Landy Heaven

The day had finally dawned for Geoff to go wih Patrick to Solihull to have a tour of the Landrover factory.

Margaret and I stayed at Ramsey and had an easy day. Geoff will continue the story here.

The trip from Ramsey to Solihull required driving from East to west across England during peak hour, something I was not looking forward to. With Patrick navigating the drive was easy with traffic flowing well just being slowed at construction zones. Some of them were reminiscent of those in Australia with miles and miles of plastic bollards,tape and signs but no construction activity.

The Land Rover site is huge and incredibly busy we found the right gate thanks to Patrick's navigation and the Land Rover experience complex.

They had a fleet of defenders to drive guests around some had been seriously stretched , they sell these to African Safari companies.

After greeting of coffee and Danish an intro and health and safety briefing we were broken up into groups of 4 with a guide. We piled into a defender and headed off for the defender production line. The Defender is one of last handmade cars still in production I think this goes to the heart of why it is being discontinued.

On the production line people are still drilling and riveting parts together , there are only three robots in the line building the firewall .

We were not permitted to take photos of the production which is a shame as it was very interesting. If my memory is correct they produce about 50 defenders a day with a huge skilled workforce this compares with around 200 discos or Rangies a day so it is clear the economics of Defender production is not there - pity.

In a corner of the factory they have set up a display production line and history of the series / defender, we could take photos there.

Demonstrating how far you can push a Landie ( and Patrick) before they fall over

 

So this is a repo series one production line where it started.

Don't know my own strength

 

 

We travelled in the red Toyota and they still let us in

We went looking for lunch on the way home but found a battlefield( as you do in England)

lThe Battle of Naseby was the decisive battle of the first English Civil War. On 14 June 1645, near the village of Naseby in Northamptonshire, the main army of King Charles I was destroyed by the Parliamentarian New Model Army commanded by Sir Thomas Fairfax and Oliver Cromwell.

The battle field seems so small for so many people to be killed , about 1500 with thousands of combatants. Still very peaceful now.

All in all a very good day.

 

The Fens

We had a rather slow start to the day and headed off for breakfast at a local cafe.

We packed up and then took off to spend a few days in Ramsey at Patrick and Margaret's house.

On our way we had a look at Huntington.

First we looked at the old bridge.

The town has long been an important bridgehead, with Ermine Street (connecting London to Lincoln and York), as well as various east-west trade routes, crossing the Great Ouse here. Ermine Street would have first crossed the river here via a ford, believed to be some way to the west of the present bridge. Edward the Elder built a wooden bridge in the early 10th century a few yards to the west of the current bridge, and also ordered the nearby Huntingdon Castle to be rebuilt. Until the 1107 construction of the first bridge in St Ives, it is believed that there was no bridge further downstream, and foreign trade would navigate the river as far upstream as Huntingdon.

Responsibility for the bridge's repair was for centuries a matter of dispute. In 1259 a court ruling finally ordered that the county should pay to keep it repaired in return for rendering the bridge toll-free. Nonetheless, the bridge remained in a poorly maintained state, and by 1329 was declared to be in severe danger of collapse.

The current bridge was constructed around 1332, with work starting on both banks or the river. The slight kink near the central pier was a result of the lack of alignment of the two halves. Consisting of six arches and faced with ashlar, the parapets which form recesses for pedestrians, are triangular in shape on the north side, and semi-hexagonal on the south.

 

We were walking back to the car when we noticed a road sign Castle road and then we were off searching for the castle. This is all that is left, a mound from the Mott and Bailey castle but it was still exciting.

The site was originally occupied by the Saxons. In 1068 a Norman motte and bailey castle was built for William the Conqueror. During the Anarchy the castle was held by David, King of Scotland through his marriage to Maud, 2nd Countess of Huntingdon. He supported Empress Matilda in a battle of succession and the castle was much damaged at this time. However, when the succession was settled, David's son Henry paid homage to King Stephen who in turn gave him the borough of Huntingdon in addition to the castle.

By 1173 the castle was still held by the kings of Scotland, at that time by William the Lion. He had sided with Henry, the rebel son of Henry II, during the Revolt of 1173–1174, and the castle was besieged by Richard de Luci. The siege was taken over by Simon de St. Lis but it did not end until Henry II (who had just performed penance at the tomb of Thomas Becket) arrived at Huntingdon. The siege ended the following day and Henry then ordered that the castle be dismantled.

Parts of the castle did remain, including the chapel, and its ownership passed through a number of hands. The castle was refortified during the Civil War. For a time it served as the county gaol and later a windmill stood on the castle mound. Nothing now remains of the castle itself although the site is a scheduled ancient monument.

We then called into a pub and had some lovely salads for lunch. Perfect temperature out in the garden. Quite idyllic.

Afterwards Margaret, Geoff and I had a look at the old church and houses.

We then drove to Patrick and Margaret's Ramsey house where we were staying for a few days. Time to chill out for a few hours and then off to see Holme Fen

These swans were sucking up the algae on the water very enthusiastically and noisily.

Holme Fen, a national nature reserve near Petersborough has sunk by about four metres since draining work began in the 1850s, leaving it about 2.75 m below sea level.

