A SPECIAL TOUR AT

CHRISTMASTIME

FOLLOW US AND THE FRONT LINE FROM Ypres* to ALBERT AND BEYOND Our Christmas Special Tour encompasses very special sites around Ypres, Arras and the Somme. We will visit sites and locations unique to this tour, with a special stop or two along the way. We will visit sites not on any of our other tours and you will have the opportunity to experience one of the best Christmas markets in Europe, in Arras! You will stay one night in the IBIS hotel in the centre of Arras, literally a stone’s throw from the market. The other night will be spent in the 4-star Ariane hotel in Ypres where we will take in the Last Post ceremony at the Menin Gate and enjoy the Christmas market there too!

“A truly amazing weekend. Thanks so much for arranging this tour and showing us the outstanding sites. Also for the efforts of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission for preserving the memory of soldiers fallen, sacrifices they made for us and showing the scale of what happened during the conflicts.” - Ross

OUR CHRISTMAS TOUR

LET US LEAD YOU ON A DRIVE OF DISCOVERY AND REMEMBRANCE LIKE NO OTHER

Our Christmas Special Tour starts on the outskirts of

Albert. We will head North towards Arras, visiting sites

and locations unique to this tour, with a special stop or

two along the way. On arrival in Arras, we will check

you in to your hotel, the Ibis, which is a one minute

walk to the Christmas Market - the largest in Northern

France! You can wander around the market at your

leisure and take in some of the various entertainments

on offer. We’ll have a group meal in a very nice

restaurant adjacent to the market - a great

opportunity to relax and meet your fellow travellers.

This is of course optional - allow approx €35pp plus

drinks.

In the morning, after a healthy breakfast, we continue the tour, traversing the areas of the Battles of Loos, a visit to Fromelles and other sites and cemeteries, including a visit to the site of the famous truce and football match. Whilst we’ll drive through the Battlefield areas of the Somme and Arras, covered in depth on other tours, this tour will take a very different route... along with the usual expert commentary via CB radio. At a certain point, we’ll drive up to Ypres, where we will check in to your hotel for the night - the four star Ariane Hotel in the centre of town. In the evening there will be time to visit the Ypres Christmas market before a short walk to attend the Last Post Ceremony at the Menin Gate. Afterwards there will be another optional group meal or you are free to do as you wish before we retire for the evening. We will continue the tour the next morning, with visits to some impressive sites, such as Tyne Cot cemetery and Pond Farm in Passchendaele and it’s amazing museum. The tour will end at approximately 1pm, about an hour’s drive from Calais. *Please Note: Current Covid-19 regulations preclude us from entering Belgium. We are hoping that the rules will change before the tour date, but if not we will adapt the tour to stay in France

EXAMPLE ITINERARY Non-contractual Tour example, subject to alteration when necessary Day 1 Independent travel to the agreed meeting point (details confirmed in advance of departure date) 12 Noon Arrival at meeting point, close to Albert. Explanations, questions, discussions and distribution of Tour material 12:30 to 17:00 The tour begins. We set off visiting various sites, heading towards Arras 17:00 Approximate arrival in Arras/check in hotel. 17:00 to 20:00 Free time to visit the Christmas Market 20:00 Short walk a local restaurant for a meal (optional) Day 2 09:30 Depart local supermarket During the day we will travel at a pace to suit all, visiting various sites, memorials and cemeteries 17:00 Arrival in Ypres/check in at hotel 17:00 to 19:30 Free time to visit The Ypres Christmas market 20:00 Attend the Last Post Ceremony at the Menin Gate 20:30 Short walk to a local restaurant (optional) Day 3 09:00 Depart Hotel, visiting various sites including Tyne Cot and Pond Farm 13:00 End of Tour and Farewell

TOUR COSTS

Tour cost includes your vehicle, driver and one passenger HOTEL BASED £899 £100 Deposit required on booking Extra adults are £199 each for the tour Children aged 12-16 are £99 Children aged 11 and under are free Additional hotel rooms are charged at cost. What’s included in the tour? • Hotel room - based on two sharing. Extra rooms are charged at cost, currently around £250 for the two nights • Hotel rooms are twin bedded (can be changed to double room on request, subject to availability) and include breakfast • An information pack that includes a colour bound booklet containing a series of photographs pertinent to the Tour as well as additional reading pages • Museum visits as part of the tour • A memorable Tour using your own vehicle • Running commentary • Loan of a handheld CB radio What's not included: • Food and refreshments • Ferry or Eurotunnel Crossing • Any extras, bar, restaurants etc at hotel. • Fuel • Tolls • Visits to museums and visitor centres outside of the tour

If you are ready to book, click the ‘Book

Now’ button next to your chosen date

Below.

Remember, we only require a £100 deposit if

your chosen tour is more than eight

weeks away.

TOUR HIGHLIGHTS Some of the places we visit on our Somme tour

THIEPVAL MEMORIAL

The memorial commemorates more than 72,000 men of British and South African forces who died in the Somme sector before 20 March 1918 and have no known grave.

lochnagar crater

The awesome and inspirational Lochnagar Crater signalled the opening attack of the Battle of the Somme in 1916. The massive explosion was, up until that time, the loudest man-made sound in history and remains to this day the largest crater ever made by man in anger.

arras christmas

market

The largest Christmas market in Northern France. A chance to stock up on Christmas pressies with a difference!

FROMELLES (PHEASANT

WOOD) MILITARY

Cemetery

Completed in July 2010, Fromelles (Pheasant Wood) Military Cemetery is the first new war cemetery to be built by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission in fifty years.

NOTRE DAME De

LORETTE

A visit to the World’s largest French military cemetery and the Ring of Remembrance memorial which honors the 576,606 soldiers of forty different nationalities who died at Nord-Pas-de-Calais.