Originally a makeshift graveyard for 300 soldiers, Tyne Cot was enlarged after the war by adding graves from nearby battlefields, forming today’s massed rows of headstones. Especially poignant are the unidentified graves engraved with “Known unto God,” a Memorial Wall listing 33,500 missing, and a monumental Cross of Sacrifice. A visitor center explains the military history of the site and those who fought here.
While many visitors explore independently, Tyne Cot features on all WWI battlefields tours from Ypres, Bruges, Brussels, Lille, and Arras, including many focused on Australian, New Zealand, and Canadian forces. On most tours, visitors gain background from a guide before viewing the graves by themselves and continuing to other memorials and battlefields. Those wanting more detailed explorations can choose private tours offering individual attention from a personal guide, or multi-day WWI tours from places such as Paris.
Tyne Cot stands 5.5 miles (9 kilometers) northeast of Ypres in Belgium. Many people choose to visit as part of a tour for the benefit of a guide's insight and easy round-trip transport. If you’re traveling independently by car, however, follow the N37 and N332 before turning left onto the N303 and left again onto the Tynecotstraat. Alternatively, catch the #94 bus from Ypres train station and alight at Passendale Tyne Cot, around 10 minutes’ walk from the site.
Tyne Cot is open year-round from morning until early evening, daily. It can be busy in the periods around commemorative events, and with tour and school groups, especially during June, July, and August. For the quietest times, arrive early morning on weekdays. The visitor center is open from mid-morning until early evening from February to December.
Don’t miss the German pillboxes that still stand among the graves or the Memorial Wall lining the cemetery’s north-eastern ridge. This 492-foot (150-meter) wall bears the names of 34,887 soldiers who died between 1917 and 1918 and who have no known grave—a humbling reminder of the carnage of war.
