I am in the early stages of planning a 5 day battlefields / beaches trip and would welcome some recommendations for campsites and maybe cheap B&B’s, also route ideas please. Arriving in Calais through the tunnel, initial thoughts are to visit Dunkirk and Ypres before heading to the Normandy beaches. Alternatively I’m considering visiting Waterloo and then on to the Somme, however I am conscious of time and not wanting to spend too much time riding over there as the tunnel is c 5 hours from home. Thanks
Trip to France / Belgium this July
- Thread starter Ruffy
- Start date
Observation one: It’s a long way from Ypres to the Normandy beaches. In short, roughly 500 kms or 300 miles. That’s going direct, too.
Observation two: The D-day beaches themselves are about 100 miles wide east to west.
Observation three: Much better to decide on one or the other.
Observation four: You are asking for routes (presumably from and back to Calais) and hotels / B&B’s / campsites. Which is most important tp you? Routes or places to stay for your five days?
Observation five: If I were starting / ending in Calais, having trundled off the Chunnel, I’d probably concentrate on the WW1 ‘stuff’ plus, say the Dunkirk cemetery and finish up somewhere around Peronne, with iits excellent museum. In very simple terms, once you have ‘Done Ypres’ you’ll be near enough following the line of the motorway down, past Cambrai, Albert to Peronne. Pick your WW1 ‘stuff’ from there.
You might find this handy: https://www.cwgc.org/our-work/blog/...efields-exploring-the-heart-of-the-great-war/
PS Outside of Dunkirk cemetery (largely ignored on these pages) the main WW2 ‘stuff’ in the NE of France / Flanders / Somme are the V weapon sites, up near Calais.
PPS Usual question: Is the five days:
A. Calais to Calais, or
B. Your front door to your front door, your house being five hours from Folkestone
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Thanks for that, very useful. The trips to and from the tunnel are not included in the 5 days, so Calais to Calais.Observation one: It’s a long way from Ypres to the Normandy beaches. In short, roughly 500 kms or 300 miles. That’s going direct, too.
Observation two: The D-day beaches themselves are about 100 miles wide east to west.
Observation three: Much better to decide on one or the other.
Observation four: You are asking for routes (presumably from and back to Calais) and hotels / B&B’s / campsites. Which is most important tp you? Routes or places to stay for your five days?
Observation five: If I were starting / ending in Calais, having trundled off the Chunnel, I’d probably concentrate on the WW1 ‘stuff’ plus, say the Dunkirk cemetery and finish up somewhere around Peronne, with iits excellent museum. In very simple terms, once you have ‘Done Ypres’ you’ll be near enough following the line of the motorway down, past Cambrai, Albert to Peronne. Pick your WW1 ‘stuff’ from there.
You might find this handy: https://www.cwgc.org/our-work/blog/...efields-exploring-the-heart-of-the-great-war/
PS Outside of Dunkirk cemetery (largely ignored on these pages) the main WW2 ‘stuff’ in the NE of France / Flanders / Somme are the V weapon sites, up near Calais.
PPS Usual question: Is the five days:
A. Calais to Calais, or
B. Your front door to your front door, your house being five hours from Folkestone
Wallonia in Belgium has plenty of battlefield stuff. The local tourist board even provided a guide
https://visitwallonia.com/sites/default/files/Biker's Guide to Wallonia.pdf
see p14 of the PDF
https://visitwallonia.com/sites/default/files/Biker's Guide to Wallonia.pdf
see p14 of the PDF
Thank you.
The five days will give you plenty of time to do:
Calais > Dunkirk > Ypres > then down to Peronne. This is without taking the motorway. But that said, there is nothing wrong with motorway A to B to C, if the real purpose is to see ‘stuff’.
Peronne to Calais to return (direct) up the motorway is about one hour 45 minutes. Depending on what time your train leaves, you could hotfoot it.
This of course assumes you want to do ‘Somme stuff’. As Wessie says, if you want ‘WW2 stuff’ then you want to head, not to Cambrai / Peronne but to the Belgian Ardennes. But we are in danger of starting to fall foul of:
The five days will give you plenty of time to do:
Calais > Dunkirk > Ypres > then down to Peronne. This is without taking the motorway. But that said, there is nothing wrong with motorway A to B to C, if the real purpose is to see ‘stuff’.
Peronne to Calais to return (direct) up the motorway is about one hour 45 minutes. Depending on what time your train leaves, you could hotfoot it.
This of course assumes you want to do ‘Somme stuff’. As Wessie says, if you want ‘WW2 stuff’ then you want to head, not to Cambrai / Peronne but to the Belgian Ardennes. But we are in danger of starting to fall foul of:
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The Dunkirk war cemetery is well worth a visit as has been mentioned. Again, as has been mentioned it does seem to be rather overlooked by many. You are certainly trying to cram a lot of places into five days. There’s at least five days solid riding without stopping to wander around in your list of places.
