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Join us on this tour based at the ever popular Novotel Hotel in central Ypres where we visit some of the lesser known battlefields of Flanders looking at the Allied contribution to Victory in 1918 seeing British, Belgian, French, Portuguese and American cemeteries and memorials.
5 days from £539 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 Ypres in Belgium where we stay for four nights.
We start at Bedford House Cemetery, unique in Flanders as it's built around the ruins of an old château. Here we look at the commemoration of the dead, and then travel out to the Palingbeek, now a nature reserve but to the British soldiers in WW1 it was known as The Bluff.
Here we see massive mine craters and the scars of war, looking at the ‘war underground’. We then have lunch at the Hooge Crater Café with time to see the museum and trenches. In the afternoon we visit the private memorial to Captain Ewen Brodie, a Scots officer who fell at Ypres in 1914, giving us time to discuss the ‘Old Contemptibles’.
We then continue to Hooglede German Cemetery, one of the least visited German cemeteries in Flanders but with the graves of more than 8,000 men. We look at the role of French soldiers, ‘Poilus’, at Potijze and end back in Ypres for a visit to the In Flanders Fields Museum, one of the most important WW1 museums in the world. Here we also have a special presentation by a member of the museum staff.
Included Highlights
Today we look at the role of Allies in the fighting for Flanders seeing the massive Belgian Cemetery at Houthulst Forest.
We then travel to Vladslo to see the Katie Kollwitz statues of the mourning parents, and at Dixmude visit the impressive Yser Tower which is a WW1 museum with stunning views across the battlefields.
We also have time for lunch here before looking at the role of American troops in Belgium in WW1 seeing the US Memorial at Vierstraat, the In Flanders Fields American Cemetery at Waregem, and then seeing the ground where the Doughboys fought in the autumn of 1918.
Included Highlights
On our final day we look at the Battle of the Lys, one of the forgotten battles in Flanders in 1918 where the Germans broke through the Allied lines. We start at the Ploegsteert Memorial, where many men who fell in the battle are commemorated.
We then travel over the Flanders hills, scene of heavy fighting in April 1918, seeing the 34th Division Memorial, and go into Bailleul to visit the cemetery and memorial to the 25th Division, having lunch here.
In the afternoon we look at the April 1918 sector in French Flanders in the area around the Nieppe Forest where Australians and British Guardsmen fought side by side, and visit the ridge where British machine guns saved the Channel Ports in April 1918. We end with a look at the Portuguese Expeditionary Force, our oldest Ally who fought for Britain from 1917, seeing the Portuguese Memorial at La Couture and then visiting their cemetery at Neuve-Chapelle.
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 Novotel Ypres Centrum, situated in the centre of the town and only a few hundred metres from the Menin Gate.
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
