With a century having passed since the outbreak of the First World War, 2014 has sparked renewed interest in the conflict.

Nowhere is this more evident than in Flanders, the region of Belgium through which ran the Western Front from 1914 to 1918. 

During those four years the line on which the Allied and German armies fought barely moved at all in the midst of unimaginable slaughter.

Now, the region of picturesque, rolling farmland is a major tourist draw for visitors newly mindful of the Great War.

The In Flanders Fields Museum is situated in Ypres in the imposing Gothic surroundings of Cloth Hall, which had to be completely rebuilt after it was flattened during the war.

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In Flanders Field Museum - picture by Visit Flanders/milo-profi.com

The centre normally receives around 215,000 visitors a year but is on course to double that in 2014.

It does a good job of humanising the conflict by telling the stories of ordinary soldiers and civilians.

A poppy bracelet handed to each visitor can be swiped at intervals throughout the exhibition, unlocking audio and visual tales of four different participants in the war.

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In Flanders Field Museum

A few cobbled streets away is the famous Menin Gate, on which are inscribed the names of 54,896 soldiers reported missing.

Since 1928 the memorial has hosted a nightly rendition of the Last Post at 8pm.

Twenty years ago these ceremonies attracted as few as 40 people, but now football-sized crowds gather at the gate, complete with flashing smart phones and digital cameras.

Colonel Anthony Kimber is president of the Rye branch of the Royal British Legion, and served in the British Army for 55 years.

On September 4, he lead the wreath-laying ceremony on behalf of a visiting RBL group of around 50.

He told me: “It’s a great thing to be involved in. I normally do it once a year but I’ve done it twice this year.

“It’s not only a great honour to take part in, but it’s also very moving.”

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Colonel Anthony Kimber

The Memorial Museum Passchendaele marks the site of one of the bloodiest battles of the whole of the First World War, fought in 1917. 

It is situated in a former chateau ringed with a network of reconstructed trenches and dugouts which give some idea of the living conditions endured by the Tommies.

A short drive away is Tyne Cot, the largest Commonwealth cemetery in the world, with nearly 11,954 immaculate white tombstones marking this strategically important rise. 

The sweeping stone crescent of the Memorial to the Missing features the names of more than 34,959 soldiers who died without a proper burial.

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Tyne Cot

The town of Poperinge, known affectionately as ‘Pops’ by British troops, was a popular destination for some R&R around 12km behind the front line.

Talbot House offered 5,000 visitors a week some measure of solace from the fierce fighting.

It was run by two chaplains, one of whom, Phillip ‘Tubby’ Clayton, coined the phrase “You don’t have to be crazy to work here but it helps”.

Others of his maxims are dotted throughout what is now a museum, where once privates and officers alike could take a room in what was proudly called The Everyman’s Club.

Amazingly visitors can still stay there today, despite the original hostel closing in 1919.

A night spent there is a great way to immerse yourself in First World War history. 

At Messines on June 7, 1917, 80,000 Allied soldiers swarmed entrenched German positions at the start of a vicious, week-long battle.

Looking down from the site of a memorial at a point in the line attacked by New Zealand troops, all you see today is a gentle slope down to yet another picturesque farm.

The nearby Peace Village is a large, well-appointed modern hostel linked to the creation of the Irish Peace Park.

The park was opened in 1998 around the same time as the signing of the Good Friday Agreement.

It celebrates the fact two Irish battalions, one Catholic, one Protestant, fought side by side during the battle of Messines.

It features a 34m Irish Round Tower, partially built with stone from a former British Army barracks in Tipperary.

What better place to lay conflict to rest then a Flanders field?

Tim travelled by P&O ferries from Dover to Calais and back, including lunch in The Brasserie and tea in Club Class.

See poferries.com and visitflanders.co.uk