What you can still see of the First World War from the balloon
No region in Belgium carries the history of the First World War as visibly as the Westhoek. A hundred years on from the Armistice, its traces are still woven into the landscape: ponds that were once shell craters, cemeteries that punctuate the fields, and in places even the faint, still-recognisable pattern of old trench lines. From a balloon, silent and without the drone of an engine, you see that landscape in a way you never can from the ground.
Near Diksmuide, the IJzertoren rises like a beacon above the flat polder landscape, with the Trench of Death (Dodengang) along the IJzer river close by. Around Ypres you'll see the rebuilt town centre with the Menin Gate, and further on, around Zonnebeke and Passchendaele, the gently rolling ridge with its many war cemeteries.
A quiet moment of remembrance
More and more visitors from the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Ireland come to the Westhoek to remember an ancestor who served here. A balloon ride doesn't replace a visit to a specific cemetery or memorial, but for many passengers it is a valuable complement: a quiet, sweeping moment that helps you grasp the scale of the front line, away from the crowds, with only the occasional sound of the burner.
We regularly launch from areas right in the heart of this heritage landscape, such as Ypres, Diksmuide, Zonnebeke and Poperinge. Our route and altitude always depend on the wind on the day, though, so we can never guarantee flying over a particular spot. Want the full story, with more detail on each launch site? Read our in-depth page on the Westhoek and the Great War, seen from above. Looking for more detail? Read about our WW1 battlefield balloon flight, trenches, craters and bunkers from the air and war cemeteries from a balloon.
Want more on the war seen from the air? Also read how balloons and Zeppelins were used over the front in 1914-1918.
