Monthly Archives: April 2022

Our billet for the night, Le Gourmet, wasn’t quite that, but it was comfortable and we didn’t have to leave the hotel to find a meal, which was a blessing after the long walk from Arras. The forecast of rain the following morning wasn’t wrong, so we set off in full wet weather gear with […]

It seemed to take ages to get out of the city of Arras. Our route took us out the same way we’d come the day before to visit the Carrieres Wellington. It was nearly an hour before we reached countryside again to the south of Beaurains. Prairie farming dominated the landscape for most of the […]

We discovered that our hotel was the oldest building on the Grand Place, which is itself a marvel of rows of grand Flemish style houses originally built in the 1400s. We learned later that all of it had to be rebuilt after WW1 when 80% of Arras was razed to the ground, including eventually the […]

We said our goodbyes to Claire, Marc and their lovely dog Jaeger and headed for the Sucrerie Cemetery. What kind people and such comfortable lodgings. The Sucrerie contains the remains of 221 British and 163 Canadian men who fell during trench warfare following the capture of the Vimy Ridge by Canadian forces in April 1917. […]

An attempt to call a taxi to get back to the centre of Bruay to start the day’s walk completely failed. Apparently taxis don’t operate in Bruay on Sundays, and neither does anything else. There was even little sign of church activity. Strange place, Bruay. The hotel manager took pity on us and offered to […]

Our overnight lodgings at Amettes were warm and comfortable. Our hosts Collette and Jean Batiste were most kind and helpful. Collette’s parents used to run a dairy herd here, but when they took over they diversified. Amongst other things they bred rabbits for the table. Julie’s mother also tried rabbits on their farm in Devon, […]

Well, it wasn’t really Delettes, but Upen d’Aval which is several kilometres north of Delettes, but we only realised this once we’d got to Delettes and had to tramp back up the hill into the face of a wet and bitterly cold northeaster. Nevertheless our chambre d’hote was very comfortable and our hosts most welcoming. […]