Flanders Fields — Britain's Bastion on the Western Front
About the tour: Flanders Fields — Britain's Bastion on the Western Front
- Campaign: The Great War (WW1)
- Campaign Dates Covered: Oct 1914 - Sep 1918 (What's this?)
This tour will cover the following key events
- First Battle of Ypres - 31 October 1914One of the first fights to breakout between the Germans and the Britians during WW1, the First Battle of Ypres was fought in 1914. It saw a battle that lasted for 34 days, as the Germans faught to get to the English Channel, and the beginning of trench warfare on the Western Front.
- Second Battle of Ypres - 22 April 1915The second battle of Ypres involved four battles which were faught in the northern part of the Ypres Salient. The first battle saw the Germans launch an attack on the French on the Allied Front with poisonous gas, this battle was the first time that this weapon was used.
- Battle of Messines - 7 June 1917Arguably one of the most successful operations of WW1 on the Western Front, the Battle of Messines saw nineteen mines being detonated underneath the German mines, in a bid to secure Messines Ridge.
- Third Battle of Ypres - 31 July 1917Known as The Battle of Passchendaele, the Third Battle of Passchendaele began in July 1917 and was fought for four long months. The attack was Haig’s attempt to break through Flanders.
- Battle of the Lys - 9 April 1918Also known as the Spring Offensive and the Fouth Battle of Ypres, the Battle of the Lys was the Germans final attempt to break the Allied lines around Ypres. They did this as an attempt to defeat the Allies before the American troops arrived to aid th British and French soliders already fighting on the Western Front.
- Fourth Battle of Ypres - 26 September 1918Also known as the Spring Offensive and the Battle of the Lys, the Fourth Battle of Ypres was the Germans final attempt to break the Allied lines around Ypres. They did this as an attempt to defeat the Allies before the American troops arrived to aid th British and French soliders already fighting on the Western Front.
Tour Introduction
Regarded as one of the most important British battlefields of World War One, Ypres saw more than 250,000 British and Commonwealth soldiers fall during the defence of Flanders Fields. On this tour we visit the key locations and sites around Ypres such as, Tyne Cot, Messines Ridge and Passchendaele. It is also in Flanders where the legend of the Flanders poppy was born. The poppies were said to symbolise the fallen, as they grew, blood red in colour, on the disturbed battlefield grounds.
Tour Includes
- 3 nights hotel with continental breakfast
- Specialist Battlefield Guide
- Convenient local joining points
We offer flexible payment options
Once you have booked your battlefield tour either online, or by telephone (), you have the flexibility of how you pay off the remainder of your balance. You can -
- Use our balance payment facility online to make and track your card payments. You can pay as much as you want up until your final due date or pay it all, the choice is yours.
- Send payments via online banking.
- Send payments via cheque.
- Call us and make a card payment, either a small amount or as lump sum until your final due date.
Our contact and online banking payment details will be on your confirmation invoice to remind you of your choices.
Tour Itinerary
For customers living outside of the UK, if you want to make a booking you will need to provide a UK postcode on our online booking system. If you are not able to provide a relevant UK postcode then you can enter the postcode for London Victoria Coach Station – SW1W 9TP. You should then be able to proceed to complete your booking.
If you do encounter a problem then you can speak to one of our friendly advisors who will be happy to help.
Please Note : After completing your booking, a member of our Customer Service team will be in touch to make sure everything is okay.
Either e-mail our Reservations Department or call on 01709 830 333 and they will check to see whether you can visit a particular cemetery on any of our Battlefield Tours, if we are not able to fit it into our itinerary then you could take some time out of the tour and do this independently by taxi or public transport.
Day 1
Local departure by coach, then to Ypres, where we stay for three nights.
Day 2 - In Flanders Fields
We start our tour at Essex Farm, where Canadian poet John McCrae wrote ‘In Flanders Fields’ in 1915 seeing the concrete Dressing Station Bunkers and the nearby cemetery and memorials. At the Visitor’s Centre at the Zwanhof we look at the static front north of Ypres, visiting the preserved Yorkshire Trench. We then look at the mining operations on the Bellewaarde Ridge at Railway Wood, seeing the unique Royal Engineers Grave and the newly-accessible WW1 mine craters. After lunch at Hooge, with a visit to the trenches here, we travel down the Messines Ridge to Messines itself before seeing the Ploegsteert Memorial to the Missing. We end the day at Prowse Point where we look at the story of the Christmas Truce in 1914 seeing the memorials and discussing myth over reality.
Included meals: Breakfast
Ploegsteert Memorial (10)
Key Visits
- Hooge Crater Café
- Ploegsteert Memorial
- Yorkshire Trench
- Mine Crater at Bellewaarde
- Essex Farm Bunkers
- Prowse Point Cemetery
- Messines Visitor's Centre
- Zwanhof Visitor's Centre
- Royal Engineer's Grave, Railway Wood
Day 3 - Tyne Cot
Today we start at Tyne Cot Cemetery, the largest British and Commonwealth Cemetery in the world. We then look at gas warfare in WW1, seeing the moving Brooding Soldier Memorial at Vancouver Corner. At Langemarck we look at the burial of the German dead and then travel to Hooge Crater Café for our lunch period. In the afternoon we visit Polygon Wood and Black Watch Corner, seeing one of the bunkers in the wood. We then see Zillebeke Churchyard, the so-called Aristocrat’s Cemetery where many regular soldiers from 1914 are buried, and end at Hill 60: a large area of preserved battlefield with bunkers and mine craters.
