We woke up after having a deliciously cozy night staying at the Blockhaus d’Éperlecques. The car park was silent overnight and had a beautiful view outside into some tall trees as we were nestled into the side of a forest. This is where the cement Nazi mega structure was located.
Luckily in our Motorhome, it’s fairly easy to pack up. Especially as you’re not allowed to get anything out at these free locations (Aires) across France. We had a couple of cups of tea, a cup of coffee and we set the wheels on the road.
The French roads couldn’t be easier. Our Motorhome is 7 1/2 m long and all the roads are plenty wide enough, almost as if it’s designed for motorhomes….
We made our way to the A26 southward and jumped through a toll on our way to the Vimy Memorial – the link here to the website
In a Motorhome we pulled into the Vimy Memorial which had plenty of space for coaches and motorhomes. It was very easy to get in and out. The kids were excited as the main entrance is surrounded by pine trees and the museum is very contemporary and looks exceptional.
The large white monument could be seen from the car park and we were informed by the attendant that it is a 10 to 15 minute walk up a steady slope to reach it.
We were kindly greeted by the French Canadian cohort of young workers who informed us that there are free tours of the underground tunnels and through the trenches every half and hour (in multiple languages).
We immediately signed up and had a look around the museum in the meantime. The museum was filled with audio-visual presentations. These ranged from stories of the Canadian front line to personal accounts from French soldiers in the trenches.
We set the kids a target of 5 facts (H-9) / 10 facts (A-12). …… these were to be kept in one of their many learning journals.
We were instructed to meet the Canadian representative underneath the central flag at the memorial. As a family we sometimes get a bit suspicious about doing guided tours but we were put right at ease with Ricky our tour guide. He was young very communicative and very enthusiastic. He told us a lot about the battle of Vimy Ridge, how the site was formed and the courageous character of all the Alie soldiers in the area.
He then took us down into the underground tunnels which were down about 50 steps. The mined out underground shaft was incredible. He even turned out all the lights to show what the soldiers would’ve been working in. The kids were astonished. It really showed how brave those guys were working underground like that to try and gain an offensive forward step.
After going through the underground tunnel which was about 100 m in length we ascended the stairs at the end up into the main trenches. The network of trenches were very interesting for the children. They had never seen anything like this before and Ricky was fantastic at giving us all the insights into the famous battle that happened here.
We headed up to the main monument which was exceptionally imposing. It gave us a sense of astonishment that these things have happened in the past and the sacrifice all those young men made.
After leaving Vimy Memorial we drove to an air which was located at the Notre Dame de Lorette Nécropole. This was only about 15 minutes away. This site was a memorial site and a deeply moving place.
We found easy parking and went for a walk around the site and entered the main Cathedral. Followed by the Anneau de la Mémoire de Ablain-Saint-Nazaire.
Fortunately, the site was very quiet. We managed to find a flat area to park and we set up for the night in the Motorhome.
At night, it was fantastic to see a beacon of light coming from the central monument where we had parked overlooking for the night.
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