Weekend to do Arras and the Somme?

[Invicta Moto]

Dear All,

I'm looking at a weekend to explore the Somme sights/sites and would like to ask for some help from the experts on here. I have done 3 day trips over the last 18 months to the Ieper Salient.

I've done a personal trip to the Somme around Amiens as my Grandfather's cousin is buried at Corbie.

The consensus is to stay in Arras for the Saturday night and do Vimy on the way in and then The Wellington Quarry. The Ibis in the city centre being touted as it is very central and leaves loads of options for eating and drinking. Although I have been a few times to Arras for the bike's service (!) I've not done the Quarry.

For Sunday I am looking at a loop through the Somme and this is where I'd like some help!

I have these on my checklist so far:

• Thiepval Visitor Centre (Irish Tower etc all nearby)
• Albert
• Newfoundland Park Visitor Centre, Beaumont Hamel
• Historial de la Grande Guerre, Péronne

Feasible? Any other places we can fit in before a possible Shuttle home about 7.30pm local time?

 

[John Armstrong]

If you've anybody from Sheffield or Accrington, then their memorials make poignant places to go go:

http://www.pals.org.uk/visit.htm

Stopped here in Arras: http://www.ostel-les-3luppars.com/index2.htm right on the square, which has parking underneath it.

 

[Twotter]

For Sunday I am looking at a loop through the Somme and this is where I'd like some help!

I have these on my checklist so far:

• Thiepval Visitor Centre (Irish Tower etc all nearby)
• Albert
• Newfoundland Park Visitor Centre, Beaumont Hamel
• Historial de la Grande Guerre, Péronne

Feasible? Any other places we can fit in before a possible Shuttle home about 7.30pm local time?

I wouldn't worry about Albert or Peronne either if I were you.

My top six places to visit on the Somme are:

1) Sheffield Memorial Park near Serre.
2) the Sunken Road across from Hawthorn Crater outside of Beaumont-Hamel.
3) Newfoundland Memorial Park.
4) Thiepval
5) Lochnagar Crater near La Boiselle.
6) Devonshire Cemetery near Mametz.

On the next trip you could go into Albert to visit the Somme Trench Museum next to the Basilica, the South African National Memorial at Delville Wood, Pozieres CWGC, 38th (Welsh) Div Memorial at Mametz Wood...I could keep on going!

 

[FERRET]

Ive done the somme area a few times with a group from work and have always invested in the services of a guide as you can miss so much, failing this a good guide book is Major and Mrs HOLTS guide to the somme, very informative and they have driving itinerys listed and a good deal of info.

ferret

 

[Invicta Moto]

Ive done the somme area a few times with a group from work and have always invested in the services of a guide as you can miss so much, failing this a good guide book is Major and Mrs HOLTS guide to the somme, very informative and they have driving itinerys listed and a good deal of info.

ferret

Thanks. I ordered the book today. I have used their books on the D-Day Beaches and Ypres over the years and they are a great source of info.

 

[Invicta Moto]

I wouldn't worry about Albert or Peronne either if I were you.

My top six places to visit on the Somme are:

1) Sheffield Memorial Park near Serre.
2) the Sunken Road across from Hawthorn Crater outside of Beaumont-Hamel.
3) Newfoundland Memorial Park.
4) Thiepval
5) Lochnagar Crater near La Boiselle.
6) Devonshire Cemetery near Mametz.

On the next trip you could go into Albert to visit the Somme Trench Museum next to the Basilica, the South African National Memorial at Delville Wood, Pozieres CWGC, 38th (Welsh) Div Memorial at Mametz Wood...I could keep on going!

Superb, I'll get on the Net this evening and see where they all are placed and get a route in mapsource.

 

[ricardo]

If you've anybody from Sheffield or Accrington, then their memorials make poignant places to go go:

http://www.pals.org.uk/visit.htm

Stopped here in Arras: http://www.ostel-les-3luppars.com/index2.htm right on the square, which has parking underneath it.

Got to agree with John about the Accrington Pals memorial. Being an Accy lad I felt I had to go there and it's a place I'll never forget. Thiepval and Lochnagar Crater also good.

This is the view from the Pals trenches towards the German line. Very different today than in 1916, but traces of the trenches remain.

 

[Invicta Moto]

Got to agree with John about the Accrington Pals memorial. Being an Accy lad I felt I had to go there and it's a place I'll never forget. Thiepval and Lochnagar Crater also good.

This is the view from the Pals trenches towards the German line. Very different today than in 1916, but traces of the trenches remain.

I was going to ask if you could get the bikes up there as Google Earth doesn't show much detail of the road....

 

[John Armstrong]

This shows the position well, and the farm track that leads up to it:

http://maps.google.com/maps?source=...EA_en-GBGB323&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wl

Looking out from the memorial, up the slope to where the Germans would have been, and seeing the cemetry in the distance, was very moving.



One other thought, Tyne Cot?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyne_Cot

http://www.greatwar.co.uk/ypres-salient/cemetery-tyne-cot.htm

http://maps.google.com/maps?source=...EA_en-GBGB323&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wl

Went as a great-uncle is one of the many who are mentioned on the memorial to the missing.