France is a big old place, much bigger than England.
France is a big old place, much bigger than England.
Here you go:
Not a bad five day jaunt from Ypres to Peronne, using nothing more than my iPad, Google and AI.
140 miles, end to end, so well within your desire not to do too much riding. It avoids motorways and takes in many of the ‘must do’ sites and sights.
To give you some idea, the Belgian Ardennes / Battle of the Bulge ‘stuff’ is away over here:
And the Normandy / D-day beaches ‘stuff’ is away over here, in the opposite direction:
In case it’s not obvious, battlefields are BIG!
Not a bad five day jaunt from Ypres to Peronne, using nothing more than my iPad, Google and AI.
140 miles, end to end, so well within your desire not to do too much riding. It avoids motorways and takes in many of the ‘must do’ sites and sights.
To give you some idea, the Belgian Ardennes / Battle of the Bulge ‘stuff’ is away over here:
And the Normandy / D-day beaches ‘stuff’ is away over here, in the opposite direction:
In case it’s not obvious, battlefields are BIG!
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My advice, if you want to see the D Day stuff without riding large mileages in France is to make a separate trip and use a ferry from Portsmouth, especially if you are limited on time. I am in Mid Wales and when I go to Western France I like the overnight sailings from Portsmouth.
If you plan on staying near Bruges I can highly recommend Nathan,an archaeologist who does his own digs.He will take you to some commercial sites(for want of a better description) but also some of his own digs.We had a truly astonishing tour with him,his insight, from an archaeologists point of view is great to listen,very knowledgeable man.
As others have said,WW1 stuff and Normandy beaches need to be done in 2 seperate visits.I found DFDS Newhaven-Dieppe the most economical way to travel for the beach visits.Thing is,there is so much more than the beaches in the Normandy region,don't get to focused on the beaches,plenty of interesting sites inland.Enjoy it.
Thanks for the replies, plenty to consider. As a family we have enjoyed several French trips however this is my first by bike (together with my eldest son). As suggested I think we’ll focus on a smaller area and ensure that we have time to see the sights.
Good plan.
With five days, you could see a lot without putting a lot of miles under your wheels. For example, you could add in a visit to the Arras Memorial, which is missing in post #7.
en.wikipedia.org
Indeed, there is so much to potentially see, that it’s easy to drown in sights and sites. Me? For a first time? I’d concentrate on say five ‘Must do’ sites and not do much more. For example, you could spend near enough most of a long morning at the Newfoundland Memorial. If you do go there, pick up one of the A4 sheets which describe the battle, as you can rewalk the places. Or, better still, see if you can book a place on one of the guided tours of the site.
Similarly, if you visit the South African memorial and its very good associated museum, that might well take most of a morning or afternoon, by the time you’ve parked, had a coffee or whatever.
One last tip. If you haven’t already, do a little bit of reading (a basic Google search of ‘Battle of the Somme’ will do) just for a little background and to put some basic meat on the story. Join this to a little Google search of the individual ‘must do’ sites and the job’s a good ‘un. The basic example shown above of the Arras Memorial, might give you an idea. Just tapping on the names of those VC holders commemorated is interesting in a way. A tiny bit of surfing around now, will repay itself; trust me.
Arras Memorial - Wikipedia
Indeed, there is so much to potentially see, that it’s easy to drown in sights and sites. Me? For a first time? I’d concentrate on say five ‘Must do’ sites and not do much more. For example, you could spend near enough most of a long morning at the Newfoundland Memorial. If you do go there, pick up one of the A4 sheets which describe the battle, as you can rewalk the places. Or, better still, see if you can book a place on one of the guided tours of the site.
Similarly, if you visit the South African memorial and its very good associated museum, that might well take most of a morning or afternoon, by the time you’ve parked, had a coffee or whatever.
One last tip. If you haven’t already, do a little bit of reading (a basic Google search of ‘Battle of the Somme’ will do) just for a little background and to put some basic meat on the story. Join this to a little Google search of the individual ‘must do’ sites and the job’s a good ‘un. The basic example shown above of the Arras Memorial, might give you an idea. Just tapping on the names of those VC holders commemorated is interesting in a way. A tiny bit of surfing around now, will repay itself; trust me.
Thank you. My son is ‘planner in chief’ so I have passed this information to him.With five days, you could see a lot without putting a lot of miles under your wheels. For example, you could add in a visit to the Arras Memorial, which is missing in post #7.
Arras Memorial - Wikipedia
Indeed, there is so much to potentially see, that it’s easy to drown in sights and sites. Me? For a first time? I’d concentrate on say five ‘Must do’ sites and not do much more. For example, you could spend near enough most of a long morning at the Newfoundland Memorial. If you do go there, pick up one of the A4 sheets which describe the battle, as you can rewalk the places. Or, better still, see if you can book a place on one of the guided tours of the site.
