Just an idea at present, no firm dates as yet but expect it to be around August for two reasons: First, it's the time of year of the events and secondly, the local agriculture allows a better view of the ground by August.
At the moment I'm concentrating on the BEF actions in and around Mons on 23rd Agust 1914, the retreat from Mons to the battle of Le Cateau.
I've been studying the two battles in greater detail. In previous years we have camped near Arras and ridden to Mons. Although the campsite used previously is very good, it was primarily chosen for access to the battlefields of Artois and the Somme. It meant that the time spent in Mons was severely restricted by the distance travelled to get there.
I've found a municipal campsite in Mons itself. It gets a good report and is a fifteen minute walk from the centre of the town. This may also allow some visits to the site of some unit engagements along the Conde Canal and the old railway station on foot.
Visiting the Le Cateau battlefield will be a ride along the routes of the retreat.
Some of the sites here and at Mons are accessed via unmade tracks (often very muddy if the weather has been unkind).
This isn't an organised tour where you can expect to be taken straight to all the sites. I've done a fair few of the places before but the object of this trip is to find a lot more, so there's going to be a lot of looking at maps, scratching of heads and trying to compare some 'then' photos with what's there now.
I anticipate one day on foot in Mons, one day on the bikes in the Mons area and maybe two days on the bikes at Le Cateau (to include the routes taken by both BEF Corps in the retreat either side of the forest of Mormal).
Flexibility will be the key. Depending on how successful the 'finding' places is and if anyone has the time/money/inclination, we could move to Artois and do some Somme sites or go to Ypres and the sites there on the way back.
At the moment I'm concentrating on the BEF actions in and around Mons on 23rd Agust 1914, the retreat from Mons to the battle of Le Cateau.
I've been studying the two battles in greater detail. In previous years we have camped near Arras and ridden to Mons. Although the campsite used previously is very good, it was primarily chosen for access to the battlefields of Artois and the Somme. It meant that the time spent in Mons was severely restricted by the distance travelled to get there.
I've found a municipal campsite in Mons itself. It gets a good report and is a fifteen minute walk from the centre of the town. This may also allow some visits to the site of some unit engagements along the Conde Canal and the old railway station on foot.
Visiting the Le Cateau battlefield will be a ride along the routes of the retreat.
Some of the sites here and at Mons are accessed via unmade tracks (often very muddy if the weather has been unkind).
This isn't an organised tour where you can expect to be taken straight to all the sites. I've done a fair few of the places before but the object of this trip is to find a lot more, so there's going to be a lot of looking at maps, scratching of heads and trying to compare some 'then' photos with what's there now.
I anticipate one day on foot in Mons, one day on the bikes in the Mons area and maybe two days on the bikes at Le Cateau (to include the routes taken by both BEF Corps in the retreat either side of the forest of Mormal).
Flexibility will be the key. Depending on how successful the 'finding' places is and if anyone has the time/money/inclination, we could move to Artois and do some Somme sites or go to Ypres and the sites there on the way back.
