Battlefields of Flanders & The Somme

Day 1

To Dover for the ferry to Calais then we make the short journey to Arras and the Mercure Arras Centre Gare in time for dinner.

Day 2

Our first day of touring with our local guide travels across to Flanders and the battlefields of the Ypres Salient and Passchendaele. We visit the Passchendaele Memorial Museum itself and the vast Tyne Cot Cemetery, the largest Allied cemetery in Belgium. We then head for Ypres, ravaged by the Great War, yet beautifully restored. After free time around the ornate Cloth Hall, we enjoy dinner in one of the local restaurants before taking in the extremely poignant Last Post Ceremony at the town's Menin Gate, performing every evening by the local fire brigade to honour those who fought for their freedom.

Day 3

Our excursion today begins in the town of Péronne, where we visit the Museum of the Great War in the town's old fortress. This fascinating museum depicts the life of soldiers in front line trenches, as well as the impact the war had on civilians living behind the lines. We then head to nearby Froissy, where the first Sunday in October is usually the end-of-season Steam Festival of the P'tit Train de la Haute Somme, the last remaining piece of railway network built by the French and British forces to transport to and from the front line. *

Day 4

With our local expert guide we embark on a day exploring the battlefields of the Somme. We travel to Beaumont Hamel to the poignant Newfoundland Memorial, remembering the actions of the 1st Newfoundland Regiment on 1st July 1916, the first day of the battle. We also visit Thiepval and the Memorial to the Missing, commemorating 72,000 missing soldiers. We will also take in the 300ft wide Lochnagar Crater, formed by an explosion on the first day of the tragic battle.

Day 5

Leaving our hotel we make our way back to Calais and our ferry to Dover and home.