Albert Travel Guide

The aeroplane hanging up in the station is a pre-war Potez, I think a Potez 36 - the revolutionary design with the wings that can be folded back. It's there as a memorial to Henry Potez, the great aeroplane builder, who was born nearby (his factory was in Méaulte - it's now part of Airbus) and was at one time mayor of Albert.

The station façade is wonderful - like an ornamental orangery with a belfry. I wish I'd been able to find out more about it. I assume the original station was flattened in the first world war, and this dates from the twenties.

I thought I'd put in a note about timing and prices.

I set off in a taxi (actually it was a minibus) straight after breakfast, and arrived back in time for a latish lunch. In that time I visited Pozieres, Mametz Wood, Beaumont Hamel, the Ulster Tower, Thiepval, and the Lochnagar Crater, stopping for a fair pause at Pozieres, Beaumont Hamel and Thiepval. If you want to look in more detail you could take more time, of course, but for me that was quite enough. It cost €70, which I thought reasonable. That was in January 2010.

It was arranged through the hotel, but I got the impression that prices for that sort of thing are pretty well fixed.

Albert is proud of its three bell towers, this is the third to go with those at the cathedral and town hall.

It sits above the station. Incidentally inside the entrance hall there is a huge aeroplane hanging from the ceiling.

The Albert town hall commands the market square. Inside it is decorated in art deco style and is a nice example of a municipal building with class.

We were looking at leaflets in the reception area when a gentleman came up to us and asked if we were enjoying the town and if we needed any help. He was very proud of the town's museum (and rightly so). This charming gent was the town mayor.

This seemed to be indicative of the people of this nice little town who all seemed helpful.

The cathedral is really quite superb, red brick with much ddecoration.

The golden virgin at the top of the basilica was targeted during the first world war but although the basilica was hit and the statue toppled over below the horizontal it was held by the hand of god and refused to fall.

Today it stands proudly at the top of the tower and shines out over the surrounding countryside.

This is an amazing site, set beneath the streets of the town in "hidden" tunnels there are depictions of life in the trenches.

You really get a feel for what it must have been like.