WWI Battlefields

After meeting the group in Lille, we’ll kick off our battlefields tour with a delicious welcome dinner. Here’s to the incredible journey ahead.

After breakfast, we’ll begin our first full day together by exploring the region of the Somme – the infamous site of one of the costliest WWI battles. While we’re here, we’ll visit Newfoundland Memorial Park – where the original trench lines have been preserved. Later, we’ll visit Ulster Tower – a memorial to the 36th (Ulster) Division – and Pozières Cemetery. We’ll also have time to pay our respects at the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme before we set a course for Amiens.

Today will begin with a visit to the Underground City of Naours. Here we’ll tour the vast cave network where hundreds of ANZAC soldiers left their mark. With the largest concentration of WWI inscriptions on the Western Front, this site provides a touching insight into the lives of the brave soldiers fighting on the front. Then: we’ll round off the day back in Amiens, where you’ll have some free time to explore at your own pace.

This morning, we’ll leave Amiens behind us – moving on to the Australian National War Memorial and Cemetery at Villers-Bretonneux. After taking some time to pay our respects, our next stop will be the Canadian National Vimy Memorial: Canada’s largest overseas National Memorial. This evening will see us dining together in Ypres – a town that was completely destroyed during WWI and rebuilt anew.

The beautiful town of Ypres sits in the epicentre of British WWI endeavours, and there is much to see in the surrounding countryside. We’ll start with a visit to John McCrae’s Dressing Station at Essex Farm Cemetery – the site where his famous poem In Flanders Fields was written in 1915. Continuing our journey, we’ll visit the German Cemetery at Langemark and Vancouver Corner. Then, we’ll explore the fascinating Hooge Crater Museum – home to a unique collection of WWI artefacts and reconstructed trenches. An evocative end to the day is in store: we’ve an appointment to keep at the Menin Gate Memorial, where we’re invited to attend the Last Post ceremony. Whilst renovation to the Gate is ongoing, we’ll still be able to experience the ceremony that has been performed here daily for almost 100 years.

Today we’ll visit Hill 60 – a manmade promontory on the edge of the Ypres Salient where many fierce battles between the Germans and Allied forces took place. After, we’ll take some time to explore the area around Fromelles, VC Corner and the Australian Memorial Park – before having the opportunity to visit Pheasant Wood Cemetery: the final resting place of 250 Australian and British soldiers killed in the battle of Fromelles. After returning to Lille, our compelling journey will come to a close.