My wife’s grandfather’s territorial battalion (6 th Durham Light Infantry) reached the trenches at Potijze road a couple of miles east of Ypres on 25th April 1915, and was immediately involved in bitter defensive fighting as the Germans tried to follow up their devastating first gas attack two days earlier. This family anniversary gave me the idea of a centenary biking trip to the 1915 front line and neighbouring battlefields. We based ourselves at the pleasant village of Kemmel, a few miles south of Ypres and in day outings, explored the 14-18 fighting lines including canals, rivers and old railway lines