Vimy Ridge
- Mr Melezet
- Jul 9, 2020
- 2 min read
Updated: Jul 10, 2020
A travel/rest day
Arras
A second night in the monastery then promptly out to get breakfast. The coffee shop had no food. A last wander around the city centre before picking up the hire car.
We pass by the Wellington museum just outside Arras. The museum features the tunnels built during the war to defend Arras and shelter troops.
Vimy Ridge
The ridgeline above the village of Vimy was the scene of a major battle in WW1. The hill has commanding views which made it important to both sides.
The hill was recaptured from the Germans by a combined Canadian and British force in April 1917. The site has a large Canadian memorial, a museum and some preserved trenches and tunnels.
The memorial is huge and is carved with the names of the canadians who died. There are a number of cemeteries on the site and many, many more in this region.
The ground remains uneven from the shelling and there are still unexploded munitions. The sheep cannot read.
We have passed this way many times without stopping and are really glad that we did so.
Today's date: 9.7.20
Weather: cold and light rain
Steps: 11,300
Distance: n/a
Climbing: n/a
After a bar lunch, we headed north towards the coast. The satnav directed us back along many of the roads we had already walked. It was really interesting to see how much ground we had covered and how much we remembered. A quick shop at Therouanne for supplies. Not quite as closed as last Sunday, but almost.
Not camping tonight as it is wet and we have an early start so no time to dry a tent. We are staying at the Ibis in St. Omer. We drove into town along the canal and it looks to be an interesting small town.
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