advice on walking the western front

[Guest lorax]

anyone any experience on walking the whole length of the western front or know of any suitable guide book/website (other than an unfortunate region) all info appreciated.

[cockney tone]

To start with i would have a look at Rose Coombs famous book 'Before Endeavours Fade' which is an excellent book and covers large areas of the Front.

Good luck with your plans,

Scottie.

[Tom Morgan]

You might also like "walking the Somme" and "Walking the Salient" both by Paul Reed.

For accounts of battlefield visits on the web, there are a few at Hellfire Corner.

Tom

Edited 9 January , 2006 by Tom Morgan

[John_Hartley]

I had a travel book, as opposed to guide book, until recently written by someone who had walked the entire length. Can't remember the name of it now ( nor can I recall who I lent it to) - but it'll come to me (and I'll post again).

More a good read than a book giving exact details of routes, etc.

John

[Tom Morgan]

John - it sounds like "The War Walk" by Nigel Jones. Does that ring a bell?

Tom

[Muerrisch]

certainly: avoid the French rough-shooting season after lunch ........... not so much malice, as misalignment.

Safer if they aim at you.

Signed Captain Grumpy [still digging the Number 12 out of my left buttock ten years on ....... ]

[Gunner Bailey]

Don't spend all your time looking for relics in the fields. You'll get neck ache and little reward.

Look at the contours, try to see the field of view/ fire both sides had, try to compare original trench maps to French IGN maps of today.

Speak to the locals, ask permission, especially for entering woods (the French keep all maner of farm buildings in woodland),

Don't go in the hunting season, even if you wear day glo orange!

Photocopy bits from books to take with you as notes for each area.

Take lots of photos as things do change over the years and your vist could be 'historic'.

Make sure your tetanus injection is up to date.

Be able to read signs in French or have a dictionary to hand. You could be trespassing.

Above all enjoy it.

Gunner Bailey

[John_Hartley]

John - it sounds like "The War Walk" by Nigel Jones. Does that ring a bell?

Tom

In truth - no. Although it might be.

I've looked this up on t'internet and I don't recognise the cover. Nor did I think it was a 1983 vintage book - came as a pressie only about 2 - 3 years back.

The one I'm thinking of has the chap trying to walk, as far as he's able, down the No Man's Land.

Gawd knows why Mrs H thought I might be interested in a +400 mile walk - takes me all my time not to get in the car to get a paper.

John The Vague

[Tom Morgan]

John - what about, "Back to the Front" by Stephen O'Shea?

Tom

[paul guthrie]

John - what about, "Back to the Front" by Stephen O'Shea?

Tom

I bet that's it Tom, it's an amusing book if you ignore his military analysis which is crap, pretty funny at times.

Edited 9 January , 2006 by paul guthrie

[gericht 1914]

I've looked this up on t'internet and I don't recognise the cover. Nor did I think it was a 1983 vintage book - came as a pressie only about 2 - 3 years back.

The War Walk was re-printed about then. I think it's a great read! (Also liked "Back to the Front" no matter what anyone else says about it!).

Dave.

[gericht 1914]

anyone any experience on walking the whole length of the western front

Nearly did it (not in one sitting though!) Nieupoort to the Vosges as near as possible down the Spring 1915 frontline (impossible in places). I think it took me about 4 years with a month or so doing it each year. Well worth the effort!

Dave. (I'll have to complete it one year, but I'm about 15 years fatter than I was back then!!!! )

[John_Hartley]

You guys are getting an old man confused. And I really can't remember which one it is - don't particularly recall it being funny though. I seem to recall the author hiring a bike a one point to do a detour ( round Albert?) if that helps. Wasnt one to particulary keep on the bookshelves once read.

Anyway, you've given lorax two potential books to have a look at.

Slinks away quietly........

[paul guthrie]

O'Shea had 2 grandfathers who fought. Remember a bit about a couple - the old fashioned kind, a man and woman - arguing in an Albert restaurant about what a whiz bang or coal box was? Remember him catching a ride on a motor bike in a rain storm? Or the place that served trotters - pigs feet? I KNOW you will remember that, it involves FOOD!

[John_Hartley]

Paul

THAT'S IT!

Mention food and it all comes flooding back. Seriously, I recall the elderly couple having the argument....

......at least I think I do. Time for my lie-down....

[TommyMan]

Hi when is hunting season???

[doogal]

Hi when is hunting season???

As above - when is the hunting season in France?

[Rob Gray]

Taken from a French Website :

"The dates of the opening and closing of the hunting season depend on the département (administrative district) and the species.

The general opening is in September, and the end of the season is in February.

Waterfowl shooting usually opens in August.

For many species, such as migratory birds, partridge, hare … the shooting may be limited to a shorter period.

