Dates are confirmed.
Travel over on Friday 15th August.
The Plan:
Outbound crossing will be via the Tunnel. The crossing to choose is the mid-day train, this allows up to two hours prior or post the booked time. Unlike the ferries this gives us some slack to allow for meeting-up prior to the crossing.
Day One: Cross to Calais and take a cross-country route to the camp-site near Arras, taking in the Agincourt battlefield on the way.
On arrival pitch camp and eat that night in the camp restaurant, quaffing the excellent local beer and a general chat about the causes of the Great War.
Day Two (Sat. 16/08): Early(ish) start, stop in Cambrai for coffee and croissant en route to Le Cateau where we will stop briefly to outline the route and actions of the BEF in August 1914.
We will then turn north and follow the route taken by the BEF to Mons, a brief stop at Malplaquet, then on to where the first BEF/German action took place near the HQ of SHAPE (Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe).
Back into Mons and the scene of the first two VC's of the great war.
Southeast to St Symphorien CWGC-combined German and Allied cemetery. Here we will see the first VC winner's grave, the first and last British casualties and the last Canadian fatality - all in the same cemetery.
Back through Mons to where a holding action was fought (bit of unmade tracks. Can be muddy) and then back to Le Cateau, following the same roads taken by the retreating BEF.
At Le Cateau, we will visit the 'sunken road' where II Corps turned and stopped the German pursuit. (Local CWGC cemetery and a German one alongside).
Back to camp (this is probably the longest day, mainly because of the distances).
Day Three (Sun 17/08): Battle of Arras 1917. Circling North from the camp-site, we will approach Vimy Ridge from the Douai Plain. This approach gives the best appreciation of Vimy Ridge and shows the strategic importance of the high ground.
We will visit the beautiful Canadian memorial and the preserved trenches. There will be an opportunity to visit the very good Visitor Centre.
There are some interesting CWGC sites in the area, a couple of them are mine craters.
We will follow the line of the first day of the Arras battle to Neuville-Vitasse before turning our attention to the continuation of the battle that became known as the Battle of the Scarpe.
This leads us back to the camp-site (the camp-site is just behind the limit of the Allied advance). One of the CWGC sites is at Roeux. It's down a track that can be a bit overgrown, again possibly muddy.
Through these visits, I'll be providing some narrative of the events.
Day Four (Mon 18/08): Arras, to visit the Caves Museum (Arras has naturally occurring caves. These were extended and used by the Allies to move and shelter troops). Afternoon, either visit the Arras museums or have an afternoon off.
Day Five (Tue 19/08): We will head south to Lochnagar Crater. This is the largest mine crater still existing. Then to Theipval Memorial to the Somme Missing.
Day Six (Wed 20/08): Pack-up and move to Ypres. En route we will visit CWGC sites as we will be roughly following the BEF/Empire front line.
Pitch camp in the site in Ypres. The town centre is within easy walking distance.
Day Seven (Thu 21/08): Hooge, Messines Ridge, Sanctuary Wood and Polygon Wood.
This area is much more 'commercially' attuned to the Great War. There were effectively Battles of Ypres every year of the war. Consequently there is a great concentration of places to see here and some unsavoury exploitation. We will visit the Sanctuary Wood museum. If you wish to visit that's not a problem (I know two of us that will wait outside).
Day Eight (Fri 22/08): Passchendaele. Tyne Cot CWGC. This is the single largest CWGC site in the world. Here we will take our time. The visitor centre (a newly opened addition) is worth taking time over.
Back into Ypres and we will spend the afternoon visiting the "In Flanders Field" exhibition in the old Ypres Cloth Hall.
Day Nine (Sat 23/08): Either a free day to wind-down or if you wish, come with me to Recce the Neuve Chapelle battlefield (back into France). This battle in 1915, was a Pyrrhic victory for the BEF but gave rise to the Great Shell Scandal.
On this last evening we will attend the Menin Gate at Ypres to witness the ceremony that has been repeated since 1928 (save for four years in WWII). The Menin Gate contains 54,896 names of the missing from the battles for Ypres (Tyne Cot has a further 35,000 names of the missing and about 70% of the headstones in Tyne Cot have no names). At 8:00 pm daily, the Last Post is sounded, the through traffic is stopped and locals even now open their doors and stand silently as the ceremony takes place!
Day Ten (Sun 24/08): Break camp and make our way back to the Channel.
Places are limited only because with so much stopping and starting, it will be impossible to keep to the schedules if the group is too big.
Arranging travel is up to the individual.
Anyone is free to leave before the appointed finish date.
Meals: Evenings can be self-catering or in a local establishment according to individual desire.
Lunches: It would be best to buy something for a packed lunch or snack because it isn't always possible to find somewhere suitable to take lunch.
Camp- site fees. It's up to individuals to pay for their pitch/nights upon our arrival. Once I have the confirmed numbers, I will try and pre-book the two camp-sites.
I will try and put together some maps for everyone so that we can point out what happened where when we stop. There will also be some reading of accounts by those who took part in the actions we will cover.
At the moment there are three of us confirmed, I really don't want the group to exceed eight bikes in total. Pillions are welcome.
This really isn't an "organised event" - it's just a trip that a few of us will be making and I thought that some might like to join in. If at any time someone wants to do their own thing, that's fine. Likewise, leaving earlier than us isn't a problem.
Everyone will be expected to look after themselves with regard to fuel, food and support in the event of a mishap but no doubt we will all pitch-in to help if we can.
I have to stress that this is not a commercial venture. Three bikes and four people will be going anyway. The itinerary is not set in stone, time, weather and circumstances may conspire to alter things.
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