With this years Euro Lambretta being held in France, another opportunity was presented to ride and visit the battlefields of the Western Front. This time two friends would be accompanying me.

The plan was to ride from Belfast to Dublin, sailing to the Cherbourg port, then riding on to Pont-Audemer, Albert, Reims, Verdun and then to the rally at Magny-Cours. At the last moment, the French port workers went on strike at Cherbourg, meaning we had to make a change of plan. Luckily the ferry tickets were booked through a local agency and they sorted the rearranged ferries.

This meant riding to Dublin, getting the ferry to Holyhead in Wales, then riding to Dover for the Calais crossing. 

Thursday 6^th June
An early start saw Karl calling to my house and then we rode on to Philips house for 6.30am. Confidently greeting each other with a handshake, wishing each other well for the long trip ahead and subduing any thoughts about breaking down. I love early morning riding on the Lambretta. Clear roads and fresh air and getting to the destination early. The ride down to Dublin was straight forward, with just a couple of stops for coffee and petrol. We were well ahead of time, but it’s always a good idea to have spare time at hand in case of any travelling misdemeanour’s. A puncture can cause havoc to a schedule.

First stop over was Llangollen in Wales, eighty miles from the Holyhead ferry. The ride included the stunning scenery of the breathtaking landscapes. Arriving in this beautiful Welsh town early evening, we checked into our hotel and went out for a meal and a couple of beers. It’s easy to see why people fall in love with this place. It’s picturesque with it’s river running through it, making it postcard perfect.

Friday 7^th June
We needed an early start to make the 290 mile ride to Canterbury for our next stop over. We decided to stay near Dover as riding on for a ferry would have meant a late night arrival in France. It felt safer to travel into France in the morning than at night. The ride down through the countryside around Chester, Shrewsbury and beyond is a joy. Great winding roads for the Lambretta. It’s a road I’ve taken many times when visiting family in the south of England.

We made great time, even with Philips standard series 2, we were riding a bit slower, but it absolutely suited the conditions, seeing the scenery and enjoying the moment.

I was always nervous about leading the way for this trip, even though there was only three of us. I get stressed easily and anxiety always peaks approaching towns and junctions, knowing you’re responsible for directing and keeping a group together can be stressful, but my two friends Philip and Karl being relaxed, made it a lot easier for me.

At some point during the journey my trusty 710 Degree flask departed from the back of the Lambretta. Philip had saw it fly past him. I was disappointed as it served me when over years, accompanying me around Europe. New flask required.

Only when we got towards Guildford, did things start to get a bit manic with traffic getting heavier. I’ve done this route before heading towards Dover and it does get very busy. But we kept going and by dinner time we had arrived at our hotel in Canterbury with the sun shining on us the whole day. Once again, we unpacked our Lambrettas, got showered and changed and out for dinner and a pint and take in Canterbury’s charming town.

Saturday 8^th June
Another early rise to ride the 17 miles to the ferry for the Dover – Calais crossing. Scooters packed and off we went on the half hour ride and reached the port in good time. Once on the boat for the short crossing, there was time for breakfast and coffee before we were soon riding off the ferry into Calais. First stop was within ten minutes, I had to adjust my gear cables, a two minute job, but one that had been troubling me and would return on the trip. We were back on our way to Albert 95 miles away. We were soon on the narrow twisty roads of rural France, passing through sleepy villages, where the existence of people seemed absent. It was an absolute delight. Even with it being cloudy, it was idyllic.

Forty miles from Calais, we found a supermarché and Philip couldn’t wait to get his cheese board and cheese knife out and in no time we went full French with baguette, cheese and wine on the side of the road. Parfait! After getting our lunch we headed on and it didn’t seem long before I caught the shining Golden Virgin of the Albert basilica acting as a beacon, drawing us in. We had arrived early afternoon and the clouds had began to break. We parked up outside the basilica and went straight across the road where Philip bought us a pint and we soaked up the local vibe before taking Philip and Karl to the underground museum at the Basilica 

We then headed to our accommodation around the corner. A house which I’d stayed at before with a locked gate for secure parking. Always handy on Lambretta travels. We then headed into Albert for a walk around town and the early summer evening was another delightful mix of fine food, beer and Pastis in a local Albert eatery. 

Sunday 9^th June
Today I was to give my two friends a tour of the Somme battlefields. Knowing it’s impossible to do in a day, even a week, I had researched and written my plan of the better known places to visit and places I had been to before. As we were about to set off, Philips Series 2 stopped running. After trying a few things out he stripped the carb and cleaned it, once refitted, it started up and off we went (an issue that would return). The weather was glorious with a cloudless sky.

