5. MILITARY MEMORIES
Wallonia’s war history threads through the region and its other unexpected delights
Mons to La Roche-en-ardenne Distance 225km Time 4hr 15min
Bordering both France and Germany, Wallonia has witnessed many of the defining moments in both world wars. The region now features a wide array of museums, memorials and artefacts from the conflicts and there’s no better place to start your exploration than Mons. Location of both the first British engagement of World War One in August 1914 – and the final shot of the five-year conflict, fired when Canada liberated the area just hours before Armistice, the medieval city plays an important role in reflecting the wars.
Located metres from the centre, Mons Memorial Museum uses the city’s collection of military artefacts to narrate the conflicts with uncompromising effect. The ground floor explores the Battle of Mons and following occupation yet it’s the upstairs WW2 exhibition that stops you in your tracks. Nazi jackboots meet visitors at the entrance, symbolising the encroaching invasion force, but it’s the cabinets of smaller possessions that strike the heart. Owned either by members of the local resistance forces or victims of the Holocaust, they bring home the human cost of the conflict.
The N90, N55 and N59 carry you south-east through Thuin and on to Ragnies. Now it’s time to power east over farmland, pick through the stone houses of Denée and arrive at Marsedous Abbey. More modern than its neo-gothic lines might suggest, the Victorian structure is still home to a chapter of Benedictine monks who produce their own cheese and beer. Did someone say lunch stop?
Drivers will want to keep a clear head, though. The Rue de Warnant snakes tight and narrow, rewarding precise driving on the approach to Anhée; the gentle N96 and N95, through Dinant and down towards Houyet, couldn’t be a greater contrast. Half an hour east, Han-sur-lesse tempts with the Caves of Han and its 7m stalagmite, before the N86 whisks you through its sweeping turns and verdant scenery. You could almost be back on a British B road!
A small green sign pointing up a minor track is the only prompt for our next stop. The road climbs quickly out of the village in a series of hairpin bends to the Hotton War Cemetery. Respects paid, the road becomes fast and increasingly technical as you dive down the N841 and onto the thrill-a-second N89.
As La Roche-en-ardenne approaches, the town’s role in the Battle of the Bulge is underlined by the British Achilles M10 Tank Destroyer that stands sentinel over the road. It’s not the only war artefact here – down in the town centre, you can park by a stubby M4A1 Sherman and walk over to the Museum of the Battle of the Ardennes. Packed tight with period uniforms, weaponry and a genuine Enigma machine, this four-floor centre takes you straight to the front lines.
MUST-SEE Hotton CWGC Cemetery, east of Marche-en-famenne
It’s no conventional tourist spot but the Commonwealth site at Hotton deserves a moment of contemplation. Perched high above the local suburbs, the cemetery stands amid silent fields as a poignant reminder to the sacrifices made by Allied forces. Arranged in two dense columns, the headstones mark the resting place of 666 servicemen who lost their lives in the local area. Many of the names here were shot down in RAF manoeuvres, even more were lost in the Battle of the Bulge, when Hotton served as an effective bulwark against advancing Nazi forces. Address: Rue de la Libération, Hotton. More Info: Open at all times. Website: cwgc.org
MUST-DRIVE N89 from Chabrehez to La Roche, north West of La Roche-en-ardenne
Headlong into the forest, the N89 gets tougher with each passing kilometre. Streaming straights lead to quick kinks. Quick kinks lead to sweeping pulls. Sweeping pulls finally lead to a spaghetti swirl of tight and endless turns that beg for firm inputs, heeland-toe downshifts and perfectly throttle-balanced exits. This is classic driving at its very best.