A mile and a half south east of Ypres the village of Zillebeke, and the area surrounding it, saw heavy fighting throughout much of the Great War. Although the village itself remained in British hands for most of the war, the front lines were never far away to the east, and as a consequence the commune of Zillebeke contains more than a dozen CWGC cemeteries. On this tour we shall begin by visiting the eight cemeteries in the commune to the south and west of the village, in the triangular area bounded by the Ieper-Comines railway to the north and east, and the Ieper–Wijtschate–Mesen (Messines) road to the west. Our tour begins at Bedford House Cemetery, one of the largest Commonwealth cemeteries in Flanders, situated just a few minutes drive south from the Lille Gate at Ieper.
