# Ypres



## tude (Feb 9, 2008)

Hi
Well just sat here in belguim on the campsite in Ypres .well I must say
It's fab 10 mins walk to menin gate and the town the last post a must. The campsite very clean free wifi 16 amp leccy hard standing.anybody not been well recommend 
Tude


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## drcotts (Feb 23, 2006)

Blimey Tude wish i had known that in Nov when i went
Will take account of that for next time thanks mate

Belguim aires had all bnut shut up for winter


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## Sideways86 (Feb 25, 2009)

are you on Jeugstadion?


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## Stanner (Aug 17, 2006)

Certainly sounds like it as nowhere else there has 16amp EHU.

We were there last month and as said it's the perfect first or last stop @ just over an hours travel from Calais and just over 30mins from Dunkerque.

I just wish they had clearer instructions "AT THE BARRIER" for how to get in. :roll:

We had to be told how to get in the first time we stopped and we have had to tell several arrivals that pulling right up to the barrier and doing a dance in front of the card reader doesn't work. :lol:


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## tude (Feb 9, 2008)

*Campsite*

Yes sideways we are


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## Sideways86 (Feb 25, 2009)

great location used it a few times and have practiced the barrier dance!

Enjoy, that Gravelines and Brugge are our favourite first stops or last as the journey goes

Regards

John and Sue


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## The-Cookies (Nov 28, 2010)

Sat here as well , been here 2 nights 2 to go.

Wine was nice thanks Tude lol

John


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## Sideways86 (Feb 25, 2009)

you lucky folks ! we were there in early December on way back from Cologne and Valkenburg for the xmas markets

We think Ypres is a1 and if you don't get moved by the ceremony then there as got to be something wrong with you!

I am going back in the spring to do the battlefields escorted tour, there is a brit in one of the shops just after the Gate leads the minibus tour and have been told it is very good indeed

enjoy your time and the vino! have a glass of Duval for me!


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## Zepp (May 14, 2009)

We will be in Belguim in the morning going to stay on the aire to watch last post .


Paul and lynne


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## OwnedbyCollies (Dec 7, 2009)

"great location used it a few times and have practiced the barrier dance!"

We avoided the barrier dancing after following Stanners instructions from a previous post! 

We spent 4 nights there between Xmas and New Year and have to agree its an excellent site - just a few minutes walk to the ramparts. We will definitely return!

We have a newly acquired taste for Flemmish stew and waffles with lashings of cream and ice cream.......mmmmmmmmm


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## philjohn (May 29, 2005)

Just a shame the toilets and showers are closed during the winter.

Phil J


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## stickie (Sep 1, 2010)

Sideways86 said:


> you lucky folks ! we were there in early December on way back from Cologne and Valkenburg for the xmas markets
> 
> We think Ypres is a1 and if you don't get moved by the ceremony then there as got to be something wrong with you!
> 
> ...


Have done their battlefields tour and also booked their Somme tour which runs from Albertville. Both excellent, highly recommended.


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## ralph-dot (May 10, 2005)

always meant to stop there but never have, maybe next time


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## Stanner (Aug 17, 2006)

ralph-dot said:


> always meant to stop there but never have, maybe next time


Thought it might have been you on site last time we stopped there as one m/home had the reg * ** DOT.

It really is almost as good as you can get for 12€ inc EHU and WiFi, even if showers and toilets are closed for the winter.


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## ralph-dot (May 10, 2005)

Stanner said:


> ralph-dot said:
> 
> 
> > always meant to stop there but never have, maybe next time
> ...


Not us, it will probably be 2014 before we get there


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## zappy61 (May 1, 2005)

That looks a gem, may try it this year.

Thanks 
Graham


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## tonyt (May 25, 2005)

zappy61 said:


> That looks a gem, may try it this year.Thanks
> Graham


If you're able to, it might be worth booking - it's not a huge site.


