WWI Tour:

Battlefields of the Somme, Arras, Ypres, and Dunkirk Evacuation

No of nights:	4 nights
Key sites:	Lochnager Crater Thiepval Memorial Ulster Tower/Thiepval Woods Newfoundland Memorial Canadian National Vimy Memorial Int. Memorial (Notre Dame de Lorette) Essex Farm German Cemetery at Langemark Tyne Cot Cemetery Menin Gate (Last Post Ceremony) Beaches at Bray Dunes (Dunkirk)
Transport:	Car, minibus/coach & ferry
Dates:	2024 26–30 March 5–9 May 27 June – 1 July 16–20 July 2–6 September
Cost:	£925pp (Single supplement +£175)

This 5-day tour will take in the major sites of the battlefields in France and Belgium and give us chance to explore the history of the First World War.

With a maximum of 15 guests, you will have a truly personalised trip, getting the most from your own personal guide and meeting others that are passionate about First World War remembrance.

Your Guide

Hello, I am Andy Oliver, your guide.

I am now retired from 22 years in the military service which took me around the world and the battlefields of the Western Front and Far East.

I have studied, toured, and guided on the Western Front battlefields for the last few years since retiring from the Armed Forces. I have built up an extensive knowledge of the Great War and I look forward to sharing it with you.

Tour Highlights

Thiepval Memorial

Newfoundland Memorial at Beaumont-Hamel

Canadian National Vimy Memorial

German Cemetery at Langemark

Tyne Cot Cemetery

Tour Itinerary

Day 1 - Making our way down to the Somme

Pick up from a convenient location for you – we make our way to the Somme region in France
Make our way to the South African National Memorial to their fallen on the Somme battlefields on World War One or visit 38th Welsh Division Memorial
Check into the No.56 B&B for a night stay
After checking in and drinks take a slow walk down to visit Lochnagar Crater while the sun is setting on the Somme

Day 2 - Battle of the Somme

After a good breakfast we make our way to visit the Somme 1916 Museum in the town of Albert which is at the heart of the Somme Battlefield
Visit the Lochnagar Crater for those who didn’t walk down the night before
We then visit Le Tommy’s Café for lunch
Take in the Thiepval Memorial and discuss the losses inflicted to the British Army during the Battle of the Somme
Head to the Ulster Tower and take in the Thiepval Woods tour and walk up to Mill Road cemetery
Walk through original trenches at the Newfoundland Memorial at Beaumont-Hamel
We will be visiting locations like the Sunken Lane which was the staging point for the Lancashire Fusiliers on 1st July 1916
We would finish our time on the Somme by visiting Serre Road No2 cemetery, which is one of the biggest on the Somme
Check into the Mercure Arras Centre hotel in Arras for a two-night stay

Day 3 - Arras and Vimy Ridge

After a good breakfast we make our way to Oppy where the Hull Pals Battalions fought in 1917
Take in the Canadian National Vimy Memorial and take in a guided tour around the preserved trenches at Vimy
After leaving Vimy we make our way over to the French cemetery of Notre Dame de Lorette and visit the International Memorial
We return to Arras and take in the Arras Memorial
We finish of the day visiting the Wellington Quarry tunnel Museum
We return the Mercure Arras Centre hotel in Arras for our second night stay

Day 4 - Ypres and Passchendaele

After a good breakfast we make our way to the Le Paradis Massacre Memorial on our way back into Belgium
We visit Essex Farm Dressing Station and cemetery, close to where ‘In Flanders Fields’ was written and see the grave of Valentine Strudwick, just 15 years old when he was killed
We visit the Yorkshire Trench which highlights the preserved trench system around the town of Ypres
Visit the German cemetery at Langemark and see the difference in styles of remembrance
Take in the Canadian Memorial at Vancouver Corner and discuss the use of gas in the First World War
Head to Tyne Cot, the largest Commonwealth War Graves site in the world
Walk through original trenches at Hill 62 (Sanctuary Wood)
Check into the Novotel hotel in Ypres for a one-night stay
Attend the moving Last Post ceremony at the Menin Gate
We finish off the evening with a meal at Captain Cook restaurant (meal included in overall cost)

Day 5 - Dunkirk and Home

After a good breakfast we make our way back towards home, but before we leave the region, we visit the beaches at Bray Dunes for an understanding of the evacuation of Dunkirk
We finish off visiting the Operation Dynamo Museum in Dunkirk
Ferry home and drop off at a convenient location for you