ARMISTICE WEEKEND IN FLANDERS
TOUR REFERENCE: 4AMB
DEPARTING: 9th NOVEMBER 2003
Cost: £169 per person
Add a special aspect to your remembrance this year by joining us on our pilgrimage to Ypres. In this tiny corner of Flanders more than 250,000 British soldiers fell during the First World War. Nightly the local people remember these men with the touching Last Post ceremony – but every November 11th – Armistice Day – there is a special ceremony at the Menin Gate in Ypres, and this will be the focus of our tour. Truly a unique way to wear your Poppy with pride…
Day 1
Arrive at mainstay hotel.
Day 2
Today we travel ‘In Flanders Fields’ and visit some of the key locations connected with the terrible years of conflict at Ypres. In the morning we see the last preserved trenches at Sanctuary Wood, where you can actually walk through them and see many reminders of conditions as they were 85 years ago. Nearby is Hooge Crater, with its moving military cemetery and excellent museum of the First World War: including an original WW1 ambulance! We take time for lunch in Ypres, before resuming our tour on the Messines Ridge looking at the mining operations there in June 1917 – when more than a million pounds of explosive was blown under the German positions. The noise was heard as far away as London! We drive along the Messines Ridge, and visit the Irish Peace Tower and ‘Plugstreet Wood’ where the Christmas Truce took place in 1914.
Day 3 (11th November)
We spend the morning in Ypres attending the local ceremonies in the town for the anniversary of the Armistice at 11am. This normally includes a parade in the town, followed by a service at the Menin Gate. Following lunch we round off our visits in the battlefield around Passchendaele – a name synonymous with the First World War. We see the impressive Canadian Memorial at Vancouver Corner, the mighty Tyne Cot Cemetery with more than 11,000 graves and the German war cemetery at Langemarck. The day concludes back in Ypres, where we attend the special Last Post ceremony at the Menin Gate at 8pm. Truly a day to remember!
Day 4
Return to UK.
Where Will I Stay?
You will stay for three nights at the 3-star Tulip Inn Cathedrale in the centre of the old town of Tournai in Belgium. There is an attractive bar, restaurant area and lift. When demand is high we will use hotels of a similar standard in Belgium or northern France. All bedrooms have private facilities included in the holiday price.
Cost
£169 per person
Price based on two sharing a twin room. Single room supplement £48.
Insurance cover from only £18.50.
At extra cost: entrance fees to places of interest mentioned, lunches and evening meals.
Free local pick-ups from over 450 departure points in England and Wales.
Bookings
In all cases you must book this tour with Leger Holidays direct, and not with Sommecourt Battlefield Tours. Quote the tour reference number (see top of page).
For reservations/bookings contact Leger Holidays at:
Or by Post - Telephone:
Leger Holidays
Canklow Meadows
Rotherham
S60 2XR
0845 130 7007 (local call rate)
