The Maginot line gros ouvrage of Brehain is not far from Longwy near Luxembourg. The actual fighting blocks are visible from the main road N52. I parked up by a roundabout just after the no entry sign. Obviously the no entry was frequently ignored judging by the fly tipping that had taken place. I'm 66 now and walking too far does my knee in so I got the folding bike out of the van and cycled down a dirt road into the nearby forest. I'd researched this place for weeks and figured the entrances EH and EM were somewhere in the forest. Educated guesswork and a lot of cycling over pretty rough and often muddy ground got me to the seriously overgrown and part buried EH (infantry entrance). Someone had kindly cut a small hole in the steel door so I locked up the bike, threw it in a patch of nettles and just managed to bend myself enough to gain entry. Not far in and it was pitch dark but these new LED head torches are great. About 30 meters in and the ruined lift shaft appeared. Took a photo of myself stood at the top of the 10 storey drop. Perfectly safe, someone had draped a length of plastic red and white chain across it. 180 stairs later I was at the bottom among a jumble of pipework that scrap dealers had brought down from the roof. How they get it out is beyond me! Climbed over some large ventilation ducts and finally got into the generator rooms. There's still some health and safety notices on the walls! I headed down a tunnel for about 200mtrs and having no idea how much further it went decided to turn back. 180 stairs later I was back in the forest. Cycling a bit further I found the EM(entry munitions). Once again the top half of the large steel doors had been forced open so in I went again. Much better condition in here and the lift cage etc was complete. Sadly it wasn't working and I wasn't sure if the knees could cope with another 180 stairs and I knew that the main gallery below was 1.2kms long. Maybe another time! Got lost cycling out of forest (always return the route you came, don't be clever and think there's a short cut). Eventually got back to van. Sat nav said I'd cycled 7 miles, I reckon a bit over 2. Drove to Verdun and had pizza and lots to drink. A good day out. Next day I had Fort Leopold near Metz to explore. Hope you enjoy photos.
