War By Timetable
- Duration: 5 days
- Board Basis: Bed & Breakfast
- Tour Ref: D2TLEGFWT
Holiday Summary
- Travel Type: Coach
PLEASE NOTE: Price is per person and based on two people sharing a twin/double room. Single room supplements and upgrades are not included.
Itinerary
5 Day Itinerary
Day 1
Local departure by coach, then to our hotel in northern France for a four-night stay.
Day 2 - Stream Train Museum & Old Contemptibles
We begin with a visit to the Steam Railway of the Three Valleys at Tregnies in Belgium. Here we have a specially arranged journey, where a WW1 steam train will pull the wagons we travel in. There will be time to take photos of the train as well as ride in its carriages, and we will also visit the train museum here.
In the afternoon, we travel to La Capelle to visit the memorial marking the spot where German parliamentarians crossed the French lines seeking an Armistice in November 1918. We then examine the Retreat From Mons in this area of northern France, visiting the British battlefield at Etreux, including the cemetery, and seeing where the French fought at Guise.
Meals - Breakfast
Day 3 - Somme Steam Train & Somme Battlefields
Today we examine the role of trains in the Battle of the Somme in 1916, visiting the ‘Petit Train of the Haut Somme’. This museum, and working railway, runs on ground used in WW1 and we travel in a period steam train across the battlefield area. We also have time to see the museum which includes much WW1 material.
After lunch, we visit Heilly Station Cemetery and look at the use of trains in the treatment and evacuation of wounded during the Great War. We then visit the site of Somme railheads near Dernancourt, and look at a typical route to the front line for the men who came here in 1916.
Meals - Breakfast
Day 4 - Bay of the Somme Steam Railway - Behind The Lines
We continue to look at the Somme railways today, and travel to Pont-Remy Station, which was the main entry point to the Somme battlefields for the majority of soldiers who served there in 1916. This iconic station once echoed to the sound of thousands of men beginning their march to the front.
From here, we look at trains behind the lines with a visit to the Steam Railway at the Bay of the Somme, and ride on a WW1 period train across the Somme estuary.
After lunch, we visit Le Crotoy Cemetery to examine the story of men ‘Shot at Dawn’, before looking at the role of the Chinese Labour Corps, seeing the Chinese Cemetery at Noyelles.
Meals - Breakfast
Day 5
Return home.
Meals - Breakfast