Flanders and the Western Front Battlefields Tour

Our World War One Battlefields Tour will give you the opportunity to visit a number of the key battle sites and cemeteries on the Western Front in Belgium and France, including  Ypres and the surrounding area and the Somme. You'll have the opportunity to see the Menin Gate and witness the sounding of Last Post which still happens every evening at 8pm.

Please be aware that this tour has a full itinerary with long days out; due to the nature of some of the locations we visit it may not be suitable for those with limited mobility. Please contact our office if you have any questions or concerns before making a booking.

Day One
Departing South Wales early in the morning, we make our way to Dover for our lunchtime ferry crossing to Calais. Once in France we continue northward into Belgium, and on to Mouscron where we'll check in to the 4* Hotel Alize in Mouscron for our four night stay with breakfast each morning, and evening meals on three nights only (with the exception of Tuesday evening, which we'll spend in Ypres to experience the Last Post at the Menin Gate). Please note that the hotel will serve a set menu on the day of arrival.

Day Two - Ypres & Tyne Cot Cemetery
On today's full itinerary we'll make a visit in the morning (not too early an start as we have a long day ahead) to Tyne Cot Cemetery and Visitor Centre. Tyne Cot is the largest cemetery for Commonwealth forces in the world, for any war, and is home to a Memorial to the Missing, which commemorates men from the Allied Powers who fought on the northern Western Front outside the Ypres Salient and whose graves are unknown.

From here we'll make our way to Ypres for the rest of our day, which will include a two hour guided walking tour through the heart of the city, stopping at the Cloth Hall and Menin Gate, giving you an opportunity to explore and learn more about the battles that took place here during the First World War, and how the fallen continue to be remembered on a daily basis here with the sounding of the Last Post every evening at the Menin Gate.

After your guided tour you'll have time at leisure around the Grote Markt, where there are a host of restaurants should you wish to enjoy an evening meal. At 8pm it will be time to see the Last Post Ceremony at the Menin Gate before returning to Mouscron.

Day Three - The Somme
Today we cross the border into north France for a full day out at the Somme, which was one of the largest battlegrounds of the First World War. Here we will have the chance to see Peronne, the Lochnagar Crater, Thiepval Memorial and Newfoundland Park, and returning to our base at Mouscron at the end of our extensive day.

Day Four - Welsh Memorial Park, Poperinge & Talbot House
We begin our day with a visit to the Welsh Memorial Park at Langemark which commemorates all the men and women of Wales who were involved in World War I. The memorial was erected in the area where the 38th Welsh Division launched the battle of Passchendaele on 31 July '17. On that day, close to this place, the poet Hedd Wyn fell.

From here we make our way to Poperinge which at one time was one of only two towns in Belgium not under German occupation. Away from the turmoil of battle in the Ypres Salient, the town became the nerve centre of the British sector. In the heart of this bustling town, the British Army chaplains Neville Talbot and Philip "Tubby" Clayton opened a club at Talbot House, and from December 1915 onwards, and for more than three years, the House provided rest and recreation to all soldiers coming in, regardless of their rank. Today, as real as then, the place offers a welcoming and friendly stop in Flanders fields, and so we'll call in for a visit to this fascinating place.

In the afternoon we'll make one last stop to visit the nearby Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery and visitor centre, site of the largest evacuation hospital along the Ypres Salient.

Day Five
After breakfast at the hotel it'll be time to check out and make our back to Calais for our return ferry crossing to Dover; arriving back in Wales late in the evening.

*Valid Passports Required