Interesting WW1 site with reasonable wheelchair access
4
4
Date of visit: November 2024
I am a disabled person. I have experience of challenges around: dexterity or coordination and moving around.
Overall Rating
Good
Hill 60 was originally created when the railway lines were built. The spoil from the railway lines was piled up and it created a hill, 60m above sea level. During WW1, hills like this provided strategic vantage points and so they were fiercely fought over. Hill 60 had a series of tunnels built under it that were used to blow up parts of the hill. The bodies of the soldiers that were killed have not been moved, so this site now forms a memorial to those who died there. This particular site is also unusual because it has barely been touched since the war. Duckboards have been added to keep the ground from being damaged and these also provide some wheelchair access.
Disabled Access In and Around
Good
The duckboarded section is slightly hilly but quite manageable for the first section. There is then a section with steps but it doesn't go far. We just turned round and went back. If you then go along the road/pavement a bit, there are other sections to see. Eventually, you go over a bridge and if you turn left after the bridge, there are some nice easy hiking trails. The first section takes you to the Caterpillar Crater. This was one of the largest explosions and is now filled with water, so it looks like a little pond. Paths go round it and off in different directions. The surface is compressed gravel. I found my mountain trike coped well with the whole site.
Parking & Transport
Average
There is a small car park with sufficient parking for cars and our motorhome. No blue badge bays... but no bays really. It's not that organised.
Accessible Toilets
0There are no toilets of any kind. I used my own in the motorhome.
Staff
0There are no staff. It's just an outdoor site where you can explore at your own pace.
