First World War Battlefield Tour, Ypres B & B

A very early departure from the Heathfield/ Maresfield area. We head for our channel crossing to France. We then make our way to Lijssenhoek which was the 'kicking-off point for soldiers that had arrived from England. Here all the final preparations and training were carried out as troops readied themselves for the final journey to the front line. We will see the site of the military hospital and the well frequented pub that has changed little since the war. Our journey continues to Poperinge where we hope to visit Talbot House, a place that became known to the soldiers as the TOC H Club and where men of all ranks could go and relax. You will see the Chapel and the newly restored concert hall. Poperinge was also the HQ of the Military Police and, time permitting, we will visit the police cells. From here we make our way to our Hotel in Ypres.

After breakfast we depart the hotel and make our way to Essex Farm. This was an important forward dressing station which received the casualties resulting from the first gas attack of the war. It was while stationed here that John McCrae wrote that immortal poem "In Flanders Fields the poppies blow, between crosses, row on row". In the cemetery here Tom Barratt VC is buried - surely one of the bravest recipients of the Victoria Cross, also Valentine Strudwick, killed in action at the age of just 16yrs - one of the youngest to die in the trenches. We then move on to The Passchendaele Museum before visiting Hill 60, the most fought over piece of land in WW1. Control of this small area, no bigger than Trafalgar Square, changed hands numerous times. Finally we visit Hill 62, probably the most intact section of British trenches remaining today. Tonight, for those that wish, you will be able to attend the moving 'Last Post Ceremony' at The Menin Gate which is a short walk away from the hotel. We will arrange to lay a wreath on behalf of the group.

This morning we make our way to Tyne Cot Cemetery, the largest on the western front, where there are nearly 12,000 headstones with a further 35,000 names listed on the memorial wall having been killed in action with no known resting place. We also take the opportunity to visit the German cemetery at Langemarke where you will notice the striking contrast in the way the cemetery is presented. Late morning we make our way back to Ypres where you will have some free time to visit the Cloth Hall Museum and St Georges Chapel, do a little shopping and obtain some lunch. We then make our way to Calais where we will catch a late afternoon ferry back to Dover. We expect to arrive in the Maresfield area at approximately 20.30. 

The itinerary is subject to late changes if venues become unavailable or for other reasons beyond our control. We will endeavour to replace any cancelled visit with an interesting alternative.