By Neil Speight
EIGHTY-four years ago today, one of the bloodiest battles the world has ever seen began.
The First World War battle of the Somme was a cataclysmic event that still has resonance today, long after the soldiers who fought it have passed away into history.
And in the fields and forests of the battlefront around the Somme river, there remains a huge legacy of remembrance.
Nowadays the fields don’t ring to the sound of war, but to the rattle of tourism as thousands are drawn to the scene of conflict.
It’s a place I find very special and I return, time after time, only to find some new place to visit.
Recently I visited the region and stayed in the nearby city of Amiens, itself a wonderful place to visit with its magnificent cathedral and unique water gardens.
A good place to stay in the centre of Amiens, opposite the Cathedral is the Mercure Amiens Cathédrale at 21/23 Rue Flatters. The three-star hotel is close to the canal waterside and excellent restaurants.
But for most people, it is the First World War that is the draw.
There are many places to visit – it’s virtually impossible to get them all in on one trip.
At Péronne The Historial de la Grande Guerre international museum displays and films aim to show the visitor not only what life was like for the soldier in the front line trenches, but also how he lived behind the trenches.
Around the region there are also many other smaller museums, including The Musee des Abris in the town of Albert. Located in a series of tunnels below the Basillica square (used as air-raid shelters in WW2), there are reconstructions of trench scenes, dugouts, trench mortar positions and tunnelling.
Not far from Albert is the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing and adjacent new visitor centre. It is a place you must visit, if only to encapsulate the sheer size and scale of the battle through the lists of the dead.
Another, among many moving memorials, is Newfoundland Memorial Park at Beaumont Hamel. The area has been maintained because of the significance to Newfoundland; the Newfoundland Regiment, which was part of the 88th Infantry Brigade within the 29th Division, attacked here on 1 July 1916, and suffered appalling losses.
The craters and trenches remain today and though largely filled in and grassed over they show the scale and difficulty that faced the troops.
As I said there are many places of special significance. I’m not a good enough wordsmith to give justice to the honour and bravery of the men who lived and died on the Somme. It’s something to be experienced first hand and I highly recommend a visit.
The best route from Calais or the Channel Tunnel is to follow the A26 motorway to Arras, and then take the A1 direction PARIS, leaving the motorway at Exit 14 Bapaume. This brings you into the Somme from the east.
P&O Ferries operate 23 sailings each way between Dover and Calais. Crossing prices start from £30 each way. Visit www.POferries.com.