chrispaulodale
Active member
The first thing you should all know about the Fort de la Pompelle is that the opening times advertised on the Riems tourist board site are wrong. That's right, I visited a closed museum!
After waiting years for this opportunity and then spending 60 Euros on the train from Paris and 25 Euros on a taxi from Reims (the fort is in the middle of nowhere) I found it was closed... and the taxi had gone and left me there. ](*,)
There's nothing near there, no bus stop, no shops, no cafe, no houses... nothing.
Before starting the very long and unattractive walk back to Reims I took a stroll around the fort. There's a couple of artillery pieces outside and a memorial to the Russian legion on the Western front.
But round the back of the fort (on the East side) on some waste ground in thick bush I came across something far more interesting... holes in the ground about two metres deep, separated by a few meters each. Lots of them. They'd been dug. Then I found a long hole that lead to a larger hole with rotting timbers and old corrugated steel sheets across it. There was bits of rusty barbed wire around. Then there was a long ridge of chalky earth running roughly North-South. I was in the ditch on the West side. When I climbed the mound I had a clear view for miles to the East across a field speckled with poppy flowers.
I've never seen this stuff for real before. It was a proper First World War trench system!
It's not looked after or preserved. Experts like Pierre probably know its there and I guess the museum knows too but it didn't look like anyone else knew or had been there recently.
Despite not having got to see the museum's reputedly amazing collection of 560 Hauben (including half a dozen East Asians and the only existing Cameroon Suedwester I've heard of- that alone made me consider breaking in to the closed museum for a second- if I'd had a P08 and a couple of stick grenades I reckon I'd have stood a good chance!), but I really wasn't disappointed with the trip. A real untouched Western Front trench line was in some ways far more than I'd hoped to have found...
I had a good wander around, being careful not to go anywhere that looked completely untouched- I didn't fancy being the first person to discover a new landmine... then went back to the fort. There were a few other disappointed tourists milling around and very kindly one of them offered me a lift back to Reims... he also recommended I check out Reims Cathedral where the French kings were crowned and dropped me off there. What a kind soul!
And he was right, the Gothic Cathedral is very impressive too. Then I found a bar called the 3 Brasseurs that serves their own brewed beers, instead of choosing one to try their menu suggested trying them all at once. So I did...
All in all a great day out!
So for future visits bear in mind the real opening times are now-
Monday Closed (the Reims tourist website says Monday open, Tuesday closed)
Other Days 10.00-17.00 (1st Nov-31st Mar)
10.00-18.00 (1st Apr-31st Oct)
Even so I'll probably telephone them before setting off next time...
Cheers
Chris
PS Photos to follow...
After waiting years for this opportunity and then spending 60 Euros on the train from Paris and 25 Euros on a taxi from Reims (the fort is in the middle of nowhere) I found it was closed... and the taxi had gone and left me there. ](*,)
There's nothing near there, no bus stop, no shops, no cafe, no houses... nothing.
Before starting the very long and unattractive walk back to Reims I took a stroll around the fort. There's a couple of artillery pieces outside and a memorial to the Russian legion on the Western front.
But round the back of the fort (on the East side) on some waste ground in thick bush I came across something far more interesting... holes in the ground about two metres deep, separated by a few meters each. Lots of them. They'd been dug. Then I found a long hole that lead to a larger hole with rotting timbers and old corrugated steel sheets across it. There was bits of rusty barbed wire around. Then there was a long ridge of chalky earth running roughly North-South. I was in the ditch on the West side. When I climbed the mound I had a clear view for miles to the East across a field speckled with poppy flowers.
I've never seen this stuff for real before. It was a proper First World War trench system!
It's not looked after or preserved. Experts like Pierre probably know its there and I guess the museum knows too but it didn't look like anyone else knew or had been there recently.
Despite not having got to see the museum's reputedly amazing collection of 560 Hauben (including half a dozen East Asians and the only existing Cameroon Suedwester I've heard of- that alone made me consider breaking in to the closed museum for a second- if I'd had a P08 and a couple of stick grenades I reckon I'd have stood a good chance!), but I really wasn't disappointed with the trip. A real untouched Western Front trench line was in some ways far more than I'd hoped to have found...
I had a good wander around, being careful not to go anywhere that looked completely untouched- I didn't fancy being the first person to discover a new landmine... then went back to the fort. There were a few other disappointed tourists milling around and very kindly one of them offered me a lift back to Reims... he also recommended I check out Reims Cathedral where the French kings were crowned and dropped me off there. What a kind soul!
And he was right, the Gothic Cathedral is very impressive too. Then I found a bar called the 3 Brasseurs that serves their own brewed beers, instead of choosing one to try their menu suggested trying them all at once. So I did...
All in all a great day out!
So for future visits bear in mind the real opening times are now-
Monday Closed (the Reims tourist website says Monday open, Tuesday closed)
Other Days 10.00-17.00 (1st Nov-31st Mar)
10.00-18.00 (1st Apr-31st Oct)
Even so I'll probably telephone them before setting off next time...
Cheers
Chris
PS Photos to follow...