Belgium and Luxembourg (Eyewitness Travel Guides)

WESTERN FLANDERS 127

The Brothers van Eyck sculpted by Geo Verbanck in 1913, outside St Baafskathedraal, Ghent

TIPS FOR DRIVERS

Starting point: Diksmuide.

Length: 60 km (37 miles).

Duration of drive: A thorough

tour will require two days. It can

be done in one day, but visitors

may need to be selective.

Driving conditions: The roads

are good and usually fairly quiet.

Signposting can be random.

Where to stay and eat: The

main centre is Ieper, but there

are restaurants and accom-

modation all along the route,

especially in the smaller centres

such as Diksmuide, Zonnebeke,

Zillebeke, Kemmel and Mesen.

KEY

Tour route

Motorway

Other road

Battlefront 1915–17

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French Memorial

and Ossuary w

The land rises

dramatically in

Heuvelland (Hill

Country) and

around Kemmel.

The French fatalities

in a battle of 1918

are remembered in

a monument on

Kemmel Hill, and

5,000 lie nearby in

the French Ossuary.

Pool of Peace q

Underground mining and a huge explosion

beneath German lines in 1917 resulted in

the water-filled Lone Tree Crater, which has

now been designated the Pool of Peace.

Irish Peace Tower e

This Irish monastic round tower

in early medieval style was

built in 1998 at Mesen to com-

memorate the Irish dead, and

as a symbol of reconciliation.

Hill 62, Sanctuary

Wood Museum 9

A private collection of

military jumble leads to a

wood where original trenches

have been preserved.

Menin Gate 8

Each evening in Ieper, the

Last Post, played by

buglers at the Menin

Gate, echoes beneath

the huge arch which

lists the names

of 55,000 missing

Commonwealth soldiers.

Memorial Museum

Passchendale 7

This 19th-century

mansion, located in

Zonnebeke, contains

numerous World

War I artifacts, and

includes impressively

reconstructed dug-

outs and trenches.

Hill 60, Zillebeke 0

A battered, scarred

hilltop, the much dis-

puted Hill 60 faced

devastating attacks from

underground mines.