Included meals: Breakfast
Tyne Cot Cemetery in Ypres, Belgium (9)
Key Visits
- Tyne Cot Cemetery in Ypres, Belgium
- Polygon Wood Cemetery
- Hill 60
- Langemarck German Cemetery
- Zillebeke Churchyard
- Vancouver Corner Canadian Memorial
- Black Watch Corner Memorial
- Scott's Bunker, Polygon Wood
Day 4
Return home.
Included meals: Breakfast
Pre-Tour Reading
A selection of related books for pre or post tour reading.
- Barton, Peter - Passchendaele 1917 (Constable 2007)
- MacDonald, Lyn - They Called It Passchendaele (many editions)
- Sheldon, Jack - The German Army At Ypres 1914 (Pen & Sword 2010)
- Reed, Paul - Walking The Salient (Pen & Sword Ltd 1999, new edition 2015)
Passenger Information
The Tour
This tour will look at the Great War battlefields around Ypres which during the years 1914-1918 was the main British bastion on the Western Front. Almost every soldier who came to the Western Front fought at Ypres at some point and by the close of the war, more than 250,000 British and Commonwealth soldiers had died here.
Occasionally it is possible, depending on time, for us to visit a cemetery or memorial outside the main tour itinerary. However, clients will appreciate there are more than 170 British military cemeteries around Ypres and we are not in a position to visit them all. Such visits are at the discretion of your Specialist Guide/Drivers. It is advisable you speak them as soon as possible on the first day of your tour.
Foreign Currency
The ‘Flanders Fields’ tour takes place in Belgium and therefore you will only need the Euro. You are advised to get Euros – in cash – in advance of your tour, as many banks in Belgium do not provided currency exchange services and some cash machines do not accept UK credit/debit cards.
Lunch Stops
Although lunch is not included in your tour price, we now offer a very reasonable optional lunch package covering most of your needs - available to book on tour.
What to Bring
The weather in Belgium can be changeable, and it is advisable to bring sensible clothes and always pack a jumper and waterproofs. Good, stout shoes are essential – remember this was once a battlefield and most of the time we are in rural Belgium! Walking boots or stout trainers are ideal but not essential. In warm weather always bring a hat and sun cream, and it is advisable to have a supply of water.
Specialist Battlefield Guides
All of Leger’s battlefield tours are accompanied by specialist guides. Their individual in-depth knowledge of warfare will be informative, as well as enhance your overall experience, as they recreate a fascinating perception of the history and factual events of each battle. Discover the actual catalysts for war, the strategies employed and the final, inevitable outcomes, as well as experiencing the emotional human side of the front line.
Please note: On certain tours, you may get tour guides other that the ones listed below.
Hotel
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.
All hotel rooms benefit from private bathroom facilities.
Some hotels have tea and coffee making facilities. Please check the tour pages for more information or call our Customer Service Department on 01709 830333
Most hotels have a lift, please call our Customer Service Department on 01709 830333 for more information.
Some hotels have ground floor rooms. Please email for information on individual hotels or call our Customer Service Department on 01709 830333.
Your hotels will supply towels in your room.
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.
Travel Options
Departure times given for each region are approximate. Please check your travel documents to confirm the actual timings.
Front row seats can be reserved for £14pp (up to 6 days duration), £22pp (7 & 8 days duration) and £25pp (9 days duration and over) on all European tours. In addition to this seats on the second row can be reserved for £7pp (up to 6 days duration), £14pp (7 & 8 days duration) and £15pp (9 days duration and over). This offer is only available for bookings of two or four persons on the front row and is subject to availability. Guaranteed front/second row seats cannot be reserved on feeder journeys to/from the U.K. port. 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.
We guarantee that all passengers on the same booking will be seated together on the main tour coach. Seats on the transfer coaches to and from the U.K. port are not allocated.
Hot and cold drinks are served on the main tour coaches. Prices are approximately £1 or 1.25 Euro per drink. Prices will be confirmed by the driver. Drinks may also be served on the transfer coaches but this is not guaranteed.
Transfer vehicles are routed approximately 2-3 weeks before departure and will depend on where passengers 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.
All main tour coaches have on-board toilets. Transfer vehicles to and from the U.K. port may not have on-board toilets. When non-British coaches are used on transfers and tours (air holidays only) an on-board toilet may not be available. However, comfort stops will be made during long journeys.
All coaches feature air-conditioning. Should the air-conditioning system break down for a period exceeding 12 hours, compensation will be awarded up to a maximum of £10 per fare-paying passenger per tour.
Depending on the location of your pickup point, you may be picked up by coach (not necessarily the on you are touring on), minibus, taxi, National Express or Megabus service. You may then be taken to another centralised pickup location or service station. We operate a passenger interchange at Stop 24 Services, where you will meet the tour coach you are holidaying on and then continue on with your outbound journey. Similarly, on the way home, you may also change transfer vehicles at another location, to take you to your final drop off point.
One medium sized suitcase per person, which should weigh no more than 20kg when full. We may refuse to carry larger or heavier cases. Hand luggage can be stored in the overhead racks aboard the coach.
It could be either - This will be confirmed in your travel documents.
When it comes to getting to the Battlefields, Leger Holidays make it easy, with a selection of travel options for you choose from.
Travel Extras
With an overnight stay or the option to meet us at the interchange, our travel extras allow you to create a travel experience to suit your needs...
Join coach at Interchange
+ Find out moreJoin your tour coach at the interchange.
On most tours 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 tours to Ireland and the U.K. and tours travelling via Brittany Ferries.