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It is easy to believe that soldiers spent all their time in the front line, but they actually spent just as much of it behind the front in the villages and training areas of France. This new tour explores some of these forgotten WW1 locations, seeing some of the less visited cemeteries, WW1 graffiti and brand new museums.
5 days from £499 pp
We offer flexible payment options
Once you have booked your tour either online, or by telephone ( 01709 787 463 ), you have the flexibility of how you pay off the remainder of your balance. You can:
Our contact and online banking payment details will be on your confirmation invoice to remind you of your choices.
Local departure by coach, then to our hotel in northern France, where we stay for four nights.
We start our tour by driving through the villages behind the lines on the Somme front, many of which have barely changed since 1916.
At Puchevillers, we look at medical arrangements behind the lines and visit the cemetery where many soldiers who died of wounds received on the Somme were buried. From here, we follow the casualty evacuation route to Bagneux British Cemetery in Gezaincourt to visit the graves of nurses who were killed here in 1918.
In Doullens, we visit the town hall where a key conference took place; seeing the memorial window and the preserved conference room. The conference in March 1918 was an impactful moment in the war, as Allied commanders discussed the city of Amiens and the important part it would play in the battles to come.
After lunch, we visit Vignacourt to see the ‘House of the Australians’. This is a new museum that has been built on the grounds of where a local man photographed thousands of soldiers in WW1, now featured in the book ‘The Lost Tommies’. While there, we visit Vignacourt Cemetery with its unique French soldier statue and later venture underground into the Naours Caves to see graffiti left by British and Commonwealth soldiers in WW1.
Included Highlights
Today we travel to Rouen, which was the main Base Depot for the British Army during the Battle of the Somme. Here we visit St. Sever Cemetery and Extension seeing the graves of padres, senior officers, women and men from every corner of the Commonwealth.
After lunchtime in Rouen we return to the Somme and look at the story of the Chinese Labour Corps, visiting their unique cemetery. Back in Amiens we go to the Cathedral to see the memorials and look at the story of the British Army in this city in 1916.
Included Highlights
Continuing Behind the Lines Today we continue with our journey behind the lines, visiting the small hamlet of Blangy-Tronville to see a chapel which is covered in the names of WW1 Soldiers. Moving on to Querrieu, we visit the château used by General Rawlinson as the Fourth Army Headquarters in 1916 and, following lunchtime in Corbie, we see where the Red Baron crashed. Later, we visit the site of ‘The Grandstand’ – an observation tower used by General Rawlinson to oversee the Somme offensive in 1916. At Louvencourt, we look at the story of Roland Leighton, who was posthumously immortalised in the memoir ‘Testament of Youth’ which was written by his fiancée Vera Brittain.
At Couin, we visit the Animals Memorial at the site of the old WW1 Water Point, and in the cemetery look at the story of the ‘King of No Man’s Land’, Dick Travis VC DCM MM. We end the tour following a route to the front line at Serre, where the Northern Pals battalions marched into a baptism of fire at the Battle of the Somme.
Included Highlights
Return home.
Travel Insurance from £27.00 (5 days) (includes insurance premium tax, prices per person). Single Room Supplement from £149.00 (5 days).
Book online OR call our friendly travel advisers on:
01709 787 463
If you prefer, then you can join the tour at the hotel. To do this, we will require a copy of your passport for identification purposes and you must advise us at the time of booking.
No reduction will be given if you should choose to do this.
We are unable to guarantee that the hotel will be able to meet your dietary requirements. We find that the majority of European countries do not generally cater for vegetarians and that the meal supplied may well be what everyone else is having minus the meat.
We will of course endeavour to arrange for a vegetarian meal at the hotel. We do however suggest that you advise us of your dietary requests at the time of booking and recommend that you speak to the receptionist on arrival with regard to your request.
You will stay for four nights at the 3-star Hotel Ibis Amiens Centre Cathedrale.
Front row seats can be reserved for £15pp (up to 6 days' duration), £24pp (7 & 8 days' duration), £26pp (9, 10 and 11 days' duration) and £30pp (12 days' duration and over) on all European tours. This offer is only available for bookings of two or four persons on the front row and is subject to availability. In addition to this, seats on the second row can be reserved for £8pp (up to 6 days duration), £15pp (7 & 8 days duration), £18pp (9, 10 and 11 days' duration) and £22pp (12 days' duration and over). Guaranteed front/second row seats cannot be reserved on transfer journeys to/from the interchange. Children under 15 years cannot occupy a front row seat due to French Law. Central view seats are free.
Please note: On some coaches the legroom on front seats may be slightly less than that available on other seats due to the presence of a modesty board in front.
If your tour is cancelled for any reason and front/second row seats are not available on your new tour, you will be refunded the supplement. No other compensation will be payable.
Alternatively, we can take seating requests on your booking. However, requests are not guaranteed. All seat numbers are confirmed on travel documents approximately 7-10 days prior to departure.
Transfer coaches are routed approximately 2-3 weeks before departure. The route taken depends on where paassengers are booked to travel from on any particular date as to which route is taken. If you require further detailed information regarding the route to the port you can contact our Customer Service Department on 01709 830333 two weeks before you are due to travel.
With regard to the route taken by the main tour coach, this is determined by the driver.
When it comes to getting you to your destination, Leger Holidays make it easy, with a selection of travel options for you to choose from.
You can join your coach at your nearest joining point – we’ve hundreds to choose from throughout England, Scotland and Wales. To find your nearest pick up, search using your postcode below.
*Please note pickups are subject to availability.
Why not go the night before your tour for a relaxing start?
You can park for FREE for up to nine days at the Holiday Inn Ashford North and enjoy an overnight stay with English breakfast from just £39.50 per person (Based on 2 sharing a twin/double room on a B&B basis, subject to availability. Single supplements and terms and conditions apply.) We’ll then collect you from the hotel on the day of departure and return you there at the end of your holiday.
To book this package, please call the hotel on 01233 713333, select option 1, quoting ‘Leger Holidays’ and your booking reference. If your holiday is longer than seven days you can pay for additional days’ parking. Ask one of our friendly reservations team for more details when you book your holiday
On most holidays if you’d prefer to join your tour coach at Stop 24 services, you can park your car in the car park which is accredited by the Park Mark safer parking scheme and is monitored 24 hours a day by CCTV. Payment for the parking is made on arrival using the self-service machines. Excludes holidays to Ireland and the U.K. and tours travelling via Brittany Ferries.
To book this tour, just give our friendly team a call on 01709 787 463 or book online at www.leger.co.uk
