MCI- WW1 battlefield tour

[tim dew]

Hi, we am going on the MCI tour next month and was interested in finding out any 'must visit' places of interest near by.

we have a guided tour for one day and then two free days before heading back home.

any recommendations?

Thanks

Tim

 

[Twotter]

any recommendations?

It depends on where your tour is based Tim and where the guided tour is going to take you

 

[GlynnJ]

The Menin gate in Ieper/Ypres is a monument to many thousands of Allied soldiers who were lost in WWI but do not have a marked grave. At 20.00 every evening the local fire brigade buglers play the last post. Often there is a special event to commemorate a particular regiment or battle and then the performance is longer and more appropriate to that group.

Well worth a visit

 

[wessie]

It depends on where your tour is based Tim and where the guided tour is going to take you

http://www.mcitours.com/pages/toursdetail.asp?CatID=2&TourID=25

Base is near Peronne in the Somme.

Ypres/Ieper is worth a visit but some 80 miles away. You'll be back fairly late if you stay to hear the Last Post at the Menin Gate. Although, you could have dinner in Ypres, get to the gate for 8pm and ride back to Peronne for a nightcap.

If you want to have a nice ride on the bike then head east to the Ardennes. You could pick a route taking in 4 countries.

 

[Twotter]

That's better

If you want to stay with WW1 then I'd suggest going up to Ypres on the one day and over to Verdun on the other. Or take a closer look into the history of the Battle of the Somme...particular regiments/VC winners/first use of the tank etc...

There's a trip report or two that are worth looking through

 

[piebaps]

Around Ypres there are loads of interesting things to see. The Passchendaele museum ay Zonnerbecke is good and Bayernwald german trenches are excellent. They have been reconstructed and are much better than the mess at Hill 62. You will however need a PIN number for the lock to get into Bayernwald and this is available from the local tourist office (I can't remember it offhand).

 

[Invicta Moto]

Around Ypres there are loads of interesting things to see. The Passchendaele museum ay Zonnerbecke is good and Bayernwald german trenches are excellent. They have been reconstructed and are much better than the mess at Hill 62. You will however need a PIN number for the lock to get into Bayernwald and this is available from the local tourist office (I can't remember it offhand).

Without wanting to hijack the thread... What are the Bayernwald Trenches like? They seem to get a good write up on the WW1 forums and free to get in?

 

[Hustler]

The museum in Ypres is well worth a visit, plus Talbot House in Poperinge and Vimy Ridge where you can also go on a tour of the tunnels.

 

[pablo666]

What date are you going? A friend and I are going 11th May and haven't set an itinery yet.

Pablo

 

[Hustler]

Or just stop at a war cemetary, of which you will pass countless, and just spend a bit of time looking at the graves and the ages of the soldiers.
Quite a humbling, upsetting experience.

 

[Glyno]

Try [email protected]
A truly unforgetable experience and a place that you will want to return to again and again,as I have over the last 14 years.
Bet theres loads on this forum that have been.
A typical French farm house right on the 1916 front line.A full english brekky will set you up for the days trekking the old trench lines.Bang in the centre of the Somme battlefields,check it out 1 hour 15 from Calais.

 

[Twotter]

Try [email protected]
A truly unforgetable experience and a place that you will want to return to again and again,as I have over the last 14 years.
Bet theres loads on this forum that have been.
A typical French farm house right on the 1916 front line.A full english brekky will set you up for the days trekking the old trench lines.Bang in the centre of the Somme battlefields,check it out 1 hour 15 from Calais.

Never stayed there but have stopped off for lunch a few times. Wish Avril would get rid of the gravel in the car park