Photos: Travel and History

Travel and History Galleries

These galleries present photos from travels on foot, by bike and as a ‘tourist’. An important feature of my journeys is the discovery of history, which is represented in many of the images.

The current galleries illustrate:

By bike along the Western Front of WW1
The Stevenson Trail (GR70) in the Cevennes, France
A week on the shores of Lake Como
Angkor Wat, Cambodia
Cycling the Silk Roads of Cheshire

All photos © Nigel Bruce, except where indicated in the photo description.

More galleries and photos will be added soon!

By bike along the Western Front of WW1

This is part of my project on The Great War, a journey by bike – so far along the Western Front from the Belgian Coast to the Swiss border – and through history, learning about the causes of the war, the course of the conflict, and the consequences for Europe and the World. A book is in the making.

I am planning to explore the Italian Front next, by bike of course, and this will include the high altitude battlefileds in the Dolomites and then onto Kobarid in the Slovenia’s Julien Alps. This battlefield was formerly known as Caporetto, and it was the resulting Italian retreat that Ernest Hemingway described in ‘A Farewell to Arms’. The journey continues, for there is also the Eastern Front, and I would love to explore the history of the Great War in the Middle East and Palestine as this has had such important consequences for the region.

Ring of Remembrance, near Arras; this honours the names of 576,606 soldiers who died in the Nord/Pas de Calais during WW1 and list them alphabetically irrespective of nation or rank

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The Ring of Remembrance names 576,606 dead from all nations

The road along the summit of the Chemin des Dames, close to the line of the Western Front and the scene of the disastrous Nivelle offensive of 1917

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The road along the summit of the Chemin des Dames, Aisne

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The Christmas Truce football match memorial at Messines

The sole remaining section, a triumphal arch, of the once grand Château de Soupir which lay close to the front line at the Chemin des Dames

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The sole remains of the Château de Soupir, Aisne valley

A wide range of shells, including those used to release poison gas, are displayed in the Passcendaele Museum, Zonnebeke

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A display of shells, including for gas, Passchendaele Museum

A reconstructed German trench at the Passchendaele Museum in Zonnebeke

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A reconstructed German trench, Passchendaele Museum

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Restored Schneider tank, Berry-au-Bac memorial near, Aisne

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Sleeping quarters within the ruins of the Fort de Vaux, Verdun

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Hospital area within the ruins of the Fort de Vaux, Verdun

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Armoured observation dome, Fort de Vaux, Verdun

An unexploded shell spotted lying in a field to the north-east of Verdun

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Unexploded shell in a field north-east of Verdun

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Twisted remains of a railway line, Bezonvaux, Verdun

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‘Le Départ des poilus, août 1914’, by Albert Herter, Gare de L’Est

Les Fantômes de Paul Landowski, near Oulchy-le-Château in the Aisne, represents all the sections of the French armed forces, and looks out over the 1918 battlefields

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Les Fantômes de Paul Landowski, Oulchy-le-Château, Aisne

The menin Gate memorial to the missing, Ypres, Belgium

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The Menin Gate, Ypres, where ‘The Last Post’ is played daily at 8 pm.

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Monument to Victory and the Children of Verdun

The Stevenson Trail: GR70

I walked the Stevenson Trail (GR70) over eight days in June 2017. It is named in honour of the journey made by Robert Louis Stevenson in 1878, and recorded in his book ‘Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes’. The route runs from Le Puy en Velay to Alès in the Gard, some 250 km, passing through beautiful and rugged mountain landscapes, and rich in history of the Huguenot rebellion of the early 18th Century.

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The bridge over the river Tarn at Pont de Montvert

Path with wild flowers and marker stone on Mont Lozere, a mountain in Cevennes

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The GR70 climbing Mont Lozère from the north

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The GR70 Stevenson Trail winding through the volcanic landscape of the Velay

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The ‘marker stone’ path ascending Mt Lozère from the north

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Wild flowers line the path and in summer the air is full of butterflies

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Basket making at a craft event in Pont-de-Montvert

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Robert Louis Stevenson with his donkey, Modestine.

A week on the shores of Lake Como

Images of a week spent exploring the area of Lake Como, the villas, the silk industry and wonderful cycling. Only 40 minutes by train from Milan, it is very easy to visit the cathedral and many other wonderful museums and sights in the ultimate city of fashion.

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Approaching Bellagio on a morning ferry

The Villa Melzi, Bellagio, former home of Ludovico Melzi d'Eril and aristocrat and benefactor to the region

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The Villa Melzi, Bellagio, former home of Ludovico Melzi d’Eril, an aristocrat and benefactor to the region

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Como silk from Azalea on display in Bellagio

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A silk dying tub on display in the Como Silk Museum

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One of the many displays of silk production machines in the Como Silk Museum; this machine was used to heat, soak and unwind the 1,200 metre long silk threads from each cocoon.

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The Villa Monastero, Varenna, on the shores of Lake Como

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The botanical gardens of the Villa Monastero in Varenna, looking north back towards the lakeside village.

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Milan’s remarkable ‘International Gothic’ style cathedral, built over six centuries from Lake Maggiore marble; walkways around the roof afford superb views of the spires, sculpture and surroundings.

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The 1877 Vittorio Emanuele II shopping arcade, now a temple to high fashion

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On the descent from Asso to Onno lying below on the SE arm of Lake Como; Bellagio is situated at the far end of this mountainous promontory.

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The monument to cycling at the summit of the Passo del Ghisallo, providing stunning views and an opportunity to consider the highs (victory) and lows (crashing) of cycling; the museum and chapel are close by.

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The extraordinary but solemn chapel of the Madonna di Ghisallo, patron Saint of Cycling located at the summit of the Passo del Ghisallo

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The ferries carry passengers and vehicles, are regular and inexpensive; the various routes link up towns around the lakeshore allowing the visitor many options for exploring charming streets, shops, villas, gardens and gastronomy

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One of the steep and colourful pedestrianised streets of Bellagio

Angkor Wat, Cambodia

I was fortunate to be able to spend a few days in Siem Reep, the town closest to the great temples of Angkor. It is famous, and popular, to be sure. I was struck by the huge extent of the ancient city, of which mainly only temples and large public structures remain. As with Petra, it left me pondering how such an advanced civililsation came to be abandoned.

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The Temple of Angkor Wat at Sunrise

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Statues lining the bridge outside the south gate of Angkor Thom, Cambodia

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Cycling the Silk Roads of Cheshire

East Cheshire was once a major centre for the manufacture of silk, and a number of thriving business are still produce high quality printed and woven silk and other textiles. In addition to the excellent Museum of Silk in Macclesfield, where a whole floor of original hand looms can be seen, there are many old mills, weavers’ cottages and other traces of this industrial heritage. My exploration of Cheshire’s silk history was by bike, with two fascinating but hilly loops, one heading up to Bollington and across to Rainow and Langley, the other starting at Congleton and heading into the peak district at Danebridge, then west to Gasworth. European influences, notably Italian and French technology, as well as fluctuations in trade during and after the Napoleonic Wars, had a marked impact on the fortunes of Cheshire’s silk industry.