DH Tour

Combine our Western Front one-day tours of the Ypres Salient and the "Quiet Sector" between Lille and Arras for a 2-day trip. Each day focuses on a special sector of the Western front. British, Anzac, Canadian, South African and Indian Army sites are all highlighted. We can often include visits to requested battlefield locations, memorials and cemeteries. This tour can only be joined from Lille, not from London due to the unavailability of Eurostar trains on Sunday morning. Overnight accommodation is in the Ypres area, giving you the opportunity to attend the Last Post Ceremony at the Menen Gate in Ypres.

Features

1 Night in unique & traditional accommodation
Specialist Battlefield Guide/Driver
All mini-coach transportation
All entrance fees

Meals

1 breakfasts

0 lunches

0 dinners

Ypres Salient

'The Salient' struck fear into the Great War Tommy for being the hottest spot on the 70 mile front held by British and Empire troops. Over a quarter of a million men gave their lives to hold this last bit of Belgium from the Germans. Although history records four great battles fought at Ypres, it was in fact a constant battle against shells, bullets, bombs, gas, mud and rats. For those who commenced the tour on Saturday, you have some free time in Ypres this morning to see the town and visit St George's Chapel, the Menin Gate Memorial, and the 'In Flanders Field' Museum (optional). On our day touring the Salient we see, in the company of a first class guide, some of the most important sites that remain: the area of the first gas attack, John McRae's Essex Farm, the Messines Ridge, Hooge crater where the flame thrower was introduced into modern warfare, and the sites that played a pivotal role in the Battle of Passchendaele; Polygon Wood and Tyne Cot. Walk the moonscape of the Hill 60 battlefield and see literally dozens of memorials to British, Australian and Canadian regiments and units. Overnight accommodation is in the Ypres area

Day 1

Fromelles & Vimy Ridge

Our final day takes us to the line between Armentières and Arras, dubbed the nursery trenches. On this day we visit sites connected with the 1915 battles of Aubers Ridge, Festubert, and Neuve Chapelle, where the Indian Army gave a magnificent account of itself, and the 1917 Battle of Arras. We see where Adolf Hitler served and the bunker he is reputed to have used as a billet. Australians will be touched at seeing the 'Cobbers' Memorial in Fromelles. Soldiers killed in the first Australian battle involvement on the Western Front and buried in mass graves have found a new resting place in the Pheasant Wood Cemetery. We cross the Loos battlefield, site of the disastrous battle of 1915. For Canadians, Vimy Ridge is undoubtedly the highlight, where we take a trench tour and spend time at the massive and imposing Vimy memorial. We also see sites in and around the pretty city of Arras connected with the huge battle of 1917. If time permits, we will see the French National memorial at Notre Dame de Lorette before returning to our Lille departure point.

Day 2

1 x

= Breakfast

= Lunch

= Dinner

Departure Date	Full Package	Land & Tour	Tour Only
Sundays - March 25 to November 11 2012	N/A	N/A	$485

Important details

Pricing based on per person/twin occupancy

Single Supplement: $75

Tour only departs from Lille

This tour starts at 09.30am where you will meet your Battlefield guide at 'The Meeting Point' in the Eurostar rail terminal in Lille. This tour starts at 09.30am where you will meet your Battlefield guide at 'The Meeting Point' in the Eurostar rail terminal in Lille.

This tour can be combined with the Somme day trip to form a 3 day tour.