Bermeries la Boete to Meretz – 37km
25C
Terrain: hilly country roads and busy roads

Oof, that was a tough one.

I don’t think there was any flat road at all today, just constant up and down with some pretty steep bits. It ended up being quite slow going but got here in the end.

I do love starting out in the early morning when I’m in the countryside though. The colourful morning sky, wet dew on the grass, that morning chill, the cockerels waking everyone up and breathing in the morning freshness. It awakens the senses.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shortly after, I was back onto quite a busy road so being as alert and attentive as possible to what was going on around me.

You certainly know you’re in France when you come across a snail farm (with tasting sessions)!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had a really interesting chance encounter along the way also.

There are a fair few military cemeteries in this area, I’ve seen a number of signs today but not knowing how far away they really are I’m always a little reluctant to veer off my route.

Anyhow, at the top of a particularly steep hill, I came across a British/German cemetery called Le Cateau Military Cemetery, primarily graves from the 1st World War.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These places never fail to pierce my heart.  Such enormous human loss is right there in front of you. Men giving their lives for their country. So young, many were 18 years of age or younger. There were even a couple of female nurses in this cemetery. All through the barbarity of war. I hope that these people will never be forgotten and that we continue to remember the lessons learnt.

Stopping to pay my respects, there was another couple doing the same. As they walked past, I realized they were English and we got chatting. I later found out they were called Peter and Patricia Lewis. After explaining my project and saying how important I think it is to keep war stories alive for educational purposes but primarily to act as a deterrent to prevent these atrocities happening again, it turns out they run a publishing company that does exactly that.

They aim to make military history accessible by printing books on the topic and have published thousands so far. Their books include diaries of soldiers from the first world war and even the Napoleonic wars, women’s stories from these times also as well as a bit of fiction but I think that’s just the beginning. It’s so fascinating.

If anyone has diaries that relate to any wars in their family and you would be interested in sharing, I think it’s definitely worth getting in touch with Patricia and John. They are incredibly passionate about what they do and I love that they are keeping these really important stories alive.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Their company is called Leonaur Military History Books (www.leonaur.com).

Then the last stretch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m tired! It’s a bit of a shorter one tomorrow so looking forward to it.