Hope someone may help.we have a moterhome and intend to travel dover to calia,and then on to to war graves ypes,somme ect.Could anyone tell us of any good sites around these locations so we can leave the camper van and walk to them.Also intent to visit bruge.
many thanks. Dylan
------------- swift
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There is a large war cemetery called Fauberg d'Amiens in Arras we visited it a couple of years ago. We were staying at Amiens at Parc des Cygnes which is an excellent site and we used the car to travel. We did spy one campsite close to Arras which I put in my little black book just in case we wanted to go back, it was called La Paille Haute, but when we had a quick look round we found it was a very family/children orientated site and we tend to like quieter.
I think maybe if you Google the Somme and look for campsites close to the war graves and battlefields you should be able to turn up something, then Google for campsites in the area you wish to be.
We are staying at Amiens overnight in 3 weeks, it is a beautiful city.
Hope you enjoy your holiday.
------------- Gaynor
I have three sides, left, right and wrong - which one are you on?
We Stayed in Port du Plaisance in Peronne last year. Right in the Somme region, and has a good WW1 museum there. Plenty of WW1 memorials, Thiepval and a good Canadian one to mention 2. I would think Ypres and the Belgium front would be a bit of a trek to do though.
International Camping Bellevue, Authuille, is about 2km from the main Somme Memorial at Thiepval. Tel 03 22 74 59 29. Most of it is static vans for weekenders, but they usually have a few pitches for tourists. It is perfect for the Somme battlefields.
Newfoundland Park is about 6 or 7 km. There are numerous memorials and cemetaries within walking and especially cycling distance.
If you can get hold of a copy of "Before Endeavours Fade" by Rose Coombs, published by After the Battle, it gives a complete guide to the memorials and battlefields of both northern France and Belgium, right from the beginning to the end of the Great War. The letters B E F in the title are not an accident. It may be a little dated now, as roads change and by-passes get built etc., but I've never seen a better guide. (Rose Coombs worked for the Imperial War Museum).
Hope that helps.
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
We also stayed at Parc des Cygnes in Amiens last summer when we wanted to visit Thiepval. Nice site, quiet and handy for Amiens (good bus route to the centre). It would mean driving to the graves though.
there used to be a municipal site at Ypres - about 5 minutes from the Menin Gate, best bet at Bruges is probably the 'new' Aire - nice easy walk into the town through a park
also used to be a municipal and aire at Verdun
not been that way for a few years though
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But it´s all right now, I learned my lesson well.
You see, ya can´t please everyone, so ya got to please yourself
Ricky Nelson
Don't forget to leave a review of the French and other European campsites you have visited!
Quote: Originally posted by andysstuff on 23/5/2008
We Stayed in Port du Plaisance in Peronne last year. Right in the Somme region, and has a good WW1 museum there. Plenty of WW1 memorials, Thiepval and a good Canadian one to mention 2. I would think Ypres and the Belgium front would be a bit of a trek to do though.
We stayed in the Port de Plaisance too. There is the Historial museum in Peronne to see as well.
I think you need to be more specific which cemeteries etc you want to visit.If you have relatives buried there it may be an idea to search the local tourist offices on line for sites.
The main vistor sites are Thiepval/Beaumont-Hamel and Vimy areas for the Somme and Menin Gate in the north.
The only site not mentioned so far is Vivier aux Carpes but this is not within walking distance.
Dont forget that there are major cemeteries and memorials in the Calais/Boulogne area and i am sure there are campsites there.
Look around on the net to find the proper locations, not just the areas, but also specific names, like 'Paschendaele' (Ypres salient). These make a query for campsites easier.
http://www.ww1battlefields.co.uk
http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/
http://www.forumeerstewereldoorlog.nl/, unfortunately in dutch but very good, especially the threads of 'the diggers'a amateur research group. One of the chapters is 'international discussions', in English and French.
http://pages14-18.mesdiscussions.net/ in French
And several more very good websites.
These should give you enough names of locations that should help you in search queries for campsites on the regular digital camping guides.
By the way, don't forget about WWI in the Vosgues (Alsace Lorraine), e.g. near Munster the front on top of the mountains overthere the Lingekopf (Le Linge, 'Le' not 'La', otherwise you're doing laundry instead of visiting a very impressive battlefield) and Schratzmännele, several cemetaries actually on and near the tops.
A few years ago we visited the Somme and stayed at a farm site in a village called Auchon Villers (?). This was just about on the line of the British reserve trenches and so a great deal is within walking distance. The Beaumont Hammel mine crater is fairly close as is Newfoundland Park. The site has very limited facilities but it does have a collection of artifacts found in the local fields. Our kids found several items in the fields which were safe to bring away (and some which weren't) and we all found the nearby graveyards very moving.
Bryn
What about the largest war cemetary at Etaples near Le touquet - it can all get a bit emotional so you could stop around le T for a bit of a recharge of the batteries before moving on. I know it's sad but I do love Le Touquet - great for people watching. Just returned from a few days there and didn't get the bad weather that the south had apart from a ginormous thunderstorm on Tuesday night!
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: ww1 war graves
