Ahead of Remembrance Sunday, we’ve picked 10 of the most moving tours for 2016, the centenary year of the single most harrowing battle of the First World War – the Battle of the Somme
This weekend we are reminded of the courage and dedication of our military personnel over the decades. Next year, the single most harrowing battle of the First World War – the Battle of the Somme – will be the focus as we mark its centenary and commemorate the one million British, Canadian, French and German soldiers who fell during the 141 days of the conflict.
As the British divisions advanced towards the German lines on the first day of fighting on July 1 1916, the slaughter began, resulting in more than 57,000 British casualties. Reading books and watching programmes provides background, but nothing sheds more light on this bloodiest of battles than visiting the sites.
It’s a unique opportunity to mark the occasion by crossing the Channel to visit the battlefields of northern France, and a number of guides and battlefield tour specialists are already offering special itineraries to commemorate the lives lost in this battle.
Below we have hand-picked a selection of the best battlefield tours in 2016. In addition to the Battle of the Somme, we have included tours that incorporate major battlefields of the First World War, such as Loos, Ypres and Amiens, as well as a special tour commemorating the centenary of Verdun (1916). For those who would like to visit the battlefields of both the First and Second World Wars, there is an option that takes in the key sites of both conflicts. Each tour is led by a knowledgeable specialist who will help give context to the battlefields, cemeteries and memorials that pay tribute to the unsung heroes of the Great War and the 1939-45 conflict.
1. Roads of Remembrance
This eight-day tour starts in Folkestone and follows in the footsteps of First World War soldiers as they made the journey to the Western Front. The itinerary, offered by Saga, continues in Arras before moving on to the Somme, Amiens and Ypres, with a final excursion to Bruges to enjoy its medieval architecture, market squares and canal-side cafés. Also included are guided tours of the Vimy Ridge trenches and the Wellington Quarry as well as a personal genealogy service.
Departures between April and October 2016, from £699 including coach travel from Folkestone, accommodation and half board. Bookings: 0345 850 0664; saga.co.uk.
2. Train journey through the Somme
Great Rail Journeys offers a five-day itinerary called Arras and the Somme Battlefields 2016. Based at the three-star Hotel Moderne in Arras, participants will learn how Arras was restored to its former glory and will take a journey aboard the P’tit Train de la Haute Somme, a historic locomotive that chugs through the last remaining section of the military railway network built by the British and French armies in 1916. As well as visits to battlefield sites and memorials, there will be stops at Lochnagar Crater, the Museum of the Great War and the Wellington Caves – a network of tunnels where Allied soldiers lived during the war. Also included is a talk by military historian Jeremy Banning.
Departures between April and September 2016, from £515 including return travel by Eurostar between London and Lille, coach travel, accommodation and some meals. Bookings: 01904 527180; greatrail.com.
3. The Western Front
A new five-day Western Front tour from Martin Randall visits the First World War battlefields and explores not only what happened but why. Led by Major Gordon Corrigan, a military historian and former officer of the Royal Gurkha Rifles, this tour examines the battles of Loos, Ypres, the Somme and Amiens and considers the performance of generals and privates. There are evening lectures to provide strategic and political background on the war and a chance to attend the Last Post ceremony at the Menin Gate.
Departures July 26-30 2016, from £1,790 including return travel by Eurostar between London and Lille, coach travel, accommodation and most meals. Bookings: 020 8742 3355; martinrandall.com.
4. Battlefields by bike
A four-day Cycling the Ypres Battlefields tour from Leger meanders through the Flanders countryside, past some of the main battle sites around Ypres. Starting in the north where the British and French lines joined, cyclists pass the British cemeteries of the Passchendaele offensive and the German cemetery at Langemark before stopping at Tyne Cot, the largest British and Commonwealth cemetery in the world. Led by battlefield specialist Peter Williams, the tour also includes a visit to the grave of George Llewelyn Davies who, with his four younger brothers, was the inspiration for JM Barrie’s characters Peter Pan and the Lost Boys.
Departures in July and August 2016, from £399 including coach travel from a choice of joining points, cycle hire and b&b accommodation. Bookings: 0844 324 9266; leger.co.uk.
5. The Somme with Sir Max Hastings
Telegraph Tours has recently launched a four-day luxury coach tour of the Somme which includes a special contribution by Sir Max Hastings, the former editor of The Daily Telegraph and a notable military historian. He will offer an introductory lecture and join guests for an exclusive dinner. Operated by Historical Trips, the tour also includes visits to Newfoundland Memorial Park, the Thiepval Memorial dedicated to the Somme’s missing soldiers, Delville Wood and Pozières as well as Flers and Courcelette and a number of memorials around the front line.
