Join me for the 100th Anniversary of the Battles on the Somme

I am working in partnership with the Royal British Legion, Battlefields On A Bike and Arena Travel to host a Battlefield Tour with a difference – on the trail of William Collins and Odile Lefebvre-Collins. I will take you around the sites, memorials and locations from The Mad Game books in France and Belgium. The tour will include a special visit to the Bazentin Ridge for the 100th Anniversary of the Battle on 14 July 1916.

A donation will be made for each booking made to the Royal British Legion.

You can make a booking by clicking HERE

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Day 1 – Monday 11 July

Travel to Dover for a ferry to France. We will ride or drive to Poperinghe and visit the cemeteries at Lijssenthoek and Brandhoek. When we arrive in Ypres we will attend the Last Post ceremony at the Menin Gate.

Day 2 – Tuesday 12 July

We will tour the Ypres salient, visiting the locations of the book including the Canadian memorial at St Julien, Langemark, Passchendaele and Wijtschaete. In the afternoon on our journey into France we will visit Ploegsteert and the southern salient.

Day 3 – Wednesday 13 July

We will drive towards the Somme via Arras and Vimy Ridge. We will arrive in Albert in the afternoon and visit Ovillers-La-Boisselle, Thiepval and the Lochnagar Crater for a reading from The Mad Game is desired.

Day 4 – Thursday 14 July

This is the anniversary of the Battle of Bazentin Ridge. We will visit the 38th Division Memorial in Mametz and then on to Flatiron Copse and Longueval village. From her will visit the village of Bazentin-Le-Petit and hear the history of the Battle with cavalry on the steps of Caterpillar Valley cemetery. We will walk into High Wood, Delville Wood and the ground beyond, still full of the remains of soldiers killed in the Hell that was High Wood.

Day 5 – Friday 15 July

We will drive to Calais and if time permits, visit the tunnels under Arras. The ferry will leave Calais in mid-afternoon

Prices include accommodation, transport from Dover or a pick up at the Union Jack Club near Waterloo station in London, ferry fares and a commemorative drink on the last evening. All poppies for poppy cross laying will be provided.