Summer selective shooting (ambush or stalking) of male roe deer (brocket) with rifle or bow may be allowed from June to September. A specific permit is needed.

Mounted hunt (Chasse à courre) is generally allowed after the closing of the shooting season until March 31."

I was in the Somme area last week and there was no shooting taking place on Thursday, Friday or Saturday.

My advice is to avoid field walking on Sundays during the period September to January as literally every field will have a party of shooters on it, you will not be welcome, and you run a real danger of copping a few stray pellets..!!

Rob.

[doogal]

thanks Rob.

[Hedley Malloch]

Do you mean the whole of the Western Front - that is from Dixmuude to the Swiss border? Or just the British bit of it - which means Dixmuude to Reims? It makes a big difference. The British sector has clear sentimental interest for the the UK walker, but apart from the tourist 'hot spots' around Ypres and the Somme there is not much to see. There is very little between Reims and the Argonne, but from Argonne eastwards there is some superb military archeology especially around Vaquerie (?), Verdun and, above all, in the Vosges.

If you plan to do a walk, a good general strategy is to use as much as possible the Grandes Randonées, the autoroutes of the French walking system. They are all well-signposted: it's hard to get seriously lost. All the battlefields are criss-crossed by them. For general route planning your first stop should be the IGN website to buy the map of France Grande Randonée. This is a 1:100000 map of France which shows all the Grandes Randonées (GR) in France. To order it see:

http://www.ign.fr/rubrique.asp?rbr_id=1555&GRA_ID=1M903

The map does not show the line of the Front, but if you use this map in conjunction with any general guide to the Front, you should be able to work out those which interest you. More detailed guides to each GR are available. See:

http://www.gr-infos.com/gr-an.htm

for a free internet guide. There are some detailed hardback guides published by the French walking clubs and the Club Alpin, but they are in French.

For detailed exploration of individual battlefields you are going to need the smaller scale 1:25000 Sèrie Bleue. You can order these from the IGN site above. But you should remember the first rule of battlefield exploration which states that any major WW1 action invovling the British Army in France always - but always - occurs at the junction of four IGN Sèrie Bleue maps. This is a universal law and you should calibrate your wallet accordingly.

If you have limited time, say a week to 10 days, and can only do a piece of the Front, then my advice would be to take the GR5 along the Crêtes des Vosges. The quality of the remains, the food, the walking and the scenery are superb. You will walk about 10-12 miles a day, and hauling a 20-kilo backpack you still will put on 4 kilos in weight. If you like the Front, good walking and good food, then you will die of pleasure.

Enjoy.

[Guest Simon Bull]

For detailed exploration of individual battlefields you are going to need the smaller scale 1:25000 Sèrie Bleue. You can order these from the IGN site above. But you should remember the first rule of battlefield exploration which states that any major WW1 action invovling the British Army in France always - but always - occurs at the junction of four IGN Sèrie Bleue maps. This is a universal law and you should calibrate your wallet accordingly.

I am glad I am not the only one to have noticed this. It is (eg) a pain in the Villers Bretonneux area which particularly interests me. I have photocopied the corners of my four maps and stuck the copies together to give a composite for use on the ground. Juggling the corners of the four maps was just impossible in windy weather.

[squirrel]

Quote from Field Marshall Lord Slim :"All battles are fought up hill, at night, in the rain, at the junction of two, or more, map sheets!"

[Papineau]

I am glad I am not the only one to have noticed this. It is (eg) a pain in the Villers Bretonneux area which particularly interests me. I have photocopied the corners of my four maps and stuck the copies together to give a composite for use on the ground. Juggling the corners of the four maps was just impossible in windy weather.

You can get round this by using one of the IGN CD Roms; there are no 'joins' on these and you can print off sections. Very useful indeed for work 'in the field'.

[Dragon]

If you have limited time, say a week to 10 days, and can only do a piece of the Front, then my advice would be to take the GR5 along the Crêtes des Vosges. The quality of the remains, the food, the walking and the scenery are superb. You will walk about 10-12 miles a day, and hauling a 20-kilo backpack you still will put on 4 kilos in weight. If you like the Front, good walking and good food, then you will die of pleasure.

I endorse Hedley's comments two hundred per cent. You will hardly see anyone, and very few Brits; so the atmosphere is charged in a profound way.

My only qualification is that it is not for the unfit, though there are places where people whose mobiity is restricted can park and absorb worthwhile, evocative sites.

I've been spending time every year in Alsace and the Vosges for probably fifteen or sixteen years now and never, ever, tire of it.

Gwyn

[Guest Simon Bull]

You can get round this by using one of the IGN CD Roms; there are no 'joins' on these and you can print off sections. Very useful indeed for work 'in the field'.

Where does one get this CD and how much does it cost? I heard of it some time ago and tried to find it on the IGN website and could not. It sounds very useful.