Cramped, soaking wet and on edge each moment of every day as shells and bullets rained down in all directions, the agony of the trenches is almost beyond comprehension.

It becomes a little more imaginable on my first day visiting Champagne-Ardenne, where I walk through the trenches at the Hand of Massiges. The location is breathtaking and on a clear day you can peer across 30km of seemingly unspoilt rural land.

Look a little closer and you are hit with the barbed wire and cracked, uneven chalk walls dug hurriedly into the ground which played host to hundreds of young men. They would wade through the dirty water, which would inevitably accumulate and drench their feet. The enemy lines were merely 100 metres in the other direction, with the two sides tearing each other to pieces with machine guns and bombs. The sound deafening day and night.

Almost a century has passed since then, but such was the scale of this horror, bodies are still being found now as the locals re-trace the trenches. Six were found in April. One was identified.

Albert Dadure, from Cherbourg, arrived in the trench on February 4, 1915. He wrote home on the 5th. It snowed on the 6th. He was killed on the 7th.

Albert was 21.

A picture of his anxious face, his uniform and moustache vaguely disguising the eyes of a frightened boy, adorns a cross in the hole he was found in. Soil from his hometown was sent to the site and sprinkled across his understated tribute.

It is grim. But there are poignant stories each way you look and anybody can walk up and explore.

I have been guilty of thinking only of the British dead and the Battle of the Somme when reminiscing about the bloodshed on the Western front, but as our mini-bus rattles through the country roads, we pass monuments and graves for the Italian, German and US veterans killed here too.

We stop at Saint Hilaire where a Russian cemetery and chapel proudly stand. The architecture is immediately striking. The domed roof of the chapel transports me to the centre of St Petersburg or Moscow and I am lost in a distant world. The Soviet paintings inside decorated with deep reds and intricately detailed carvings are still visited by Russian pilgrims every year.

Beautifully maintained, 489 white stone graves fill the yard, noticeably with no age or rank etched into the simple cross design. Beneath the name of each fallen Russian soldier, appear the words ‘mort pour la France’ – died for France. Thirty minutes down the road the Navarin war memorial, le champ de bataille de Champagne, is my final destination of the day. This pyramid ossuary, with a statue displaying three soldiers at its peak, towers over the countryside – five hectares of which have been preserved just as they were after the war. In this tomb alone lie the remains of 10,000 men.

It was a year after the war finished before it was possible to start collecting the bodies, most of which could not be identified. French and German lie side-by-side and the plaques inside the entrance pay tribute to individuals never found. Again the design is testament to the French commitment to ensure their monuments in homage are suitably grand and flamboyant.

The next morning things are considerably different as I visit a German reserve trench hidden in the blossoming forest of the Moreau Valley.

It is possible to visit this hidden gem on a horse and carriage, but today we are on foot. Perfectly preserved cabins with an electricity supply, hot water, showers and stylish cutlery highlight the difference in living standards between the nations’ military.

The place is utterly fascinating, set across three levels there are underground tunnels to explore, a cinema, a disused train track, water well and acres of woods.

The final full day of my trip I am based in Reims, itself rebuilt after being almost completely demolished during the war, and travel the 40 minutes to Dormans to take in the most spectacular tribute I have seen in the region yet – Place du Chateau, a memorial to those who died close by at the Battle of the Marne.

The architecture of the crypt is deliberately heavy and sombre, made from stone so fine it never needs cleaning. Inscriptions from the families of dead soldiers are written in red. Symbolism is everywhere.

It is only when I climb the 100 steps to the top of the chateau that the grandeur of what the French have done to commemorate the allied dead hits me. Staring out across Dormans, there is nothing but peaceful looking fields and vineyards. This memorial, sitting in the middle of it all, serves as a dazzling reminder of the terror which once took place here. For all the lavish tributes, however, it is the simple ones which have the fiercest impact. Be it the scrawlings on the chalk walls of the Tattinger Champagne cellars of scared locals who sought shelter during the bombardment, or the grave of an unknown soldier.

The most powerful of all though comes during my final destination in Marfaux at the British cemetery. The headstones are immaculate and decorated with fresh flowers. This little piece of Britain in the midst of the vast French countryside reminding me of how close to home we are. It also gives me the opportunity to write my own personal reflections in the book of remembrance.

In a location famed for making the finest celebratory drink, never have I experienced anywhere else quite so adept at toasting those we mourn.

Getaway

For more information on the region, visit champagne-ardenne-tourism.co.uk where you can find downloadable, maps, brochures and information on WW1 circuits and other tourist trails.
For more information on Reims, visit www.reims-tourism.com

With one connection in Paris, passengers can arrive in Reims in around three and a half hours. Eurostar offers return fares to Paris from just £59.

Fares from Paris to Reims can be purchased from £16 per person via uk.voyages-sncf.com