Our trips to the battlefields of France and Belgium have been ones that stuck with us and since the first time, we find ourselves making time to visit familiar sites if we happen to be passing or nearby. (thread will continue...)

#ThePhotoHour #LestWeForget #RemembranceDay

Bottom left is Ovillers cemetery near Albert. It was the very first one we visited. We were there to make a FWW documentary & arrived at the cemetery very early on a morning, it was just the two of us and it was a cool morning with light mist hanging over the cemetery

It was an incredibly atmospheric way to introduce ourselves to... all of this. Top right and bottom right are of Thiepval Memorial to the missing of the Somme. Each time we've been we've been fortunate enough to more or less have the place to ourselves. It's a stunning memorial

and in some ways it's very intimidating and powerful, the kind of place you get goosebumps. One time we were there, a small group were paying their respects, including playing The Last Post. That was an experience.

Top left is Vimy Ridge. The first time we were over we didn't have time to visit it and it was one I really wanted to see, so the next time we went over, we did. Wow. The sheer height and detail of it is incredible. Again very imposing, particularly set against the landscape

This was another one we were lucky enough to have almost to ourselves. There's a visitor's centre here too (as there is at Theipval) and it was interesting to learn more about the Battle of Vimy Ridge (part of the Battle of Arras) and to read about the Canadian Corps.