The day started with a quick pack down of camp to then walk the 2.5km to the train station to get back to Arras so we could catch our next train to Vimy.
We were planning to spend the majority of the day at Vimy Memorial and trenches. But, first to get there involved a 6km trek up the side of the Vimy Ridge. Once at the top we could see why it was a crucial battle point. From the top of the ridge you could see all the way to the Belgium border.
The monument was to remember all those Canadians that lost their lives on Vimy ridge. Surrounding the monument there are the remnants of both the German and Canadian trenches. The Canadian government has preserved the site and allowed the public to walk in the trenches and go into the underground 'subway' tunnels underneath no man's land. The closest the two opposite trenches got was 25m, the closest along the whole western front.
On the walk down from Vimy ridge we found a WW1 artillery shell laying on top of a recently ploughed farmers field. The fuse cap was missing and there was mud inside. We would of loved to take it home but think that French Customs would have something else to say!
We eventually arrived at our hotel in Lens. We picked at hotel so that we could do some clothes washing and recharge before the final three days in Ypres.