August 20, 2009
Arras: An interesting place for Kiwis to visit
Ken writes
A good sleep in spite of the heat and we were up at 6.30, we packed and put the room back in order and were down to breakfast by 7.30 and straight onto theD341 by 7.45. It wasn’t too hot to start with though there was a strong side wind but we made pretty good progress.
We found a boulangerie then later on a chacuterie where I bought some very tasty pate. The day was heating up and I was keen to get to Arras before it reached its maximum , we were entering the outskirts of Arras by midday but it took another hour to reach the centre.
The farms today were wheat with large straw bales again and the farmers still busy getting them in. There were also dry peas, dry broad beans, sugar beet and the odd dairy farm but there were very few cows outside however there were plenty of barn smells along the way.
Once in Arras we looked for a camping ground – or anything. Finally Tricia left me with the bikes and set off. After what seemed a very long she returned successful. The camping ground was closed and reasonably placed accommodation was well out of town. She had got us a hotel room right beside the Hotel de Ville and on the Central Square (72E). The room was small but OK and the position magnificent. Then for lunch of a warm beer, and the food we were carrying before we had a shower, did our washing and had a small sleep.
Arras had the misfortune to lie close to the front line in World War One. Despite extensive damage by bombardment it remained a key allied strong point because being made of chalk it was possible to develop an extensive underground tunnel system. For us the interest is that foremost in the development of this was the New Zealand Tunneling Company. This was made up largely of miners from the West Coast of New Zealand’s South Island the foremost mining area in NZ (actually Tricia’s Great grandparents went there in the gold rush). There was a complex system including living quarters, hospitals etc capable of housing 20,000 men. To assist the orientation the locations in one of these complexes was given NZ names like Bluff at one extremity to Russell at the other. The underground museum is called Carriere Wellington and incorporates parts of the system and there is also a memorial to the 41 Kiwi tunnellers who lost their lives there.
The Centre of Arras is beautiful and although severely damaged in WW1 has been well restored.
Today's ride: 67 km (42 miles)
Total: 422 km (262 miles)
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