Departures May 4-7 and May 6-9 2016, from £1,595 including return travel by Eurostar between London and Lille, accommodation and all meals with wine at dinner. Bookings: 03330 059095; telegraph.co.uk/sommetour.
6. Military tactics
Dr John Greenacre, a lecturer in military history specialising in the evolution of tactics and weapons, is your guide on A Journey through the Great War, run by ACE Cultural Tours. He leads a six-day exploration of the battles of the Somme, Passchendaele and Vimy Ridge, to include expert insights into the armies, equipment and strategies of the time. Based at the three-star Hotel Albion in Ypres and the centrally-located Grand Hotel de l’Univers in Amiens, this tour ends at the Glade of the Armistice in the Forest of Compiègne, where the armistice agreement was signed.
Departures May 30-June 4 2016, from £1,275 including coach travel from London Waterloo, accommodation and most meals. Bookings: 01223 841055 ; aceculturaltours.co.uk.
7. Grand tour
Shearings has a full-on four-day tour called Grand Tourer Somme Battlefields which visits highlights such as the Historal de la Grande Guerre in Peronne, the city of Mons and the Somme 1916 Museum, where a moving collection retraces the lives of soldiers in the trenches. Based in the Hotel de l’Univers in Arras, participants will explore the major battlefields of the conflict, including Arras and Albert, and stop at Mons, the site of a significant battle that marked the first British engagement of the war.
Departures between April and July 2016, from £449 including coach travel from a choice of joining points, accommodation and half board. Bookings: 0844 824 6351; shearings.com.
8. The Battle of Verdun
Historical Trips is offering a new 300 Days and Nights tour to mark the centenary of the Battle of Verdun. Highlights include a visit to the Verdun Citadel, a fortress used as a hospital and troop depot during the battle; Douaumont Ossuary, a cemetery that houses the jumbled bones of 130,000 unidentified soldiers; and Mort Homme memorial, the scene of ferocious fighting on the Left Bank of the Meuse. The tour guide, historian Nigel Jones, will be on hand to give context to this war of attrition.
Departures May 12-16 2016, from £1,495 including return flights between London and Luxemburg, coach travel, accommodation and most meals. Bookings: 01722 713820; historicaltrips.com.
9. The art of war
A four-day Art and Literature of World War One tour from Travel Editions investigates the creativity inspired by the horror of the First World War. Expert lecturer Mike Hope will shed light on the influence the conflict has had on the British psyche, and will join guests on a journey to the key battlefields, cemeteries and museums of Flanders, including Ypres. Other highlights include visits to the Kemmel Chateau Cemetery, designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens;, the carefully restored Bayernwald Trenches; and the Sanctuary Wood Museum, which houses a unique collection of weapons, bombs and uniforms.
Departures February 18-21 2016, from £749 including return travel by Eurostar between London and Lille, coach travel and b&b accommodation. Bookings: 020 7251 0045; traveleditions.co.uk.
10. The two wars
Trafalgar is offering a 12-day World War I and II Battlefields tour, which travels through Britain, France, Belgium and the Netherlands, with two nights in Lille for a tour of the Ypres Salient, and stops at sites including Tyne Cot, Langemark, Vancouver Corner and Passchendaele. There is also a visit to the Essex Farm Cemetery where Lt Col John Mcrae wrote the poem “In Flanders Fields”. This trip includes a full day in Paris and an excursion to Amsterdam (though these are not related to the battlefields).
Departing between April and August 2016, from £1,845 including coach travel from the Cumberland Hotel in London, one-way ferry from Portsmouth to Caen and b&b accommodation. Bookings: 0800 533 5619;trafalgar.com.
Remembering D-Day: return to the beaches
Remembrance Travel, the travel arm of the Royal British Legion, in partnership with Arena Travel, is offering free Government-funded tours for Normandy veterans to return to the beaches in 2016. The Treasury has pledged to subsidise further trips to Normandy next year using the fines paid by the banks involved in the Libor rate-fixing scandal. George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer, said: “I’m delighted that we’ve been able to use £1million of Libor funds for this purpose, using fines from those who have demonstrated the worst kind of values [is being used] to support those who have demonstrated the very best of British values.”
The four-day tours explore the beaches invaded during Operation Overland and take in key sites including Pegasus Bridge, Juno, Sword, Gold beaches, Bayeaux Cathedral and war cemetery, plus visits to personally-specified cemeteries. A medic and a Royal British Legion guide are on hand throughout the trip, but if required, a carer and a close relative may accompany each veteran free of charge. Departure dates throughout 2016; free including ferry crossings, coach travel from the Union Jack Club in London, accommodation and most meals. Bookings: 01473 660800;arenatravel.com.
Source: http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2015/nov/06/top-10-craft-beer-pubs-east-london
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