London-Gillingham-Dover-Dunkirk-Ieper (Ypres)-Ghent-Brugge-The Hague-London
The original plan was to have a rest day, mostly just
resting in the camping ground/caravan park. But when I discovered that I was in
Flanders Fields, and close to Passendale, I decided it would be interesting to
visit World War I sites.
It was a stinking hot day, and very humid. Rode out 11km to Tyne
Cot Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery. The surroundings were all lush and green,
and it was hard to imagine them looking barren, muddy, leafless and shelled
out.
Riding was all along separated cycle paths on the side of
the road, with a little bit along quiet roads. Again, my GPS and sat nav came
in handy. But if I had a map of the fietspoints in Flanders it would probably
have been easier – unlike other countries, the intersections are marked with a
number, so you travel to each intersection (compared to travelling along a numbered
route). Some rain came that night, which marked the first time I took shelter, but it was only about half an hour hiding inside my tiny little tent. The camping ground/caravan park at Ieper was good in that it had wifi and hot showers (and the nearby Aldi). Went to the 8pm service at the Menin Gate again.