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## janet1 (Feb 10, 2012)

We were there in August. Great place for biking. There was a huge, fast - big bucks - Monacco style car rally which started in the town centre and roared around the area for hours. Great tourist attraction. 

We loved the campsite. EVERYONE had a problem with the barrier!
We went to the Menin Gate each evening we were there. There were wreath presentations from Poland, Australian children, canadian Vets. very emotional. 

We will certainly go back there. Can really recommend it.


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## zappy61 (May 1, 2005)

tonyt said:


> zappy61 said:
> 
> 
> > That looks a gem, may try it this year.Thanks
> ...


Thanks for the tip Tony. We may get there in April.

Graham


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## Stanner (Aug 17, 2006)

janet1 said:


> We were there in August. Great place for biking. There was a huge, fast - big bucks - Monacco style car rally which started in the town centre and roared around the area for hours. Great tourist attraction.
> 
> We loved the campsite. EVERYONE had a problem with the barrier!
> We went to the Menin Gate each evening we were there. There were wreath presentations from Poland, Australian children, canadian Vets. very emotional.
> ...


You must have been the Bolero that was there at the same time as us then.
We went to the Menin gate and then wondering what all the noise was wandered down to the main square and saw the Ypres Rally Start/Finish ramp was all set up. We stayed and saw the start of the last 2 or 3 stages and then the finish and prizegiving.

Just checked - must have been a different rally & different Bolero - the Rally we saw was in June.
http://www.ypresrally.com/

There was a Bolero there in June as well though.


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## brynric (Oct 17, 2009)

We stayed on the way out for the first time and enjoyed it so much we also stayed on the way back, it was worth it to use the barrier smugly as everyone else puzzled over it. It can be busy in the summer so checking ahead is useful - it was the only place we booked in 5 weeks.
Its also a good spot for the cyclists. There are lots of off road tracks, lots of places of interest to visit and cyclists are highly respected road users. Its a good experience.


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## bigbus (May 1, 2005)

Stanner said:


> Certainly sounds like it as nowhere else there has 16amp EHU.
> 
> We were there last month and as said it's the perfect first or last stop @ just over an hours travel from Calais and just over 30mins from Dunkerque.
> 
> ...


Sorry but I'm interested in this site but what on earth is the "Barrier Dance" all about? Instructions on avoiding it would be appreciated.


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## Sideways86 (Feb 25, 2009)

its the computerised way need to register and then gain access via the automated barrier

The dance is the myriad of ways people try to present their card to the barrier to get it to up.

al the instructions are on the wall in the sig in area prior to bringing your camper on site, however we and a lot of others don't read them at first

Hence the dance !


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## tonyt (May 25, 2005)

bigbus said:


> Sorry but I'm interested in this site but what on earth is the "Barrier Dance" all about? Instructions on avoiding it would be appreciated.


It's simple really.

When you first arrive, don't park at the barrier - there's plenty of space on the road before the barrier.

Go to the office/reception.

Read the instructions (English) - when you've read them and understood them - read them again!

Go back to you MH with your barrier pass and do what you've just read (or start the rain dance). :lol:


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## pneumatician (May 1, 2005)

Been many times and shall go again and again.
We are strangely drawn to WW1 Battlefields and have always either started or ended our trips with a few days exploring the WW1 sites.

We met a young man (about32yrs) in Thiepval about two years ago who was almost in tears. He stated that he was continually drawn to the battlefields but could not explain why it effected him so much.


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## tonyt (May 25, 2005)

pneumatician said:


> We met a young man (about32yrs) in Thiepval about two years ago who was almost in tears. He stated that he was continually drawn to the battlefields but could not explain why it effected him so much.


On the Somme there's a tiny farm cemetery called Railway Hollow Cemetery - it's very easy to see why those soldiers died in that spot. I''ve been there a number of times and you can look all around at the deserted countryside and it's weird - I swear I could hear the guns and the cries.
I know I'll go back.