I’m aware that this is a Lambretta blog, so I don’t want to bore anyone too much, but I feel it’s important to explain the places I took my friends to. So here’s a brief summary.

• Authuille Communal Cemetery
  First stop on the Somme was the grave of Boromée Vaquette. Out of the hundreds of thousands of casualties of the Somme battles, the first casualty on the Somme, deserves a mention. in 1914 when the Germans were approaching the Somme area, A nervous French soldier shot at Boromée who was a local farmer tending to his stock.
  
• Authuille Military Cemetery
  Off the road, down a small path, tucked away on a slope is this beautiful cemetery that holds over 470 casualties of the First World War. One of these is my friends Great Uncle, Private R. Sands, and so making the visit to this cemetery more poignant. Here a cross was placed in remembrance. 
  
• Thiepval Memorial
  Riding on to the village of Thiepval. This colossal memorial is on the site of the Thiepval Château, a place held by the Germans. It holds the names of over 72,000 British and South African soldiers who died before 20^th March 1918 and have no known grave. Most of these died between July and November 1916.
  
• Mill Road Cemetery
  Across the road and up a track, this cemetery marks the German front line and holds the graves of men lost on the 1^st July and after. The headstones are laid flat in some parts due to unstable ground, not because of the Schwaben Redoubt, that’s behind the cemetery. An infamous spot that fought over so bravely by the Ulstermen on the 1^st of July 1916. It wasn’t captured until three months later. 
  
• Ulster Tower
  Next to Mill Road Cemetery is the Ulster Tower. Opened in 1921 this memorial is to the Ulstermen who fought here on the 1^st of July. based on Helens Tower at Clandeboye, where many of the 36^th Ulster Division trained before heading to France.
  
• Newfoundland Memorial Park
  A short ride further along you come to this stunning park. You can still see the clearly visible trenches and shell craters. It holds a truly sad story of the men who died here. On the 1^st July 1916 the Newfoundland Regiment had 300 yards to get to their own front line and a similar distance in no Mans land. They went over the top instead of using the communication trenches. The German machine guns saw them. As they bunched together to get through the narrow gaps, the Germans trained their machine guns on them. Dead and wounded had quickly started blocking the gaps. The attack lasted forty minutes. The casualty rate was 91%. 26 Officers and 658 men. Every officer who had left the trench was killed or wounded.It’s probable that not a single German was killed or wounded in the attack.
  Also within the park is Y Ravine British Military Cemetery.  Here I placed a cross at a friend’s relatives grave. W.J. Moore who was killed on 1^st July 1916.
  
• Sunken Lane at Beaumont Hamel
  Next stop just up the road. This is a place were time has stood still and you can reach out and touch history here. The Lancashire Fusiliers went over the top here on the 1st of July. This spot isn’t the British front line, that’s back further. This spot was filmed just before the attack on the 1^st July 1916 and can be viewed online. Within an hour of this footage, nearly all the men filmed were likely killed or wounded. 
  
• Serre Road No. 2 Cemetery
  Carrying on up over a ridge, you end up on the Serre Road. This is one of the larger cemeteries on the Somme with over 7,000 casualties. Made up, like other cemeteries from individual graves and smaller cemeteries in the surrounding area. During World War Two, most of the British gardeners of the cemeteries had to leave France, but one gardener who did remain was a Mr Ben Leech, who had taken part in the Battle of The Somme on the 1st July in the capture of Montauban. He was given permission by a local German commander to continue his work in the Serre Road cemetery no. 2.
  During the next four years he helped 27 allied airman escape after they had been shot down over the Somme. He hid these men in the cemetery tool shed as Germans often wandered round the cemetery, unaware the pilots were just yards away in the shed. Ben Leech had joined the French Resistance. He was awarded for his actions after the war.
  
• Sheffield Memorial Park
  Just down the road, you need to park up on the Serre Road, then walk up the track to the memorial park. Here, you can still see the front line trench and the craters from shelling on the 1^st July 1916. Queens Cemetery just ahead, acts as a marker for the distance reached by many of the soldiers on the 1^st July. Harry Bloor who served with the Accrington Pals, served here and was wounded in the attack on that dreadful day. He survived the war and came back here many times. His accounts of his fighting here can be found in Martin Middlebrooks book The First Day of The Somme. 
  
