Tyne Cot

No visit to the former Western Front would be complete without the inclusion of a war cemetery.  Sadly there are plenty to choose from - my Michelin map is fairly black with them.  We settled on the Commonwealth cemetery at Tyne Cot.  With 12,000 - I'll repeat that - twelve thousand individual graves and a memorial wall bearing a further 34,000 names it is the largest Commonwealth cemetery in Belgium.

I'd hardly call the visit uplifting but then that's hardly the point.  At least I got to go home afterwards.

The approach takes the visitor last several regimental memorials.

I was interested to see that the Bedfordshire Rgt memorial was supported by the Masonic Lodges of that county.

The cemetery is located on a ridge which was the German front line.  The Germans had a commanding view (above) across the Allied trenches and reinforced the position with a number of substantial bunkers (below).

I made it my mission to find the grave of at least one Black Watch soldier, and followed this photo with a random selection.

The sheer scale of the place is well, overwhelming.  There follows few but words but hopefully the photos speak volumes.