The Somme Offensive
5 days from £729pp
About the tour: The Somme Offensive
Tour Introduction
This fascinating tour based in the heart of the Somme battlefields, staying at Albert, takes an in-depth look at both familiar and lesser-known battlefield locations, covering aspects of 'the forgotten Somme'. We also get special access to the trenches in Thiepval Wood and have an included evening meal at Le Tommy in Pozières.
Tour Includes
- 3 or 4 nights hotel with continental breakfast
- 1 lunch at Ulster Tower
- 1 dinner at Le Tommy
- 2 evening meals (5-day tour only)
- Specialist Battlefield Guide
- Convenient local joining points
(Deposits from £150pp)
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 our hotel at Albert in northern France for a four-night stay.
Day 2 - Battle of the Woods
We begin on the southern edge of the Somme battlefields looking at the role of the ‘Poilus’ – the French Army on the Somme. We see where the British and French units met up and look at the memorial which commemorates this.
Next, we cover the Pals battalions from Liverpool and Manchester who captured the village of Montauban, seeing their memorial.
We then learn about the ‘Horseshoe of Woods’ on the Somme, looking at the fighting for Bernafay and Trônes Wood, and the battle for the ground around Guillemont, seeing the memorial to the Irish troops who fought here.
Next, we travel to a unique part of the Somme battlefields at Rancourt where a British, a French and German cemetery from 1916 are all found in the same area – evidence of the losses of all these nations on the Somme.
Lunchtime is spent in Peronne, and in the afternoon we look at the role of South African troops at Delville Wood, visit the New Zealand Memorial near Flers, and travel via Bazentin to Mametz Wood, to learn more about the role of Welsh troops there in the battle of July 1916, seeing their Red Dragon memorial.
Included meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Mametz Wood (6)
Key Visits
- Delville Wood
- Mametz Wood
- Maricourt French Memorial
- Guillemont Road Cemetery
- New Zealand Memorial
Day 3 - Louvencourt - Trenches at Thiepval Wood
We go behind the lines on the Somme this morning to Louvencourt, to look at one of the classic stories of the First World War – the love story between Vera Brittain and Roland Leighton, immortalised in her book ‘Testament of Youth’, and ending with his tragic death.
We visit his grave at Louvencourt Cemetery, and then travel back to the front-line area, spending the rest of the morning exploring the battlefield around the famous Sunken Lane and Hawthorn Mine Crater at Beaumont-Hamel. Here, we see the battlefield, walk up to the crater, and visit the battlefield cemeteries.
We include lunch at the Ulster Tower and look at the Ulstermen’s attack here on 1st July 1916, before our included special guided visit into Thiepval Wood to see the preserved trenches and positions, as well as the battlefield cemeteries. We end at the Thiepval Memorial to look at the story of the Missing of the Somme.
This evening, we have an included evening meal at Le Tommy Bar at Pozières, where we also have time to examine the unique collection of military artefacts here as well as a recreated WW1 Trench System.
Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Thiepval Wood Trenches (7)
Key Visits
- Thiepval Memorial
- Sunken Lane, Beaumont-Hamel
- Hawthorn Mine
- Louvencourt Cemetery
- Thiepval Wood Trenches
- Mill Road Cemetery, Thiepval
Day 4 - The Commonwealth on the Somme
We cross the River Somme this morning and travel to some of the 1918 battlefields to visit the Villers-Bretonneux Military Cemetery and Australian Memorial. Here we see the burial grounds from some of the final battles on the Somme, and on the walls of the memorial, Australia’s missing from the 1916 battles. We also have an included visit to the Sir John Monash Centre which examines Australia’s role on the Western Front, before having our lunch period at Corbie.
In the afternoon, we return to the main 1916 battlefield and follow the story of the Australians at Pozières and Canadians at Courcelette, including a visit to Regina Trench Cemetery.
We end at the Butte de Warlencourt, now a memorial site, where the Battle of the Somme came to a conclusion in a snowstorm in November 1916.
Included meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Villers-Bretonneux (6)
Key Visits
- Courcelette Battlefield
- Villers-Bretonneux
- Pozières Windmill Site
- Butte de Warlencourt
- Adelaide Cemetery
- Regina Trench Cemetery
Day 5
Return home.
Included meals: Breakfast
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.
Ibis Albert
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About the hotel
The Ibis Albert hotel in France offers a relaxed stay, conveniently located just 2km from both the Albert train station and the Le Musée des Abris-Somme 1916. Guests can enjoy their comfortable rooms, featuring free Wi-Fi, flat-screen TVs, and en-suite bathrooms.
Hotel Features
- English Speaking Staff
- Guest Lounge
- Lift
- Restaurant
- WiFi Available
Room Features
- Bath and/or Shower
- Hairdryer
- TV
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.
Silver Service Coach
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Silver Service Features
- Sit back and relax in specially-designed, deluxe reclining seats, with leather headrests, footrests and more legroom than standard coaches.
- Enjoy the perfect temperature onboard with climate control.
- Relax and have a chat in the spacious rear lounge.
- Servery on board offering a range of refreshments.
- Porterage* at most hotels, so you really don’t have to lift a finger.
- Time flies with our onboard entertainment system.
- With free personal headphones you can tune into the music channel, listen to the radio or watch DVDs.
- Onboard toilet
Silver Service Seating Plan
Silver Service Virtual Tour
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.