• Lochnagar Crater
  The Lochnagar Mine was made from 27 tonnes of ammonal, in two charges , 60ft apart and blew a hole 300ft across and 70ft deep, which was the largest man-made explosion at that time. The British casualties here were costly, the highest of the day.
  Despite the claims, it’s now believed that this mine may have only killed 35 Germans at the most, if at all. The 35 casualties account for the whole day of the 1st of July. This data comes from regimental history records. But, it doesn’t take away from the effect of shock and awe it would have had.
  
  It’s important to remember that there are hundreds of locations on the Somme alone and they all hold importance to the Somme battles and the Great War itself.

The tour complete, we headed back into Albert, got changed and headed out to the Café aux trois pigeons for a few drinks with the company of Stephen Kerr and his wife from Northern Ireland.

Monday 10^th June
Today we had a relatively short run of 105 miles to Reims. Although we left Albert under light rain, it wasn’t long before it stopped, we rode onto Reims included a stop at the Chemin des Dames. a high ridge that commands views for miles around. A notorious battlefield that held the infamous, Nivelle Offensive of 1917. Here we visited La Cavern du Dragon. Caves in the hillside which were occupied by both French and German soldiers during the Great War. 

As we pressed on to Reims, the rain had made another appearance and although light, the skies around us looked ominous, but it wasn’t enough to hamper our riding. We arrived at our accommodation in Reims and timed it perfectly as we got off our Lambrettas, the heavens opened with heavy rain. The landlord greeted us and once he saw our Lambrettas, he guided us to an underground room to leave our Lambrettas tucked away safe and warm for the night. The rain soon dissipated and so after a shower and change, we headed out for a stroll and some food and a look around the local area.

Tuesday 11^th June
This was the day I was really looking forward to. Taking my friends along the 85 miles to Verdun. As ever, we arose early and headed off. 18 miles outside Reims we stopped at Aubérive French Military Cemetery. I’ve stopped here a couple of times and it’s size makes you wonder at the scale of the loss, with 7,000 French dead. At the rear is a German cemetery with over 5,000 dead. Situated on the side of a long straight road, you’re impelled to stop and have a walk around. This is a typical example of the size of the French military cemeteries in this region and further south. 

Riding on in wonderful sunshine towards our next stop, some of these roads are very tight in places, but as ever, very quiet with superb views. We soon rode through the tiny village of Massiges. Passing through then turning up a dusty track, I’m sure Philip and Karl had thought I’d taken a wrong turn, but with many places on the Western Front of the Great War, you have to take a dusty track that looks like it’s going nowhere, to reveal something that’s hard to comprehend and La Main de Massiges is one of them. 

A hidden gem of the Western Front. Here are a number of Trenches occupied by the French and the Germans during the Great War. There’s so much to see here with the trenches being maintained and reconstructed by local volunteers. The trenches are littered with artefacts of the war and there’s notice boards with photo’s and information on what took place here during the war.

Back on the Lambrettas we headed on to the next stop. La Butte de Vauquois. This place was once a tiny, sleepy village that stood for hundreds of years. Then came the Germans in 1914 who took the village of Vauquois because of it’s height and visual superiority. The French fought hard to take it, but only managed to hold the southern side, while the Germans held the north. Being so close together, shelling was out of the question. So over the next four years, they mined under each other detonating over 500 mines during the war. 14,000 died here. 

Today you can see the huge mine craters in a line that was once the main street and as well as a museum, there’s tunnels you can visit, but sadly, the tunnels and museum are only open on the first Sunday of each month, as with most of these sites, they are run by volunteers.

Leaving Vauquois along the small scenic roads, we rode to our last stop of the day before we reached Verdun. Le Morte Homme (The dead man). Reaching the ominous monument of the hill, it has the words engraved “Ils n’ont pas passé”, they did not pass. Here the soldiers fought in extremely horrendous conditions.  This area, which was once the crater filled landscape of battles, is now filled with trees. covering up the ground that is filled with the horrors of war. When you walk around, the old trenches and shell craters are still visible.

Leading on, we were only 20 miles from Verdun, a place I love and I immediately had a feeling of familiarity as we rode into the town along the river Meuse. Once we got into our lodgings, which was for home for a couple of nights, we took time to relax, with a coffee before walking into town. Early morning waking wasn’t an issue for the three of us, but riding a Lambretta for most part of the day, does get tiring. 

Verdun has plenty of places to see, eat and drink with a number of bars dotted around the place. Particularly welcoming is the Quai de Londres. A promenade that holds a lot of bars where you can sit and relax and enjoy the views of the River Meuse as the locals walk by.

Wednesday 12^th June
This was the last day of battlefield visits and one that we’d take at a more leisurely pace. We took our time getting ready and then rode several miles out of the town centre to the front line of the Verdun battlefield. 

