Touring the battlefields is an emotionally charged experience for most people.  I see my role as not only guiding my guests but also acting as your host in an unfamiliar area and am sensitive to your interests. 
I prefer not to operate to set itineraries but allow the day to evolve as the nature of the group dictates. 

Tour Advice – The Western Front is a large area, and no one should expect to see it all in a few days. 
I believe firmly in the dictum that less is more – far better to spend a few days trying to get to grips with a certain area than rushing to cover a lot of ground.  Only so much can be understood from the road and to gain a deeper insight, it is important to travel on foot where possible.  We may be able to take some walks of the battlefields, as long as the group is moderately fit and able.

Tours can be as short as one day, or, more usually three or four days.  It may be possible to combine different areas over a longer period.  Anything can be arranged – just let me know and we can work it out.

Accommodation - Accommodation for any tour can be priced to suit, from a comfortable family run guest house to a larger four star hotel.  Simple lunches are taken ‘in the field’ or we can stop at a local café or restaurant if the weather turns unpleasant.  Evening meals can be taken either in the hotel or in one of the nearby towns.  As a regular visitor to the battlefields, I know some of the best places to relax and unwind after a day’s touring. 

Prices - Prices are based on the number in any group and also depend on the number of nights accommodation.  Please contact me for an initial quotation.  All prices quoted will be inclusive of accommodation, ferry travel, vehicle hire, and the guide.  Lunches, evening meals, museum entries and drinks are excluded from the quoted price.

What to bring – Do come with an open mind – be prepared to linger a little longer in a cemetery – wear some comfortable shoes, carry a rainproof coat and some sun cream, strange though this may seem, and ensure your camera is fully functioning.  A water bottle and some small snacks may also be useful.
 

The Somme

For many, the Battle of the Somme is encapsulated in one day, 1^st July 1916, when the British Army suffered the worst losses in its history, but the battle was not brought to anything resembling a conclusion until the winter rains of November 1916 had turned the battlefield into a stinking quagmire of shattered woods and broken roads containing the dead of many nations.  Even visiting the area in the autumn today, when the lanes are awash with mud from the large tractors that harvest this agriculturally rich area, it is only just possible to imagine the appalling conditions endured by men from Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, France, Great Britain and Germany.   With so much to see in this evocative part of France, it would be unfair to prescribe specific destinations, although the Newfoundland Memorial Park and Lochnagar Mine Crater are excellent starting points for any tour to the Somme.
 

Ypres Salient

Such was the sacrifice of the British at Ypres that Winston Churchill proposed the ruins of the medieval town be left as a permanent memorial to the sacrifice of the Empire after the Armistice in 1918.  Fortunately for the modern visitor, this idea was not adopted, and the town now, rather perversely, thrives on its First World War heritage and connections.  Excellent accommodation of all levels can be found in or near the town, and it is an ideal base for touring the battlefields of the Western Front. 

As with the Somme, there is much to see and experience, from the mine craters of the great Messines offensive to the Last Post Ceremony, which occurs nightly under the Menin Gate Memorial.  Numerous cemeteries and memorials are located through out the area, including the largest Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery at Tyne Cot.  Walking along the quiet lanes and footpaths, many of which would have been familiar to the soldiers, makes for a greater understanding of this small part of Flanders, particularly when you can very often make out the distinctive spires of the rebuilt Cloth Hall and Cathedral in Ypres in the near distance.
 

Arras, Fromelles and Loos

The Western Front was a straggling line of trenches and fortifications which wound from the Belgian coast to the Swiss border.  It must be remembered that the British and Commonwealth forces only occupied approximately 25% of the total length of the line and the area south of Ypres, stretching into French Flanders and Artois was the scene of some great success and some equally great setbacks, all mixed with compelling stories of courage, bravery and compassion in the face of adversity. Soldiers from across the Empire all played their part in this often forgotten region. 

 Among the noticeable spots for visitors to this area are the magnificent Canadian National War Memorial at Vimy Ridge and the small village of Fromelles, the name of which has recently come to prominence again after the discovery of a series of mass graves outside the village. 

There is now an ongoing project for careful exhumation to begin during 2009, with the bodies being reburied in a new cemetery that will be created by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Arras, Fromelles and Loos

The Western Front was a straggling line of trenches and fortifications which wound from the Belgian coast to the Swiss border.  It must be remembered that the British and Commonwealth forces only occupied approximately 25% of the total length of the line and the area south of Ypres, stretching into French Flanders and Artois was the scene of some great success and some equally great setbacks, all mixed with compelling stories of courage, bravery and compassion in the face of adversity. Soldiers from across the Empire all played their part in this often forgotten region. 

Among the noticeable spots for visitors to this area are the magnificent Canadian National War Memorial at Vimy Ridge and the small village of Fromelles, the name of which has recently come to prominence again after the discovery of a series of mass graves outside the village.  The careful exhumation of these bodies in 2009 resulted in a new cemetery being built and dedicated in July 2010, with the final unknown soldier being buried with full military honours in front of HRH Price Charles and the Governor General of Australia.

Canadians in both Wars

The contribution of the Canadian Army during the First World War can form the basis for a themed tour, covering key spots such as Hill 62, St Julien, Vimy Ridge, Courcelette and Bourlon Wood.  For those with more time to spare, why not visit the Normandy Invasion Beaches and the key villages involved in Operation Spring and Totalise in the summer of 1944, as well as the scene of the disastrous raid on Dieppe in August 1942?  At least 7 days (6 nights) are required to tour these areas across both wars.

ANZACS in the Great War

The efforts of the Australian and New Zealand soldiers in the Great War can be traced as we follow them from their first encounter with the enemy at Fromelles, through the grinding slog and slaughter of Pozièries, Flers and Bullecourt until the sheer dogged determination of the troops paid off in their advance on the Messines Ridge.  Further trials were endured during the Third Battle of Ypres in the mud of Polygon Wood and the Passchendaele Ridge and defensive abilities were sorely tested outside the unremarkable village of Villiers-Bretonneux, now the site of the Australian National War Memorial. This steep and costly series of lessons in the art of modern warfare culminated in the Australian success at Hamel and in their involvement in the Last Hundred Days, which brought the war to an end.  At least 4 days (3 nights) are needed to do justice to the efforts of the ANZACs between 1916 and 1918.

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