Similarly, if you visit the South African memorial and its very good associated museum, that might well take most of a morning or afternoon, by the time you’ve parked, had a coffee or whatever.
One last tip. If you haven’t already, do a little bit of reading (a basic Google search of ‘Battle of the Somme’ will do) just for a little background and to put some basic meat on the story. Join this to a little Google search of the individual ‘must do’ sites and the job’s a good ‘un. The basic example shown above of the Arras Memorial, might give you an idea. Just tapping on the names of those VC holders commemorated is interesting in a way. A tiny bit of surfing around now, will repay itself; trust me.
For the Dunkirk-Ypres leg, you should/could consider visiting Dksmuide where they have preserved trenches from WW1. The Belgian and German front lines were literally either side of the canal. The Yser Tower Peace Monument in the town is also worth visiting.
Then, when in Ypres, do not forget to visit Talbot House in nearby Poperinge. The museum in Paschendale to the east of Ypres is definitely worth visiting
Then, when in Ypres, do not forget to visit Talbot House in nearby Poperinge. The museum in Paschendale to the east of Ypres is definitely worth visiting
A lot of great tips there. I've got 4 nights booked in Ypres at the end of May for my first solo tour and thought I had it all planned but looks like I need to think again 
Pass it almost every time we head south through Belgium to East France. Indeed worth a stop and look around
I sug
Then there's more general reading such as The Guns of August and Forgotten Victory.
If you're going to understand the 20th and later centuries - and not just in military history - then WW1 is a good start!
I suggest you do it in a couple (or more) successive years. Start with WW1 and then move onto WW2. A bit of prep could begin here ... https://www.ukgser.com/community/threads/battlefield-guide-to-ypres-and-the-somme.252664/
Then there's more general reading such as The Guns of August and Forgotten Victory.
If you're going to understand the 20th and later centuries - and not just in military history - then WW1 is a good start!
Sorry. West France not East France
Going to tag myself here, son wants do the same and planning route for the summer from Ireland so ill rob some ideas from here
Our trip is now booked so I thought I’d update this thread as it might be helpful. My son has arranged it so any mistakes will be mine in translating his plan! Total trip is 7 days, with days 1 & 7 riding to and from Folkestone from home (Scarborough). Early start on day 1 to get the 14:20 Le Shuttle, first night AirB&B in Dunkirk (c. 28 miles from Calais). Day 2, a bit of time in Dunkirk then on to Ypres (c. 30 miles). Ypres is our base for the next 3 nights, camping at Urban Gardens which is in Ypres so walking distance to everything. Lots planned there for a couple of days before a day trip to Bruges (c. 70 miles) then back to the campsite in Ypres before moving on to the Somme. After a night at a campsite near Arras (Camping Les Sources) we’ll start making our way back towards Calais, with a night at Ardres (Camping Ardresien). We’re booked on the 09:20 Le Shuttle so may have time for a scenic ride to Calais, probably up the D940, if we get up early enough. Detailed routes haven’t been planned however total mileage over there probably around 300, kept deliberately low as the journey to Folkestone is just short of 300 miles and I have a bad back (also partly why we are spending 3 nights in Ypres with a complete rest from riding for a couple of days).
In terms of cost, who knows how much petrol will be by July (if it’s still available) but I will use 3+ tankfuls in the GSA. Le Shuttle is £114 each return; the campsite in Ypres is €75 as they’re kindly letting us share a pitch. The other 2 campsites are about £20 a night, with the most expensive accommodation being the AirB&B at £83. Food will be a mixture of cooking ourselves (hopefully BBQ, weather permitting) and the odd meal out.
I haven’t done this sort of trip before, even though I’ve always wanted to do a bit of bike touring, so at 57 I’m finally getting to do it. My son is riding solo to Oktoberfest in September and wanted a practice trip with some company; I didn’t need much persuading although I’m a little apprehensive about spending that much time sat on the bike due to the aforementioned back issue. We have a dry run (hopefully!) to the Yorkshire Dales in June to shakedown all the camping gear and perfect the art of pannier packing.
In terms of cost, who knows how much petrol will be by July (if it’s still available) but I will use 3+ tankfuls in the GSA. Le Shuttle is £114 each return; the campsite in Ypres is €75 as they’re kindly letting us share a pitch. The other 2 campsites are about £20 a night, with the most expensive accommodation being the AirB&B at £83. Food will be a mixture of cooking ourselves (hopefully BBQ, weather permitting) and the odd meal out.
I haven’t done this sort of trip before, even though I’ve always wanted to do a bit of bike touring, so at 57 I’m finally getting to do it. My son is riding solo to Oktoberfest in September and wanted a practice trip with some company; I didn’t need much persuading although I’m a little apprehensive about spending that much time sat on the bike due to the aforementioned back issue. We have a dry run (hopefully!) to the Yorkshire Dales in June to shakedown all the camping gear and perfect the art of pannier packing.
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