Ypres, the Somme, Vimy Ridge. Names that have entered the English language and now represent something more than simply a place name.

Nearly ninety years on, the scars of these, the greatest land battles fought on European soil, are still evident. Not only are there still trenches, gun emplacements and bunkers lying in fields and wood of Northern France and Belgium, but there are lakes left by the giant mines, half sunken tunnels, and huge tracks of land unsafe because of unexploded ordinance.

Hardly a day goes by without a farmer turning up some sad reminder, including unknown soldiers, of the great sacrifices made in Flanders fields where ‘the poppies blow between the crosses row on row’.

This tour explores the battlefields by foot and vehicle. We visit the best of the museums, the most poignant of the memorials. Actions fought by the gallant and heroic lads of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, India and Britain the mother country herself are remembered and discussed.

Your tour is led by one of our specialist Battlefield guides.

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This tour is available at any time of the year for private groups. It can be amended to include battlesite of particular relevance to nationalities of regiments.

TENTATIVE ITINERARY

NIGHTSTOP

Day One

Arrival London where you’ll be met by your Back-Roads Touring Co. Ltd guide-companion. Today is generally a day for recovering from your travels but this afternoon we’ll be visiting the Army Museum. In this excellent museum we’ll be focusing on the Great War section to obtain an overview of World War One.

Day Two

We have an early start and a drive to the Channel Port for our crossing to France.

Loos

Our destination, and base for three nights, is near Arras. En route, we’ll visit the site of the Battle of Loos. This is a particularly good place to commence our tour as much of the ground remains little changed and it allows us to follow the battle in some detail. Loos has the particular ‘distinction’ of marking the first use of gas.

A feature of this tour will be to visit particular graves of those decorated for conspicuous gallantry (mainly Victoria Cross winners) at various battle sites, and to hear a full account of the action that won them their honour.

Day Three

The Somme

For sheer carnage there has never been a battle to compete with the four and a half months that encompass The Somme. Sixty thousand casualties on the first day, Four hundred thousand by the end. The flower of the Empires manhood perished here.

Our tour today begins in Albert, where there was fierce fight from the earliest months of the war. We’ll next see the huge mine crater at la Booisselle, then the South African museum and memorial at Delville Wood. Then on to Mametz Wood, High Wood and the tank memorial at Pozieres. This will be followed by the Ulster Tower, and nearby preserved battlefield and, finally, the Newfoundland memorial at Beaumont Hamel .

Day Four

Cambrai, The Kaiser’s Offensive & Breaking the Hindenburg Line

Cambrai was the first massed tank attack in history. Approaching 400 attempted to smash a hole in German defences. After two weeks of fighting, and 80,00 dead on both sides, the allies were back where they started.

In March 1918 nearly one million men attacked along a front of almost 50 miles. It can become known as the Kaiser’s Offensive. It was the first tank v tank battle in history. Weather (and farming crops) permitting, we’ll find some original German trenches in the woods near Fayet. We’ll also be visiting the Australian National memorial, Fouilloy Cemetery and the Villers Bretoneux School Museum.

Finally, we’ll view events around the breaking of the Hindenburg Line in September 1918. The Tennessee Memorial, 46^th Division Memorial, the Bellicort American Memorial and tunnels, and the American National Cemetery at Bony will be visited.

Day Five

Vimy Ridge and Neuve Chapelle

Leaving the Arras area, this morning we dedicate to the battle at Vimy Ridge. Here there is an excellent memorial run by the Canadian Government with preserved trenches and tunnels to visit. We’ll also visit the French National Memorial at Notre Dame de Lorette and the striking memorial at La Targette. Our drive takes us through the battlefields of Neuve Chapelle, then into Belgium and our second main visit of the day, Cloth Hall at Ypres for the Ypres Salient Museum, ‘In Flanders Field’. This is undoubtedly the finest of all Great War local museums with exhibitions including recreated trenches and an excellent photographic collection. Images from this last will certainly help understand the full horror experienced by the soldiers at the battlefields we’ll be visiting over the next days. We’ll also visit St George’s Memorial Church.

Day Six

Ypres, 1^st, 2^nd & 3^rd Battles

Names of places featuring in the Ypres Salient offensives are branded into our collective memory. Messines Ridge, Polygonn Wood, the Menen Road, Hellfire Corner, Hooge and Kemmel Craters, Hill 60, Sanctury Wood and, the one word that seems to stand for it all, Passendale.

We’ll be visiting each of the important sites of all three offensives during our day. The Tyne Cot cemetery, the preserved trenches at Sanctury Wood, Lt Col. John McCrae memorial, Langemarck German cemetery and the Brooding Soldier memorial are amongst the sites.

The day’s sombre climax, and perhaps in many way the whole tour’s, will be the Last Post Ceremony that we’ll witness tonight at the Menem Gate Memorial.

Day Seven

Leaving Ypres, we visit Popperinge, a town just behind the front lines that afforded soldiers the opportunity of some much needed R&R. We'll visit Talbot House, a Christian centre that stood like an island sanctuary of peace, and where we can still visit the tiny attic chapel that gave comfort to so many. The same town also contains the cells and execution post where deserters where imprisoned before being 'shot at dawn'. This is perhaps the saddest sight of all knowing as we do now that many supposed cowards were simply shell-shcoked.

Then via the hiill-top town of Cassel, (an army HQ site) and St Omer to Calais and our Channel crossing.

We return to London via Kent. En route, we’ll look at a few village war memorials and particularly at some church regimental memorials. These, found in every village, town and even factory across the UK, demonstrate the loss of a generation almost more than anything else. If time, we’ll also visit the grave of Sir John French.

Day Eight

London’s Imperial War Museum is on today’s schedule. We’ve also included some rather special and poignant Great War reminders including Stanley Spencer's remarkable paintings at a mediaeval church and a VC winners grave and memorial in a quiet Thames-side churchyard. This will involve our driving out of London into the Buckinghamshire countryside and it’s here that we’ll enjoy our farewell dinner in an historic country pub.

Day Nine

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