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## stickie (Sep 1, 2010)

pneumatician said:


> Been many times and shall go again and again.
> We are strangely drawn to WW1 Battlefields and have always either started or ended our trips with a few days exploring the WW1 sites.
> 
> We met a young man (about32yrs) in Thiepval about two years ago who was almost in tears. He stated that he was continually drawn to the battlefields but could not explain why it effected him so much.


Anyone going to the Thiepval Memorial should look up Pte. Reginald Giles of the Gloucester Regiment at 14 years old, the youngest engraved there. Guaranteed tear jerker.


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## Stanner (Aug 17, 2006)

bigbus said:


> Stanner said:
> 
> 
> > Certainly sounds like it as nowhere else there has 16amp EHU.
> ...


As said the instructions at the barrier just tell you to go to Reception to check in what they don't explain is that you MUST go and check in (either automatically at any time, or in person if and when the reception office is staffed) BEFORE you can get through the barrier. 
The entertainment is watching new arrivals doing all sorts of things to try and get the barrier to open without a swipe card.

So ..........
1 Park up OUTSIDE the barrier
2 Go to lobby area to the right of Reception and read the instructions (twice)
3 Follow the instructions ALL of them and once you have had the swipe card issued VALIDATE it or it won't work.
4 Go back to m/home - drive it right up to the barrier and swipe the card CLOSELY over the button on the card reader.
5 The barrier will open - drive to the pitch you chose - not any pitch, so make sure when selecting one that it is where you want to be.

Sorted! - sit back and enjoy watching new arrivals for 5 minutes before telling them what they need to do to get in. :lol:


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## Sideways86 (Feb 25, 2009)

Thank you for your explanation


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## tonyt (May 25, 2005)

stickie said:


> Anyone going to the Thiepval Memorial should look up Pte. Reginald Giles of the Gloucester Regiment at 14 years old, the youngest engraved there. Guaranteed tear jerker.


I'm afraid that entry is somewhat suspect.

Reginald is recorded as the son of Stephen and Fanny. Stephen and Fanny are shown on the 1901 Census with a son Reginald, Age 5 - at the correct address - that would make him at least 19 when he died in 1916.

So, either the Census is wrong or the memorial record is wrong - both have been found to be wrong in the past.

But, whatever, yet another wasted life.

Another body still lying out in the fields of the Somme.


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## The-Cookies (Nov 28, 2010)

Another small point about this site, do not empty toilets into the stainless steel waste point near the tap, this is for grey water, the toilet point is through the site towards the sports field where the shower block is, when we arrived the contents of someone's toilet was all over where the grey water dump is yuk.

John


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## ThursdaysChild (Aug 2, 2008)

Went for 2 nights, stayed for six and only scratched the surface. 
Could stay for six months and never see the same thing twice - except the Last Post.
We'll be there again in March.


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## TJ101 (Oct 12, 2008)

Stanner said:


> janet1 said:
> 
> 
> > We were there in August. Great place for biking. There was a huge, fast - big bucks - Monacco style car rally which started in the town centre and roared around the area for hours. Great tourist attraction.
> ...


Correct, the biggest rally that's held there is the last weekend of June part of the new European Rally Championship

Done it for the last few years, and will be there again this June


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## stickie (Sep 1, 2010)

tonyt said:


> stickie said:
> 
> 
> > Anyone going to the Thiepval Memorial should look up Pte. Reginald Giles of the Gloucester Regiment at 14 years old, the youngest engraved there. Guaranteed tear jerker.
> ...


Yes, i have since putting this post up, found the jnformation to which you refer. I apologise if i have inadvertently misled anyone, but as you say there is no exact proof either way. But now having read more about Reginald and his family, it makes him more of a real person to me, and feel even more touched by his story.


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## ozwhit (Feb 29, 2008)

hi all stayed there last nite , coulldnt work out what to do with the entry card on leaving ? lovely little town , and the leshalles market bar was great to eat in , gary


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## Stanner (Aug 17, 2006)

ozwhit said:


> coulldnt work out what to do with the entry card on leaving ?


