The area around Bastogne is dotted with relics of the Battle of the Bulge, including cemeteries, memorials and abandoned tanks. But the Peace Wood planted in 2005 to mark the sixtieth anniversary of the battle is less well known.
It is reached down a deserted road near the village of Foy. The trees were planted in the shape of Unesco’s symbol of a mother and child. They have small stones next to them with the names of former soldiers who have visited the site.
But perhaps the most touching and unexpected memorial in this remote Belgian wood is a small group of 28 trees planted by local children in memory of the children and teachers killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre.
Derek Blyth’s hidden secret of the day: Derek Blyth is the author of the bestselling “The 500 Hidden Secrets of Belgium”. He picks out one of his favourite hidden secrets for The Brussels Times every day.
