This was the final section of my journey on the Western Front Way which brought me from the edges of the Somme area south of Arras, Neuville Saint Vaast in France to Ypres in Belgium and on to the finish at Nieuwpoort. I had spent the night in a field under the stars with no tent pitched. The campsite had been permanently closed and I cycled on past midnight until near one in the morning. I pulled the bike over a ditch and lay down on the edge of a wheat field. The stars were magnificent and an owl scoped me twice…as a snack I reckon…I rose at 4 a.m. and cycled on through Arras to stop at a large boulangerie to the north west of the town where I had plenty of coffee and charged my phone. When briefly rested I made for Neuville Saint Vaast. It has over 44,000 German soldiers interred in the cemetery. Across the road at La Targette there are over 12,000 French soldier’s graves from both 1914-18 and 1939-45 with thousands of unidentified remains in three ossuaries. There is also a British military cemetery alongside the French cemetery. During my trek along the Western Front Way I sought to find a way to get across to others the sheer scale of the losses. At Neuville and La Targette I simply cycled the length of the cemeteries and recorded what I saw. The clips included here say enough.
After Neuville St. Vaast I cycle on to Ypres. I reached the campsite near the moat of the town after seven. While the office was closed a ticket machine allowed you to pay for a camp slot on site. The following day I toured the town visiting the ‘In Flanders Fields Museum’ which was absolutely spectacular. The Menin Gate was under renovation and so could not be viewed fully. I toured Wytschate and Mesen to see the Irish Peace Park. Ypres is a beautiful town and at night the lights are wonderful to behold. The next day I struck camp, visited Stephen at the British Grenadier bookshop and headed for the finish at Nieuwpoort. I have to say, as with Verdun I was reluctant to leave Ypres. As a historian said to me ‘you will return’. And I did since.
The cycle to the coast was very tough with a strong headwind coming off the North Sea. I ploughed through it all day reaching Nieuwpoort after ten that night. I found a campsite north of the town after dark. The end point had been reached. The most profound educational, environmental and social experience of my life had come to a conclusion. Thinking back now, two years after cycling the Western Front Way there is happiness, sorrow and peace all mixed in. I met and spoke with people of many nationalities. All of them were open, friendly and delighted to talk and encourage me onward. Whether it was a German couple in Rouffach discussing education and reconciliation, a German mother and daughter near the top of the Vosges mountains urging me onward to the summit, a group of school kids near Apremon-la-Forêt giving me high-fives as I cycled through the village or a Turkish shop keeper preparing a delicious pizza for my evening meal in Verdun I was heartened with every encounter at the openness and friendship offered by everyone. The human spirit is perhaps our greatest quality. Despite all people endure there is a capacity to overcome & move on. The two wheels of a bicycle demonstrate this and despite all the ups and downs faced you keep on rolling ideally with the sun in your face and the wind at your back…and even though the rain and wind are more often in your face you keep on moving forward, looking, for a peaceful resting place at the setting of the sun. My thanks to you for stopping by.
Peace be with you all.
Music © : Track 1 – Woodland Spirits by Bonnie Grace; Track 2 – Blending Spaces by Helmut Schenker. All tracks onhttps://www.epidemicsound.com