Read the instructions on the check-in machine?

You go back to the machine and select "Return card" and it tells you what to do. 
The machine then returns your 4€ deposit.


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## Hezbez (Feb 7, 2009)

Never been to Ypres or the surrounding area.
This thread has made me want to go this summer.

I'd be grateful for any advice on what to do/see in the area and is there enough to keep us busy for a couple of weeks.

Would like to see some WW stuff, beaches etc.

Thanks


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## ozwhit (Feb 29, 2008)

Thanks stanner , I couldn't see for looking , il have to return now !!


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## Stanner (Aug 17, 2006)

Hezbez said:


> Never been to Ypres or the surrounding area.
> This thread has made me want to go this summer.
> 
> I'd be grateful for any advice on what to do/see in the area and is there enough to keep us busy for a couple of weeks.
> ...


lots mentioned in this thread but start with Last Post at Menin Gate 8pm every night
"In Flanders Field" Museum in the Cloth Hall (huge building in centre of Ypres) for lots of info.

and also "La Coupole" just over the border in France near St Omer. another museum that gives the story of the V2 rockets etc.


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## tonyt (May 25, 2005)

Another place close (16 miles North) to Ypres that might give you another view of the futility of WWI is the German Cemetery at Vladslo. 51.07089, 2.93008.

A sombre place, no flowers, no colour, no light - just gravestones - dark ones.

After all the white headstones you've seen, this place will remind you that a lot of young German men also died.

Not a huge amount of parking space but on a quiet road.


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## Cornishaich (Oct 18, 2009)

I know that many of you will have heard this song but it is so worth hearing again especially sung by the man who wrote it Eric Bogle.
It is so true.






Harry


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## StAubyns (Jun 4, 2006)

tonyt said:


> On the Somme there's a tiny farm cemetery called Railway Hollow Cemetery - it's very easy to see why those soldiers died in that spot. I''ve been there a number of times and you can look all around at the deserted countryside and it's weird - I swear I could hear the guns and the cries.
> I know I'll go back.


Railway Hollow Cemetery is one of my favourite spots on the Somme - I always call there when I'm in the area. Its at the back of the Sheffield Memorial Park on the Serre Road. There is good parking outside Serre Road No. 2 Cemetery.

A very peaceful spot now, but on the 1st July 1916 it's where some of the Pals Battalions were decimated. The one's that reached the german wire hung there until retrieved in November 1917 

If you call, have a look for the headstone of Alf Goodlad, the inscription is very poignant.


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## tonyt (May 25, 2005)

StAubyns said:


> Railway Hollow Cemetery is one of my favourite spots on the Somme - I always call there when I'm in the area. Its at the back of the Sheffield Memorial Park on the Serre Road. There is good parking outside Serre Road No. 2 Cemetery.
> 
> A very peaceful spot now, but on the 1st July 1916 it's where some of the Pals Battalions were decimated. The one's that reached the german wire hung there until retrieved in November 1917
> 
> If you call, have a look for the headstone of Alf Goodlad, the inscription is very poignant.


Thanks Geoff - I'll be sure to check that out next time I'm there.

And for those who like to navigate by GPS - the parking at Serre Rd Number 2 is at 50.09667, 2.65159, there's a little more parking (a bit closer) at 50.09988, 2.65730.
The cemetery itself is at 50.10607, 2.65554. Up a short track from the main road - by foot recommended.


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## StAubyns (Jun 4, 2006)

Its also a good place to understand what happened on the front line on the 1st July 1916.

If you stand with your back to Serre Road No 2 and look across the road, you will see a track leading to the ridge line. This is the Redan ridge and it's where the German front line trenches were.

Bearing this in mind, walk down to the Sheffield Memorial Park and stand in the ditch at the front of the woods. This was the British front line trench. Look back to the Redan ridge.

Now, if you can, imagine walking back up the hill on the 1st July 1916.

  8O


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