 

[Invicta Moto]

This shows the position well, and the farm track that leads up to it:

http://maps.google.com/maps?source=...EA_en-GBGB323&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wl

Looking out from the memorial, up the slope to where the Germans would have been, and seeing the cemetry in the distance, was very moving.



One other thought, Tyne Cot?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyne_Cot

http://www.greatwar.co.uk/ypres-salient/cemetery-tyne-cot.htm

http://maps.google.com/maps?source=...EA_en-GBGB323&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wl

Went as a great-uncle is one of the many who are mentioned on the memorial to the missing.

Have been to Tyne Cot a few times over the years. I led a run across in 2003 and we had to contend with a local car-rally. This year went in April and found a different way in and a great big visitor centre and car parks.

The same at Langemark! Car-park and displays rather than just the cemetery.

 

[Twotter]

I was going to ask if you could get the bikes up there as Google Earth doesn't show much detail of the road....

My brother got up there on a Z1000 a few years ago

 

[Gecko]

You might find this handy if you haven't got it already

 

[Gecko]

Similar for Ypres

 

[MikeP]

2) the Sunken Road across from Hawthorn Crater outside of Beaumont-Hamel.

If you do this one, stand with your back to the memorial by the start of the sunken road and the Sunken Road on your left.

Looking 1 o'clock you can just see the roof tops of Beaumont-Hamel (in the V of the valley). You will be on the approximate start-line of the 86th Brigade, 29 Division on the first day of the Somme, 1st July 1916 (the Sunken Road was in no-man's land).

1st Bn Lancashire Fusiliers formed-up in the sunken road to assault the Bergwerk, a German strong-point (standing in the same position, look 12 o'clock and the clump of trees over the field is the Bergwerk). They never reached it. The sunken road was such an obvious assault jumping-off point that the Germans had registered it with artillery and machine-guns.

This image shows the Lancashire Fusiliers in the Sunken Road waiting to go over.

Then look between 2 and 3 o'clock. On the sky-line is a copse. This has grown around the crater left by a mine dug under Hawthorn Redoubt (another strong-point).

The hedge/field boundary running away up the hill is the 1st July front-line trench.

There's a piece of film showing a mine being set off from the Great War. It's the only film of such an event. It was the mine that was set off at 07.20 1st July 1916 (ten minutes ahead of zero hour) under Hawthorn Redoubt.

This is a still from that footage superimposed over the current Hawthorn Redoubt crater.

2nd Bn Royal Fusiliers assaulted and took the Redoubt but were driven off it after half an hour or so.

Beaumont-Hamel was not taken until November 1916. It's worth thinking of that when stood at the Sunken Road and looking at how near Beaumont-Hamel sits.

 

[Twotter]

This is a still from that footage superimposed over the current Hawthorn Redoubt crater.

Brilliant pic(s) Mike

 

[Old Codger]

Cracking B and B on the Somme Run by GSER's

Martin and Kate Pegler
Kates on here as Combles Pillion

Orchard Farm
Combles

Martin guides tours if required
Gser and an expert on the Somme ex Museum Curator and font of WW1 knowlege
and Hosts par excellence

Their site is www.martinpegler.com

I stayed with my daughter last year for 2 nights and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

They are on the Somme curcuit We visited Thiepval, Lochnagar Crater and the must see Underground Museum under Albert to mention just a few places
before the trip north to Ypres

Frank

 

[Nemo]

Martin & Kate Pegler

Can't recommend them highly enough

Did Martin's motorcycle tour of the Somme: we started with an overview and then drove in our little convoy of bikes to all the main sites (including Accrington Pals jump-off point as above) and at each place Martin would really bring the history alive. A Top day.

Martin and Kate are really nice people!

 

[Bigyin]

The Ibis in the city centre being touted as it is very central and leaves loads of options for eating and drinking.

The Ibis is bang in the centre and just behind it is the Grande Place which has every choice of food and drinks place you could think of. I used to go to Arras every year since 2002 for a race meeting and stayed in the Hotel Moderne on the Place de la Gare (bike parking right outside and a pro bike irish pub, now owned by a French couple direclty opposite )

A beautiful city and good base to go touring around for the battlefield sites.....hope to do the tours myself in the near future

 

[Invicta Moto]

The Ibis is bang in the centre and just behind it is the Grande Place which has every choice of food and drinks place you could think of. I used to go to Arras every year since 2002 for a race meeting and stayed in the Hotel Moderne on the Place de la Gare (bike parking right outside and a pro bike irish pub, now owned by a French couple direclty opposite )

A beautiful city and good base to go touring around for the battlefield sites.....hope to do the tours myself in the near future

Cheers. I've been a fair few times as I have had the GS serviced many times at the BMW Dealers in the city. Only stayed once before at the Mercure.

 

[Invicta Moto]

Have dates now = 17/18th April 2010. Open invite.

I have changed the days around to do the Thiepval etc day on the Saturday with the overnight in Arras.

Sunday local, Wellington Quarry/Vimy and then back to Calais.