Page 12 - Walking Back Through Time

14 and was still under age at the time of armistice! In those days the great wave of patriotism and overwhelming sense of duty gripped the nation who believed they should fight for the freedom of Belgium after Germany's violation of its peace treaty. Also the true casualty statistics and defeats were never properly reported leaving many to believe the war would be over by Christmas. Perhaps if the BEF had failed to hold their positions at Ypres it would have been!
Arriving at Lens I sample ‘café au lait’ in the sun outside a local restau- rant. Feeling indecisive about which direction to take from here, an old gentleman crosses the road to offer advice. Following his instructions I am able to progress along an old road to Eleu and eventually Vimy where I stop at a shop to obtain groceries for the next two days. The main road continues through the famous battlefront of Vimy Ridge which is surrounded by timber fencing. It was near here that the Canadi- ans fought and won a decisive battle during 1917 after several years of German occupation.
Locating an entrance to the forest marked by a Maple Leaf, I enter and camp nearby. Enjoying the peace and solitude of the location I find it difficult to imagine the collective horrors of war that consumed humani- ty here a century ago.
Day 4 Vimy Ridge to Warlincourt-Les-Pas - 45km
Rising at 7am allows me ample time to decamp and explore the area which has been designated a national park in honour of the Canadians who fought here in 1917. The offensive formed part of the Second Bat- tle of Arras and taking the important stronghold of Vimy Ridge was a defining moment for the Canadians who had entered the war largely un- der the shadow of the BEF. Walking in the ambience of deep set wood- lands suggests the ridge has simply been left to nature after the war and beyond the area is a cemetery and museum. The French had failed to oust the Germans throughout the former years of conflict and later it took the courage and stealth of the battle-hardened Canadians to finally overwhelm this massively fortified position on the high ground.
Beyond here, cemeteries and war monuments continue to intersperse the road and forest as my journey continues to the elaborate city of Arras.