Tour of WW1 and WW2 Battlefields

salty

Guest
Hey folks, looking for some help here, me and swmbo are heading over to europe in July for a couple of weeks touring. Coming back last year we stopped off in Ieper and i was blown away by the whole WW1 thing and i would like to do a fair bit more looking around the general area, im aware its my wifes holiday too and i plan to take in some Alpine passes and Black Forrest routes too but really dont know where to start with the WW1 stuff or how long to do it for as there is so much to do and see, ive looked at the ride reports over the pages and that just makes me want to do more but im aware i cant do everything.
My wife is quite happy doing 'whatever' as she is just glad to get away on the bike and get some miles in.
Any suggestions so i can do a bit of everything ? :confused:
 
Verdun area is steeped in WW1 history, I have visited twice, on the way to black Forest and the Alps. going again for a couple of days this year.

Can highly recommend Two Wheel Moorings around Verdun and Pension Williams in the Black Forest.

You will probably struggle to do WW1 sites plus Black Forest and Alps in a single trip, the Black Forest is relatively small (smaller than Wales) so most keys sites and roads can be visited in a wekk and using a single base.

The Alps occupy a larger area than the entire British Isles and nearly every road is perfect for biking, I spent a week here last year and just touched a tiny bit of what is available, going back next year and hoping to do a two week trip to get to some further reaches in 2013.

More on my trips, including some details / pics of Verdun area:

http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php?t=249110

http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php?t=247181
 
Cheers mate, have read your reports already and alot of good stuff.
Im not planning on doing all the Black Forrest or anywhere near all the alps, looking for a round trip that will take me through most places.
last year we went for a month down through Germany, Switzerland, Italy, France and Belgium seeing alot but not doing alot if that makes sense.
Would like to still move most days as opposed to sitting in one for a few and exploring, like to get up and move on to new places.
Just feels as if my head is going to explode but in a good way, dont you just love planning. :comfort
 
Hi Salty, long time no speak since your first foray across the briny. :thumb2 http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php?t=219096

I think you can do both but, as usual, you need to sort out what is most important.... Alps, battlefields or your marriage.

First, the major WW2 sites are miles away from the WW1 sites, other than the Ardennes / Battle of the Bulge bit.

As you live in Jockland, I guess you might be landing in Holland or Belgium?

If so (and you have done Ypres) you can get your skates on for a bit of WW2 by visiting the V1 and V2 launch sites, very close to the Calais coast.

Then, you can take yourself down to Peronne, which is in the centre of the Somme 'circuit'. The 'circuit' is a broadly circular road journey around many of the major W1 (British sector) sites. All well signposted by the ever efficient French. Spend a day or so there.

You could then go across without too much difficulty to look at Chemin des Dames and on to Verdun.

If you have a Garmin GPS, one of the 80 Virees a Moto threads has a great route taking in Chemin des Dames. I have attached it. At 110 miles a VERY easy day's ride, with time to stop etc.

I have also included one for Verdun.

By now your wife will probably be WW1'd out.

From Verdun, plot yourself a decent route south-east'ish to wherever in the Alps you fancy.

On the way back?

Take in the Ardennes and / or the Maginot Line. Or do that first, and the V1 / V2 sites on the way back.

That's it all done. :thumb2
 

Attachments

  • La Montagne de Reims et le Chemin des Dames.gdb
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  • Au long des canaux et rivieres de Lorraine.zip
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Again, Wapping, you make it far too simple as normal !! Are you a person or just an touring encyclopedia lol, you never fail to amaze me !!

After my trip last year which was a success albeit a fuzzy one i shall take all on board and digest with the wife this time.

Trip last year was a 80% success however there were things i would change but i suppose thats experience for you. You cant buy it. For one i would tell myself to highlight the roads i had travelled the same day because there are places ive been but have no idea where they are, what a shame cause there were some crackers. Would love to of put a report up but dont really know where i have been or where the photos were taken and im not the sharpest with laptops. That will change this year. Thanks for your help with last years tour, you made it alot easier for my first time. :clap
 
No problem at all.

There are always things everyone would change, for sure. You are not unique there. :thumb2

Yup, it's a good idea to mark the day's ride on a map. Even at the end of the day it's sometimes hard to remember where you went. I scribble all over my maps and / or pick up local free tourist flyers, if only to jog my memory.

A nifty new gizmo are the pocket cameras with built in GPS. These are now slowly dropping in price. Great (but not really cheap, yet) toys, which will link each picture up with Googlemaps and show you where you were.

It would be great if you could do a report. It can be as amateur as you like; not least it's good practice at the PC............. and it will help you remember.
 
