September 24, 2016
Arras: Le Veloroute de la Memoire
We left early again as we had a reasonable distance to go and if we were to wait until breakfast which wasn't until 9am it would have been too late for us. The route we were following today wa Le Veloroute de la Memoire and takes you from Amiens to Arras passing through many of the important sites of the battle in the Somme. It is superb, along quiet roads with very light traffic and is the best marked cycle route we have encountered . Because this year is the 100th anniversary of the battle of the Somme everything is in especially good order and as well as the information from the pamphlet there is a lot of information along the way. Firstly we were travelling along the Ancre, it was here in the Valley of the Ancre on July the first 1916 that the battle of the Somme started. So hard to imagine on a day like today with blue skies and a bucolic scene all around you.
Neither of us had ever been to Albert before and we were impressed by the prosperous look of the town which of course had been well shone up for the 100th anniversary. We examined the basilica with its famous story. On top of it is a statue (now gilded) of the Madonna and Child. The Germans shelled it but the statue didn't fall but was tipped to horizontal. A legend was born that the war would end when she fell. The German army occupied the the town until the spring of 1918 when the British bombarded the Basilica to stop the Germans using the steeple as a look out post and she fell. However the real heart of Albert is the PMU - at 9.30am it was throbbing with life and we had a coffee there.
Out of Albert we were cycling for a while with Phil and Simon, charming young Englishmen over for a long weekend based in Albert.with them we got to Theipval - this is on the ridge that the British were trying to capture on 1st of July there is a monument that records the names of South African and British troups who died here. There is an extensive museum and many tour buses.
All along the way were Commonwealth War Grave Cemetaries - far too many to visit. We came to Bucouy and spotted the PMU we had visited last year. I swear that when we went in the same old men were still there. From my experience last year I knew it was prudent not to visit their toilets. All the time the wind was getting stronger. We stopped for lunch and Ken had spotted a white road with a very favourable aspect to the wind so we took it and deserted the Veloroute. We fair flew and seemed to arrive in Arras in no time and a re in a very nice hotel in the Grand Place.
Today's ride: 78 km (48 miles)
Total: 2,679 km (1,664 miles)
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