French Tour, 2011

OK, last message from me tonight!

I thought I'd start this up on "chit chat" so that people could start throwing their two-pennarth in at the pre-planning stage!

Paul R's idea about a tour of the French/Belgian battlefields appeals to me as my foreign trip next year. I can't afford the leave (or the cost) of two trips so I will give EuroLambretta a miss next year. That said, we probably don't want to arrange this trip over the same weekend as EuroLambretta - then people can do both if they want. Do people fancy a long weekend (minimising the amount of time off work) or would a week be better to allow us to see more?

A quick look at next years diary... What about heading out on Monday 4th July and coming back on Saturday 9th?

Do we want to camp or would you be looking to stay in guest houses/hotels?

As far as the actual places we visit, I would go with the flow. A couple of the boys seem to know a bit about the history and will probably have a reasonable idea. I did find a motorcycle tour route on the internet which we could nick; they ran it over three days.

Anyhow, as I say, this is just a way of getting the ball ready to roll - not quite rolling! Chuck down some ideas and opinions and start saving your pennies.

PP

We could always tag it on to a bank holiday weekend to get an extra free day but in the long run I'm more than happy to go with the flow.
I have a route planner for France and Belgium battlefield trips.

As an example, this is a tour advertised by Leger Holidays. I have looked at the distances and this can be easily done on the bikes. I thought two nights in Ypres and two nights in Albert using a hotel as a base.

◦Day 1 – Travel to Calais. Ride to Ypres, via Dunkerque. Overnight stay in Ypres.

◦Day 2 – (Copied from the Leger site) - Battlefields of Flanders (included). Today we look at the battlefields around Ypres; this was the main British battlefront in World War I where more than 250,000 British and Commonwealth soldiers died. We start at the preserved trenches at Sanctuary Wood and see the museum. We then move on to Tyne Cot Cemetery. In the afternoon we head to the Messines Ridge sector and the nearby Irish Peace Tower which commemorates the role of Irish troops from both North and South. At Ploegsteert we study the story of the Christmas Truce and see the Memorial. We end the day at the ‘Last Post Ceremony’ in Ypres. Each night, at 8pm the Last Post is played at the Menin Gate which commemorates approximately 55,000 men who were never found. Overnight stay in Ypres.

◦Day 3 – (Copied from Leger site) We begin the day at Arras and spend the morning in the Wellington Quarries – a massive system of tunnels used by British troops in WW1, and dug by New Zealand Tunnellers. This fascinating new site only opened in 2008, and is fully accessible via a lift and walkways. We then visit the Arras Memorial, and travel out to Monchy le Preux to look at the defence of the village by the Newfoundland Regiment. We end the day at Vimy Ridge, captured by the Canadians in April 1917, seeing the preserved trench system, visitors centre and impressive memorial on Hill 145 – the highest point on Vimy Ridge. Vimy was a defining moment for Canada in World War I and this is arguably one of the finest memorials on the Western Front. Overnight stay in Albert.

◦Day 4 – (Copied from Leger site) The haunting Somme battlefield is our destination today. We begin at the Historial Museum at Péronne and then to the largest British Mine Crater on the Western Front at La Boisselle. At Thiepval we visit the Memorial and the new visitor’s centre then the Ulster Tower, which commemorates those from Northern Ireland who fell on the Somme, before seeing Newfoundland Park with its preserved trenches. We end the day at Serre and see the area where war poet Wilfred Owen fought. Overnight stay in Albert.

◦Day 5 – To Calais and then home.

Looks good mate. Like I say I have a route planner and a points of interst guide for both the Somme and Ypres which I'll bring down and we can put heads together and plan the route.
It may be helpful if people post their paticular wish list of places to visit and we can work from there.

Confirmed dates
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Monday 18th July - Saturday 23rd July 2011

Evening all,

I've put up details of the details for the trip on the Rallies and Events section. The general consensus seemed to be that we should camp so I have picked the best campsites I could find in the general area - follow the links for their websites.

Paul R had a couple of fantastic books and I have just copied the itineraries that they suggest. While the itinerary is not "set in stone" I can't see us coming up with a better one - they are very well researched and will give us a good overview of the area.

I don't see any need to look up ferry details just yet - there will be no problem getting from Dover to Calais and back. We can think about the timings nearer the date.

A couple of things to consider, though;
1) There has been mention of taking a van. This will need to be arranged if it is something you are interested in seeing through.
2) Would people want to hire a professional guide for any/all of the trip or are we happy to rely on the information in the books and museums to get a feel for the place?

Anyhow, have a look at the details. If you are definitely coming, could you stick a one-line entry on there for me. I have worked on a booking for ten people at this stage but we should be able to add/subtract numbers fairly easily at this early stage.

Cheers,

PP