A CENTURY

Apparently this will be the 100th addition to my blog!  It is also the time that World War One is being marked on its 100th anniversary and getting near the 100th Anniversary of the start of the Battle of Verdun which commenced n 21st February, 1916 which, on a personal note, would have been my mother’s 9th birthday and we now have entered the ninth year of living in the Meuse department of Lorraine in the small town of Damvillers which is about 18 miles from the city of Verdun. A lot of coincidental links there!

Today, Friday 30th October 2015, is yet another grey, gloomy day and we headed out for a ride in the car, not deciding where - just seeing where the car took us!

We soon turned off familiar roads to unfamiliar ones and it amazes us that, after over eight years of living here and many explorations, we are still able to find new-to-us roads and places.

Across fields we spotted two helicopters apparently static in the sky but, well, just hovering really on a forest’s edge beyond open countryside to our left.  The road swung to the right but our curiosity was peaked and we took the next left and came around to the area.  One helicopter had gone and the second took off over the tree tops but, by the time we got to the end of this particular tree line, another, the first?, came round and again just hovered.  There was no apparent reason and we think it must have been a military exercise. We continued, taking yet another 'new' turning.

At various places we spotted signs for Camp Maguerre.  We had not heard of it so, of course, had to follow.  The road leads into the Spincourt Forest which itself covers a very large area, and we found ourselves in the glow of various shades of gold.

gilded floor
under a golden canopy ~
autumn forest

After about two-and-a-half miles we found the Camp, which was a German one in WW1. The forest was silent apart from a slight rustling of leaves on the treetops and that, with the remains of abandoned buildings, gave the area a somewhat spooky and surreal feeling.

Part way through the forest.

 

  A right-hand bend and the road opened into an area by a notice board...

 

 .

Half a mile further into the forest we found Camp Maguerre on our left.

More information about Camp Maguerre here.

We had to return the way we had come, left the forest behind us, but after a few miles, went back into a different part of the forest which is nearer to home, now on familiar roads again.


Spincourt Forest looks like the very many other forests in this area which are all showing their autumn colours - and it was as if we had found some sunshine after all.