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Arras

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    • 1st Trip to Europe in Leo
      213
      Day 8

      Arras

      September 18, 2022 in France ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

      Another great town worthy of a visit for its architecture and history especially WW1. 60’ under Arras and the surrounding area are 19kms of caves and tunnels where 24,000 soldiers were housed waiting to ascend close to the Front Line on April 9th 1917 at The Battle Of Arras. The tour is well worth a visit.
      And where better to finish the day than in one of the town squares people watching - with a 🍺
      And now onwards to next destination
      Life is Good      Read more

    • 1st Trip to Europe in Leo
      Day 7

      Bailed out of Belgium

      September 17, 2022 in France ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

      Ghent was a bit like home - it never stopped raining so instead of heading to another Belgium town we bailed out and headed into France to the town of Arass. It’s a pity because there was a lot to see in Ghent but heyho maybe we will be back sometime. Photo of Leo bogged down in the damp. Onwards to Arass. And what tales there are to tell about this townRead more

    • TravelerRWC Cup France 2023
      Day 34

      Arras - Western Front Battlefields

      October 10, 2023 in France ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

      We spent two days with Phil Hora - an Australian expat who lives in Arras - touring the western Front battlefield sites. Phil specialises in Australian tours and I thoroughly recommend him (Sacred Ground tours). I sent him information on my great uncle George who died here and he had located the actual paddocks that he was fighting in when he was killed. It was quite moving to stand in that paddock all this time later and reflect on those events. Later we visited his grave in one of the 2925 Commonwealth War Graves in this region! The following day he tracked down - with info from Helen - areas Jane’s grandfather worked as a field hospital surgeon.
      The loss of life is staggering when you consider that in the four years of stalemate there were major battles, resulting in hundreds of thousands of causalities on both sides, that resulted in maybe 2 to 4 kms of territory gained - sometime a couple of 100 metres! At the battle of Pozieres 6800 Australian men died in 7 weeks! By the end of the war it is estimated 15 to 22 million soldiers from all sides died.
      The respect from the French and Belgium people is amazing and to this day they honour the Australian troops who fought here ( as well as the other nations) by donating their land and their time for cemeteries, memorials and museums.
      The British High Command made disastrous after disastrous decisions in the first three years and I’m surprised we won! The tide turned when the Aussi, Kiwi and Canadian battalions were united under their own generals who had innovative battle plans the bore results and decreased deaths. In our case General John Monash - a civil engineer - who was the only person knighted on the battlefield during the war after his stunning victories in 1918. The new Monash centre at Villers-Brettenoux is a superb information museum opened in 2017 - the quality of all the museums is very high. All up a very sobering but enlightening experience.      Read more

    • TravelerVia @ 70
      Day 11

      Arras 13 miles

      July 23, 2023 in France ⋅ 🌧 21 °C

      I know that I am sometimes reluctant to leave a cosy tent to head for the loo in the wee small hours but that is nothing compared with the fear of leaving my room during the night knowing that there is a monstrous hound sleeping between my room and the toilet. Just in case I didn’t need reminded it had a 5 minute howling at the moon episode at about midnight. Had me wide awake enough to remember something I had promised to do earlier. Hadn’t even managed to write the day’s report as I was mentally knackered after the dinner trauma. Lights out about 9pm.

      A dreich start to the day. Couldn’t wait to get going to escape that slavering Brutus. Stopped at a bus shelter to write yesterday’s diary. Rain pretty much stopped by the time I got going again.

      As usual I was bemused by the French habit of using the pavement for parking their cars. Not much thought given to pedestrians.

      Staying tonight in a Catholic hostel which can house hundreds, mostly in dormitories but luckily also small rooms. Think I might be the only guest tonight. No breakfast available. It started pouring down soon after I arrived at about 2.30pm and just didn’t let up. By 7pm when I thought I might be able to find a restaurant open it was still chucking it down. Big decision to make. Given that it would be about a mile in torrential rain to get anywhere and I only have emergency lightweight waterproofs and no waterproof footwear was I that hungry? I have been carrying an emergency bar of tablet from home but I hadn’t eaten since a very brief and inadequate breakfast. Greed got the better of me and I headed out. Found an Indian restaurant which was empty but seemed ok to have me drip everywhere. Lovely meal sitting alone. No dogs. No polite conversation except with the waiter who insisted on showing me lots of photos of his mother. Maybe he thought I needed a companion. No wonder I don’t understand social interactions.      Read more

    • TravelerVia Francigena
      Day 21

      Stage 12: Ablain Saint-Nazaire to Arras

      May 1, 2023 in France ⋅ ☁️ 61 °F

      So…… somehow I blew out my knee yesterday, luckily only about 30 minutes before arriving in Ablain Saint-Nazaire. After much thought I reluctantly decided to rest my knee for a day or two. My host drove me back to the cemetery to see the Ring of Remembrance, and then his wife drove me to Arras. Tomorrow another bus, to Bapaume.

