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Poets on the Somme - 4 days from £289

Your Holiday Itinerary

4-Day Break

  • Day 1 – Local departure by coach, then onwards to Albert for a three-night stay. 50.84892774059569,2.8859710693359375
  • Day 2 – Poets on the Somme Today we look at the war poets who served on the Somme in 1916. We start at the Thiepval Memorial and visitors centre, and on the memorial see the name of Irish poet and MP, Tom Kettle. At Ovillers we look at the sad story of poet and musician Ivor Gurney, who fought here with the Gloucestershire Regiment. At Fricourt we see where the 10th West Yorks were cut down in droves, visiting the grave of poet Victor Ratcliffe. In the afternoon we see the ground at Bois Francais where Siegfried Sassoon was awarded the Military Cross, seeing the graves of his friends at Point 110. In nearby Mansel Copse, we see the Devonshire Cemetery and discover how Noel Hodgson predicted his own death here on 1st July 1916. At Bazentin and High Wood we follow Robert Graves, wounded here with the Royal Welch Fusiliers and end the day at Louvencourt following the story of Roland Leighton and Vera Brittain. B
  • Day 3 – Poets at Arras & Cambrai We look at the period 1917- 1918, with the fighting at Arras, Cambrai and on the Sambre Canal. We begin at Agny, seeing the grave of poet Edward Thomas who died on Easter Sunday 1917 during the Battle of Arras. At Bailleul Road, we visit the grave of young Jewish artist and poet Isaac Rosenberg, who fell at Arras in 1918. Near Cambrai we go to Orival Wood, where E.A. Mackintosh is buried. In the afternoon we travel to the Sambre canal where the final battle of WW1 was fought on 4th November 1918. See where the 2nd Manchesters crossed the canal at Ors, the memorial to Wilfred Owen, and then his grave and those others who fell here that day. B
  • Day 4 – To Calais, then home. B

Included Meals: B=Breakfast

Please Note: Entrance fees to museums and places of interest are at extra cost.

Notes

Prices are per person, based on two sharing

Extras:

  • Optional excursions
  • Single room supplement £79
  • Travel insurance from £31.95

Passengers :

Tour Includes

  • Free local joining points
  • Travel by executive coach
  • Specialist Battlefields Guide
  • 3 nights’ accommodation with continental breakfast
  • Battlefield visits:
    • Poets on the Somme
    • Poets at Arras & Cambrai

Silver Service

Upgrade to Silver Service and enjoy these extras

  • Travel by Silver Service luxury coach
    • Extra legroom for your added comfort
    • Comfortable rear lounge to relax and chat
    • FREE personal headphones with a choice of music & DVDs
  • Porterage in all hotels
  • Smaller, more personal group

Tour Dates

Sorry, no departure dates are available for this tour.