The best cycling routes around Le Transloy

Also a bicycle repair and electric bike charging point

The canal must be deep here for these cargo ships to sail through it so fully loaded. In any case, they stir up a lot of mud, because the canal behind the cargo ships is then filled with brown clouds.

the port of Peronne in a side arm as a dead end

The Pipers Memorial in Longueval is a special tribute to all pipers who died during the First World War, regardless of their regiment or origin. It was unveiled on 20 July 2002 and stands in the village square, just off the Rue de Bazentin. The bronze statue, designed by Andy De Comyn, shows a piper in full uniform climbing out of a trench playing—a powerful symbol of courage and moral support for troops under fire. Plaques around the plinth list the regiments that lost pipers, and the memorial also remembers heroes such as Piper James Richardson VC, who led his battalion into the attack with his music and was later killed trying to retrieve his bagpipes. It is a rare monument that honours not only military valour but also cultural identity and tradition. A place where music and memory come together in stone and bronze.

The New Zealand 'Ngā Tapuwae' Plaque in Longueval is a memorial plaque that forms part of the Ngā Tapuwae Trails, a series of commemorative trails that mark important locations where New Zealand troops fought during World War I. Interestingly, the plaque not only provides historical information but also includes personal stories from New Zealand soldiers. This allows visitors to feel a deeper connection to the events and the people involved. The plaque commemorates the fierce fighting that New Zealand troops fought during the Battle of the Somme in 1916.

Miraumont is a small village in the Somme department, in the Hauts-de-France region, which occupies a historically and geographically special place. It is situated in a narrow valley at the source of the Ancre River, a tributary of the Somme, and is surrounded by gently rolling hills that were once the scene of fierce fighting during the First World War. During the Battle of the Somme in 1916, Miraumont was close to the front line and was badly hit. Today it is a quiet rural commune of around 630 inhabitants, where the past is still palpable in the surroundings and in nearby military cemeteries. Its proximity to other historic sites such as Thiepval and Beaumont-Hamel makes it a worthwhile stop for those wishing to explore the region's wartime past.

On 11 April 1944, an Avro Lancaster Mk I, serial number LL836 BQ-E, crashed near Achiet-le-Petit, in the Bois de Logeast, during a mission by the RAF 550 Squadron. The aircraft had taken off from North Killingholme in England and was part of a bombing raid on the railway installations at Aulnoye-Aymeries, as part of the Allied Transportation Plan2. The Lancaster was intercepted and shot down at around 02:43 by a German night fighter, a Messerschmitt Bf 110, flown by Hauptmann Helmut Bergmann. The aircraft exploded in mid-air and came down in flames approximately 1.5 km north-northwest of Achiet-le-Petit3. All seven crew members were killed. Among them were five Britons and two Canadians, including: F/Lt Richard William Picton (pilot, age 24, DFC) F/O John Foster Potter (bomb aimer, age 23, RCAF) F/O John James Logan (navigator, age 26, DFC) Sgt William Essar (age 22, RCAF) Sgt Thomas Henry Guest (flight engineer) Sgt Kenneth Percy Charles Williams (radio operator, DFM) F/Lt William Hugh Waycott (air force, age 22, DFM)3 They are all buried in Achiet-le-Petit cemetery. The crash is a harrowing illustration of the risks faced by bombers during night operations over occupied Europe.

An interesting anecdote is that Achiet-le-Petit changed hands several times during the war. The village was occupied by British troops in March 1917, lost to the Germans in March 1918, and retaken by the British in September 1918. In 1924, 300 bodies that had been temporarily buried elsewhere were transferred to this cemetery.