      Today is 1 May so most businesses are closed. There was a giant anti-Macron market in one square and a loud concert in the other. Another demonstration, which I missed. Nothing interesting. I did happen upon a nice Mass at the church of Saint Jean-Baptiste, with singing nuns from Lens and a priest from Africa.

      The first photos are from the gîte where I stayed.

      The cemetery and memorial are wrenching. The cemetery holds 45,000 graves from one battle. The town was on the front line for almost 4 years, and was completely razed. In all, in this small region, almost 600,000 soldiers died. Their names are inscribed in the Ring. Lots of Smyths listed.      Read more

    • TravelerNormandie - Bretagne
      Day 2

      Brüssel / Calais

      September 19, 2023 in France ⋅ 🌬 16 °C

      Kurz Kaffee kochen und es geht in Richtung Calais. Vorher machen wir einen Stopp in Brüssel und schauen uns das Atomium an. Nächster Stopp in Calais auf einem Parkplatz am Hafen. Es ist stürmisch und regnerisch und der Aufenthalt ist daher kurz. Es geht weiter an der Küste entlang über Bologne-sur-mer nach Stella Plage. Trotz des starken Windes machen wir einen Spaziergang zum Strand. Hohe Wellen rollen an den Strand und wir fühlen uns wie sandgestrahlt. Der Stellplatzt liegt vor einem Campingplatz und ist gut besucht.Read more

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    • 1st Trip to Europe in Leo
      4
      Day 7

      Chasing the 🔆

      September 17, 2022 in France ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

      Too much rain in Belgium, heading South to Arras..
      Fab afternoon tour of Wellington Quarries underground caverns used in WW1, incredible!

    • Misadventures Of WandaWanda’s First Adventure
      Day 52

      A visit to Carrière Wellington and Arras

      November 23, 2021 in France ⋅ ⛅ 7 °C

      It was a very cold night. Down to just 1°c but we were toasty in Wanda leaving the heater on all night. What did wake us up was the vanlifer starting there engine at 4am and banging there doors loudly while putting there stuff away ready for there departure at 4:30am. Did you know that all vans have atleast 6 sliding doors and 25 open closing doors? I think the rest are invisible but you can certainly hear them.
      We had no problems getting back to sleep and woke back up at 8:30am. I had already planned a little journey for today so after some coffee we headed a little further up France to the small city of Arras.
      I don’t know that much about WW1 but I’d like to think that I knew enough about key moments but Arras, and the battle of Arras was a complete surprise.
      Our first stop was Carrière Wellington a museum deep underground and a memorial to the builders and soldiers that lived there from 1914-1918.
      During the Middle Ages chalk was dug from underneath Arras for the building if the city which obviously left mines.
      During world war 1 Arras was on the border of the front line and to get the upper hand it was decided to join these mines up making a network of tunnels underneath the Germans and then a surprise attack would launch from behind enemy lines.
      The network of tunnels and mines runs for 12km and housed 24,000 troops. It was an amazing site and superbly presented and we had a great English speaking guide that immersed us in the history of the mines with her passionate explanations. It was a great surprise visit and learnt a lot.
      From there we found our airè just 10 minutes away right in the city centre. We paid our €10 and have access to toilets, showers and electricity it’s a great airè right next to the city canal.
      Our first stop from here was to visit heroes square in the city centre and the cathedral all of which were destroyed to dust in WW1 and have been rebuilt to there exact specifications. At night everything is beautifully lit and it was well worth the visit. Arras seems like a nice city.
      Then it was back to Wanda for some dinner before bed, we had enjoyed today. Sometimes the best days are the unplanned ones.      Read more

    • Europe 2018
      Day 7

      Le St. Germain Restaurant, Arras, France

      June 27, 2018 in France ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

      This was a Franco American restaurant located in the underground tunnel system. Doug enjoyed his ribs. I wasn't a big fan, they had no sauce and were salty. We both had chocolate mousse for dessert and mine had eggshells in it.Read more

    • Europe 2018
      Day 7

      Les Boves (caves), Arras, France

      June 27, 2018 in France ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

      There is a cave and tunnel system under the village of Arras dating back to the 1100's. It was very interesting touring and hearing if it's various uses throughout history. Of special interest of course was the fact these were part of the system that housed 24,000 men during WW1. This meant all these men went undetected by the Germans. When it was time for the battle they all poured out of various entrances right in front of the unsuspecting Germans and they won the battle of Arras.Read more

    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Arras, أراس, Арас, Arràs, Arrás, אראס, アラス, Nemetacum, Aro, Аррас, அராஸ், อารัส, 阿拉斯

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