• Boit des Caures
  On the 21st February when the Germans attacked, the French front line was hammered. One spot of the front line was the Bois de Caures, this is where Lieutenant Colonel Driant and his 1,200 men were to face the full force of the German attack. In a triangle of 500 X 1000 Yards, 80,000 German shells fell on the first day. Colonel Driant became the first hero of Verdun this day, when he was killed on the front line trying to save his men. He is buried nearby, an isolated grave, almost anonymous amongst the surrounding woodland.
  
• Fleury Village
  Up until 1916, Fleury was inhabited by just over 400 residents and remained untouched, then the Battle of Verdun started. Heavy fighting endured here and it was to change hands between the Germans and French 16 times by the end of the battle. Today it’s just craters and trees. There’s a pathway which was the main street, with marker posts where the houses and shops were.
  
• Douaumont Ossuary
  Inside this huge memorial you can climb the steps to the top and view all round the area. There’s artefacts to see and the walls are covered with the names of the missing. After the war they collected the bones from the battlefield and they now lay beneath here. There’s now at least 130,000 French and German dead inside the Ossuary, an ominous viewing, while thousands more lay undiscovered on the old battlefields of Verdun.
  
• Fort Douaumont
  Fort Douaumont was the main fort spearheading all the forts that were built in the 1890’s They were supposed to be heavily defended, but General Joffre in his wisdom, stripped all the fort of much of it’s armaments and soldiers for other fights along the front. Leaving behind a few soldiers. Col Driant had warned the command that it was a weak point the Germans could exploit, but he was ignored. So when the Germans attacked, they had no idea how weak it’s interior defence was. There was only 57 elderly Territorials inside
  Although externally it held and continually held throughout the battle of Verdun. On 25th February the Germans attacked with a barrage that was to lead to the fall of Fort Douaumont. Sergeant Kunze moved forward and found himself in the fort and single handedly took the mighty fort Douaumont without a shot being fired.
  
  The French tried to recapture Douaumont in late May, but even after holding part of the fort, they were pushed back. French General Mangins May attack on Douaumont lasted for five days where a thousand tons of shells rained down on the quarter mile of mud that was the objective. It wasn’t until October that the French were eventually to take back Douaumont.
  
• The maze within this fort is littered with reminders from the war. Behind this wall are sealed the remains of over 679 German soldiers. They died after an accident occurred which sparked explosives. 900 would die in the inferno.

That was the last of the battlefield tours I would conduct on our trip and although a worthy experience, I wondered how it left my two friends feeling? I hoped that they gained something from it. 

As with each day on our trip, we would walk into town for dinner and drinks. This evening, I took Karl and Philip to the Sherlock Holmes Pub in Verdun. A place I visited before and we weren’t let down. A beautiful spot with amazing food.

Thursday 13^th June
Today was a long ride to Magney-Cours for the 33^rd Euro Lambretta Jamboree. So we made a point of getting up and setting off early. Great weather again meant we would have a pleasurable ride across the 220 miles to the the rally site

The ride went well, with the exception of a road closure that had me perplexed, but on taking a road for the next town, we were soon back on the route to Magny-Cours. By the afternoon, we were pulling up to the site entrance and greeted to the camp site. We had decided on glamping in one of the Bell tents that had beds and quilts supplied. It made for less luggage to carry.

There’s always a sense of accomplishment, when getting to a destination, even more so by Lambretta. Us Lambretta riders can sometimes be pessimistic in nature, nearly always expecting something to go wrong with our historic machines. So when we reach the destination of our trip, we allow ourselves a pat on the back. This was no different for us. All three of us reached the rally trouble free, apart from my gear cables and Philips starting issue the previous Sunday. For now, getting home was at the back of minds while we revelled in everything Lambretta with Lambretta gurus and supporters from all over the world. Making new friends and catching up with old friends we may not have seen since the previous years Euro Lambretta. We were happy.

Friday 14^th June
We awoke on Friday morning to rain. and for a good part of the day there would be showers, but by late afternoon, it cleared somewhat. The site had plenty of large buildings that would be used for entertainment, stalls and food. There was also the usual Euro rally repair shop.

That evening we had our full contingent of the Ulster Lambretta Club together and a good night of entertainment was had with the usual silliness incurred. 

Saturday 15^th June
We all rose to a relatively decent days weather which did have a couple of showers, but nothing to put spoil to the day. It was good to walk around bumping into old friends and new. Admiring Lambrettas previously unseen and acknowledging Lambrettas that were known and had made accomplishments similar to our own.  

