Ypres Salient Walking Tour

Day 2

Our first day looks predominantly at the actions of First Ypres - although such was the intensity of fighting in such a small area over the course of the war, that there is inevitably cross-over. From Hooge we walk via Railway Wood to Gheluvelt, where the Worcesters led a famous charge in October 1914, and thence to Zandvoorde, site of the Household Cavalry memorial recalling the sacrifice of the Life Guards and Horse Guards the very next day. Those were desperate days indeed, with incredible bravery saving the day and, without exaggeration, the war too, as the rump of the British Expeditionary Force stopped the vastly superior German armies through sheer willpower and determination. Turning west we walk to Shrewsbury Forest and then via Mount Sorrell and Observatory Ridge to Maple Copse, surely one of the most lovely of Commonwealth War Grave cemeteries anywhere. From here we go via Sanctuary Wood and past where Zouave Wood once stood back to Hooge, tracing the footsteps of the gallant Rifle Brigade in June 1915 where amongst others, Sydney Woodroffe won his Victoria Cross and where Gilbert Talbot, after whom Talbot House was named, also died. About 13 miles.

Day 4

From Zonnebeke we walk first to Polygon Wood and take paths through this now regenerated forest, passing Scott's bunker on the way. This leads us to Black Watch Corner with its fantastic new(ish) statue of an NCO of that illustrious regiment repelling the invader's famed Prussian Guard on 11 November 1914. Crossing the Frezenburg ridge with fine views of the spires and towers of Ypres, we arrive at s'Graventafel ridge to walk to Crest Farm and Passchendaele to hear about the culmination of Third Ypres. On the return to Zonnebeke we pause at Tyne Cot cemetery for a sombre reflection on all that we have seen and heard over the three days. About 13.5 miles.