Somme Battlefield Tours Expert Led Historical Experiences

Battlefield historian and guide Bart will take you on a tour of the Somme battlefields. It will be exclusively your tour, there will be no added persons, so the guide can give you his undivided attention. Over the course of 8 hours, we will visit all the key sites of this significant and tragic battle of 1916. We will take your specific personal wishes and preferred locations, or ancestry related sites into consideration; depending on available information and the time required to do research. The tour starts at 09.00 at the guide's B&B and tour headquarters in Beaucourt-sur-l'Ancre, right in the heart of the battlefields, where Bart will join you in your car to visit the historical sites and its histories. Bart is eager to share his knowledge with you.

1. 1

   The Sunken Lane

   1 hour

   The site made famous by British filmmaker Geoffrey Malins We will also visit the adjacent Hawthorne mine crater. Explanations on the who, why and how of the Somme Offensive of 1916

2. 2

   Memorial Terre-neuvien De Beaumont-hamel

   1 hour

   The Newfoundland Memorial Park. Run by Canadian students, we go in to the history of the disastrous Newfoundland Regiment's attack on 1 July 1916. Also the Highlanders, remotely more successful attack of November 1916 and how trenches, and their lay-out worked.

3. 3

   Ulster Memorial Tower & Thiepval Wood

   1 hour

   Coffee break (cash only) and a visit to the site where the Ulster (Northern Irish) soldiers went over the top. Tremendous views across the Ancre Valley over the Battlefields. A visit to the trenches of Thiepval Wood, with a separate guide is not included on this site.

4. 4

   Memorial de Thiepval

   45 min

   The largest British Memorial to the Missing. Over 72.000 names of soldiers with no known grave are inscribed in its many panels.

5. 5

   Lochnagar Crater

   45 min

   The largest mine-crater in the British Somme sector. Created by 30 tons of explosives it left a crater 30 meters deep and 100 meters in diameter. We stop at several of the information panels and memorials around the crater.

6. 6

   Stop 6

   30 min

   Over 17.000 German soldiers have found their last resting place here, including, for a period, the fabled air ace the Red Baron Manfred von Richthofen. We are going to talk about German war cemeteries, some of its Jewish graves and what happened to the vast majority of the German fallen in the Great War

7. 7

   Caterpillar Cemetery

   45 min

   One of the largest British Cemeteries in the area, of whom the vast majority remains unknown. The site where the unknown soldier of New Zealand was taken and the New Zealand Memorial. We will have an oversight of the ongoing Somme Offensive after 1 July 1916. The only Cavalry charge of the Offensive, the Battles of Delville Wood and High Wood.

8. 8

   Longueval

   30 min

   The New Zealand Memorial sits on the prairies in between Longueval and Flers. This location gives a good insight in why the Germans were so tenacious in their defences in the Somme Battle. Also we will have a look into the first ever use of tanks, and follow one of them, as it rumbled towards Flers to take its part in the taking of that village.

9. 9

   Adanac Military Cemetery

   30 min

   The final site to be visited gives an insight into the Canadian sacrifices in the Somme Offensive. Within the cemetery, there are buried two soldiers who were awarded the Victoria Cross, one 1916, the other 1918. On this sight it's a good opportunity to come to a conclusion of the tour before heading back to HQ

• Service animals allowed
• Not recommended for pregnant travelers
• Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
• Suitable for all physical fitness levels

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.