That evening saw the Gala dinner event, with awards being made to those individuals and clubs who had made recognised achievements. Food was superb, there was plenty of fine wine and entertainment.

Most shocked person of the evening goes to me for winning the Lambretta that was offered as a prize in a draw. The incredible support and love from friends and others alike, really surprised me. It was an evening I’ll not forget in a long time.

Sunday 16^th June
Before we could leave the rally, I had to try and get the Lambretta I had won home. Due to difficulty getting the paperwork early enough, change of plans had to be made and luckily fellow club member Conor put the Lambretta in his van. Now we could leave in a calm frame of mind, but now the predicted rain had arrived. 

We had 190 miles to cover today, although we weren’t particularly worried, even with the rain, but a couple miles up the road my Lambretta died, I had an idea it was the spark plug cap and I was correct. Refitted we were off again, but it kept happening, so a cable tie around the cap and the rear brake cable running along side it, meant it would stop coming off.

Then the next issue a number of miles up the road, was my gear cables coming loose. The outer cable had popped out of the headset clamp, but with Karls help, it too was fixed, properly. Then Philip had an issue with over heating, again the issue seemed to be a cable one. Problem fixed, off we went. By now the rain was getting worse and along with poor visibility and riding conditions, I felt that we should stop in the next town. A mile or so up the road we rode into a quiet village, whereupon I lost control of the front wheel and came off, but I was going slow and no damage was done to me or my Lambretta, although Karl and Philip had to help lift my Lambretta as I was trapped underneath and couldn’t get my leg out. 

Here we rested for half an hour so. while Karl dealt with a front brake issue, we tried taking cover from the rain under trees. We had only covered 132 miles in the seven hours we had been on the road. It was 11 hours on the road by the time we reached our accommodation in our soaked through gear just north of Le Mans. The place we stayed was beautiful, set in a small wood with only the sound of a train passing by in the distance. The owner of the place invited us for a beer. before long, we were fast asleep, tired from a days tough riding.

Monday 17^th June
Our last day in France. We thought we’d get away by 6.30 am to make sure we did the 170 miles to make our boat from Cherbourg to Dublin in time. But, Philips Series 2 starting problem was back. After cleaning the carb, it still didn’t run. A spare carb was fitted, still nothing. This surely meant it was electrical, but without sound knowledge between us, we knew the game was up and Philip would somehow had to get recovered from this isolated place in France. 

Time was running out for us. Me and Karl would have to make a move soon if we were to make our ferry. Philip said that he had saw a van in the driveway and went to inquire with the owners of the house we had stayed at. Remarkably, they offered to take Philip to Cherbourg. So Karl and I made haste and headed for Cherbourg. We would meet Philip there with the others from our club who had travelled a different route. 

Sure enough, by early afternoon, after only making a couple of brief petrol stops, me and Karl were being directed into the car park at Cherbourg by a joyful Philip, who had linked up with the others from the club. 

After a chat with the others who we hadn’t seen since the rally, it was time to board the the ferry. Meeting up on board, with our weary minds and bodies, we spent some time reflecting on our journey, knowing it was only 110 miles or so back to Belfast.

Tuesday 18^th June
The boat didn’t dock in Dublin until 10.30am so we had a bit of time to get our stuff together and meet for breakfast. Once off the boat we all met up at the garage beside the docks, filled with petrol and said our goodbye’s to each other as we all headed our separate ways north. 

We had one more fuel stop near Newry, before making the last leg home in one, albeit a weary one.

Conclusion
With most trips, I’m happy to let others lead the way. I have to have the confidence I’m on the right road or it all falls apart for me. A couple of previous attempts failed miserably, so I was more than anxious about trying to make sure I got it right this time. 

I prepared the routes with my preferred navigation app as planned and set about marking the petrol stops as well as food shops for breaks. Transferring the routes to the sat nav was easy enough, but it doesn’t always get it right and checks have to be made. 

This time, all was well and leading the way wasn’t anywhere near as stressful as I thought it would be. Having a couple of chilled friends alongside made things a whole lot better. The chosen accommodation all worked out well with no nasty surprises.

Riding the route was only a couple of miles per hour slower than usual because of Philips standard Series 2, but I ride steady for the most part anyway when I’m abroad, so it didn’t matter to me.

This for me before even including Euro Lambretta was my best trip. Discovering new places and visiting familiar places I had been to before. Even when I did manage to make a wrong turn, we still ended up on the right road without drama for 1,400 happy miles. 

Vive la France!