Plugstreet - tunnels, turnips and towers - the story of a wood

Footsteps of the fallen

Just to the south of Messines, lies a patch of woodland that packs in more military history in a small space than perhaps any other location on the Western Front. Ploegsteert Wood (or Plugstreet as it was known to the British) saw action in every year of the War.
It saw the creation of the most iconic cartoon characters to come out of the War and the death of one of the greatest rugby players to ever pull on the white jersey of England. The turnip field in front of the wood was the scene of an episode of the Christmas Truce in 1914, and the wood itself contains one of the saddest cemeteries anywhere on the Western Front.
Our walk begins at the Island of Ireland peace park, and takes in La Petite Douve farm, the Ploegsteert Memorial to the Missing, and the Berkshire Cemetery Extension. We visit Antons Farm and conclude our journey by walking through the wood itself.