Arras

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