie and malevolantly evil feeling at High Wood.

First plave ever visited was Sanctuary Wood on a misty May morning.

Last Post at the Menin gate never fails to move me.