Nearly forgot.... If you want Italian WW1.... head for the Dolomites. Nicer than the Alps, in my humble.

dtmap.gif


http://www.worldwar1.com/itafront/trecime.htm
 
Somme in early July.... Dont know what dates you have in mind for this area but be mindful the 1st is a big anniversary and so getting digs may be problematic, particularly near the popular sights. :thumb
 
It would be great if you could do a report. It can be as amateur as you like; not least it's good practice at the PC............. and it will help you remember.[/QUOTE]

I shall try one, the least i can do and like you said will give me practice.:eek:
 
I agree with other posters - Verdun is somewhere special.

Regarding WW2 sites. There are three close to Calais that often get overlooked that are mentioned by Wapping. Here's the official websites for them:
Mimoyeques the V3 weapons site. Between Boulogne and Calais;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V-3_cannon
http://www.ww2museums.com/article/182/Muse%E9-de-la-base-de-V3-de-Mimoyecques.htm

Eperleques: a place where V1s were assembled. Just north of St Omer
http://www.leblockhaus.com/modulosite2/welcome-gb.htm

La Coupole: where V2s were to be assembled and launched from one massively reinforced complex. Just west of St Omer.
http://www.lacoupole-france.com/en/default.asp

All worthy of a visit. You can get a combined admission to all and could do all in a day.

Happy riding,
Dave
 
Hi Salty

Lunchtime, so have been thinking about your jaunt.

As with last year, you need to work out how many days you have got.

Living in the barren north, I guess you lose at least a couple of days out of your planned 'couple of weeks' traveling between home to Holland (or wherever) and back? Say three days lost for argument's sake.

If I am right, that leaves you 11 days to do the war and some part of 'The Alps'.... and still stay married.

Last year you wanted an average daily mileage of 150 miles, which is fine. But, it depends on what you most want to do and when. Also, 150 miles on a D road is a lot slower than 150 miles on a motorway.

How about this:

Miss out the Ardennes. They will not go away and there is probably enough to do there (maybe combined with a Black Forest / Vosges jaunt) another time.

Day one.
Land in Holland (say) scoot down to Peronne. You can do that in a day, no sweat. 10 days left.

Day two. Do the Remembrance Circuit / take in one or two of the bigger memorials. If nothing else it will give you a taste of things and it should not be too difficult. 9 days left.

Day three. Across to Verdun. That is an easy ride. Depending on when you arrive you may have time to do the giant grave yard. 8 days left.

Day four. This depends on what you got up to yesterday. Let's assume that you have done Verdun. Now, you need to crack to The Alps..... but how and where? Given your time constraints, I would look at motorwaying it. There is no shame and you need to get going to the Alps. 7 days left.

Day five. Now is the tricky bit, you are in the Alps (or very near to) but where? Anyway, it matters not, you have got there. You could consider having the day off, perhaps? 6 days left

Day six and seven.
Alps riding. Four days left.

Day eight
. Day off. Three days left.

Day nine. Start to return home. Get on the motorway / major A roads. Two days left.

Day ten. You should now be up by the French coast, somewhere, even if it is late afternoon. It is July, so there is plenty of light. Do one of the V1 / V2 sites perhaps? One day left.

Day eleven. Up to the ferry again.

Home.

That could work and has enough flexibility in that you have two days off. These can be used to make up time or lounge about / take in the sites. What would I do? Probably stay in a largish town and take a train ride out; summat like that.
 
Wapping, Lunchtime !!! Did you manage that at lunchtime !!
Shall get the maps out tonight and have a look around the places your talking about.
Sounds good tho, last year we managed between 150 - 300 miles a day, one day we spent nearly ten hours on the bike from Interlaken to Lake Como and the wife was quite happy so i dont have to worry too much about lawyers and divorce papers just yet. Report will be getting started tonight !!
 
You could always base yourself in Bastogne for a few days and tour the area. Lots of villages with old tanks sitting on plinths. The American memorial in Bastogne and the associated museum is worth an afternoon. Also worth noting the British army was involved in helping to close the bulge from the north; there is some UK interest and cemetaries. Frites with mayonnaise and a fine belgian beer or 2 to round the day off.

Bastogne is an easy 1/2 day ride from Ijmuiden if you are sailing from Newcastle.

Verdun is also only about 90 miles away, so quite easy to move there for a few more days. Easy to a spend a few here days there looking at the battlefield museum, Forts Douamont & Vaux, the sites of the flattened villages and the cemetaries / ossiary however you will probably want something a bit lighter (and non war) after this. Verdun is rather malancholy; too much suffering and futility in war.
 
http://www.martinpegler.com/ is a good place to stay and Martin is an expert on the area (watch out for the machine gun behind the sofa!

I'm there with my lads and a couple of others 4th 5th 6th April if anyone wants to join us. You'll have to check with Kate or Martin though to see what accommodation is left.

From there we head for the Schwarzwald and Eifel for a couple of days or so :thumb

:beerjug:
 


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