On my cycle through Northern France and Belgium I cycled past many memorials to soldiers who had fought in the First World War.

Early one morning I spent time wandering through the Tyne Cot Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery and Memorial to the Missing. It has over 12,000 graves and is the largest cemetery for Commonwealth forces in the world. The cemetery and its surrounding memorial are located outside Passchendale.

Later that day I cycled to Ypres on my way to Zeebrugge and the ferry home. I set up camp then walked into the town to see the Ypres Memorial. It was built between 1923 and 1927 and is often referred to simply as the Menin Gate. Inscribed on it are the names of more than 54,000 soldiers who died in Belgium and have no known grave.

During the First World war of October 1914 and September 1918 hundreds of thousands of soldiers of the British Empire marched through the town of Ypres on their way to the battlefields. The Menin Gate memorial now serves as a place to remember those who died and who have no known grave. It is one of the most well-known war memorials in the world, with soldiers names from regiments as far afield as Australia and Canada inscribed on it.

Since 1928, the Last Post has been sounded every evening at 8pm under the huge memorial. This tradition was only stopped during the Second World War.

I arrived on Anzac day 2019. At the evening ceremony, Maori warriors sang and danced and many wreaths were laid. It was an amazing and humbling experience, with over 1000 people that evening.

The next morning I cycled to Bruges, spent a few hours cycling around the city, then to Zeebrugge for the evening ferry back to Hull, England. I was home, now I need to start planning my next adventure.