Now conservationists are hoping to buy up surrounding farmland and stop the drainage, to preserve the area as an important wildlife habitat. We went for a nice walk through the forest.

The level of sinkage has been measured by a cast-iron pole sunk into the ground in 1852 so it rested on the clay beneath the peat.

Initially it was completely hidden - but now it is exposed as the drainage has caused the peat to disintegrate.

We then went onto another pub for tea. Had yummy calamari and king prawns.

Lovely day with good friends.

 

Eurostar to St Pancras

Got up and looked for something nice for breakfast. Very little open. Ended up having an egg and bacon macmuffin. Not very impressive! Had a wander around and then it was time to head to the Eurostar station.

Had to go through customs and then onto the train.

The journey was about 1 hrs 20 minutes and very uneventful thankfully. At times we reached speeds of almost 300 km an hour.

Us looking like American tourists.

Off at St Pancras and then back to Chopwell Close at Stratford. Patrick and Margaret were at the flat and we had a nice time catching up before going out for a great long walk around the local area, seeing the less salubrious part of Stratford which is much more how the area used to before the makeover. We finished up at a Wetherspoons for a great Roast dinner and then home to watch the final episode of Top Gear.

 

Lille

There was a market on in Arras so we wandered around there before setting off to Lille by train.

We decided against waiting around to go on a tour of the allied tunnels underneath Arras before leaving but thought it better to get to Lille, book in and then have a look around. Big mistake!

The train trip was uneventful but when we turned up at 1.30 at the hotel we realised the checking in time was from 5pm! Very annoying and strange!

So we sat in the shopping centre next door for 3 1/2 hours as our bags were too heavy to walk around the city.

Once we had finally checked in we went for a walk. I came back after an hour as I was a bit over the tourist thing at this point. Geoff continued on. There are some unusual and beautiful buildings in Lille and the place was jumping.

We were underwhelmed by our choice of tea that we bought from the supermarket and heated up in the microwave.

 

Battlefield Tour 2

Today's tour is over the ground of the Fromelles and Ypres campaigns.

We began by visiting a German war cemetery. These are quite different from the Commonwealth ones. The land for Allied war cemeteries was given by a grateful France however the Germans were required to pay rent which they didn't so were required to consolidate the many smaller ones into larger cemeteries. The crosses are made out of aluminium and have four names on each. Germans prefer a woodland setting rather than the rose garden setting of the allies. The circle indicates a mass grave. The German government does not maintain the cemetery that is carried out by a charity.

This is a mass grave marker

 

Pheasant wood scene of another battle this is a new cemetery made of fallen soldiers found in a mass grave where possible the remains have been identified

 

 

 

The northern battlefields were below sea level with the water table just under the surface so as soon as a hole was dug it filled up with water. So the only protection was mounds of dirt and rubble or concrete pillboxes these could be built quickly,after 100 years still solid.

 

 

 

 

This cemetery is in Belgium on the road to Calais, in WWII the Germans passed it on their third invasion of that country in 70 years. Usually statues in war cemeteries do not show aggression, this one looking up the road to Germany is an exception. Another exception destroyed by the Germans was an Australian bronze statue of a digger bayoneting an eagle with a claw around his foot.

Mining (digging under the enemy's trenches and strong holds placing explosives then blowing just before an infantry attack) was used by both sides. Australian forces used it very effectively. The explosions were heard in London and felt as far as Ireland

 

This is hill 60 dosnt look much because a lot of the hill was excavated from a railway cutting.

We found a lead ball from an overhead shell burst our guide said that it would be fatal if it hit the head or an artery

Pop up pill box these were constructed at night in a couple of days without the enemy's knowledge.

There are 6 memorials to each Australian division they occupy high ground on the battlefields they were constructed by the diggers before they went home so their mates would have lasting memorials.

 

 

 

The last cementary visited was the largest with commonwealth forces

The memorial is built over a German bunker

This view is over the battle field in the background Distance

In most battles there were more "missing" than identifiable remains those in the trenches were often showered with pulverised rotting remains of their comrades killed in no mans land.

 

At this point the guide discussed the insane tatics of modern warfare -the thirds rule in an attack one third will be killed, one third injured or captured and one third will complete the mission and capture the target. Often the ground is captured only to be relinquished the object being to degrade the enemies forces. In this process the German forces became weaker and the Commonwealth stronger.

The Menin gate and the last post ceremony was the last stop of the day.

 

 

The Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing is a war memorial in Ypres, Belgium, dedicated to the British and Commonwealth soldiers who were killed in the Ypres Salient of World War I and whose graves are unknown. The memorial is located at the eastern exit of the town and marks the starting point for one of the main roads out of the town that led Allied soldiers to the front line. Designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield and built and maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, the Menin Gate Memorial was unveiled on 24 July 1927.[1]

 

 

Most of those taking part in the ceremony were children as were the congregation. They were very respectful and patient as they waited for he ceremony to begin some were there for an hour.

The last post was sounded by some of the towns firemen a promise made 100 years ago and fulfilled proudly since.

It was very moving, however history has judged the governments and military leaders involved in the conflict the men and women who marched through this gate believed their cause was just, stood by their mates sacrificeing their lives for their country.

Back in Arras the lights shone on a rebuilt square.