Friday 30 April to Tuesday 4 May 2010
This new and exciting tour offers a chance to experience two unique aspects of Flanders - the First World War and its great beer brewing tradition. We will be concentrating on the Western Front around the notorious Ypres Salient, and then moving south to Mons which saw the first British shot fired on the Germans at the opening of the war in 1914. This tour will include many visits and some guided tours of outdoor sites, bunkers, trenches and memorials, plus several specialist WW1 museums. We will also look at what soldiers were drinking during the war and how Belgian breweries fared in both occupied and unoccupied Belgium.
Siobhan McGinn giving a talk on WW1 at Struis Brewery, Vleteren
Friday 30 April
We cross the channel by Eurotunnel, via Folkestone and make our way to Struise’s new Brewery at the old school in Vleteren where we will have lunch*, a beer* or two and Siobhan McGinn will give us a short introductory talk on the war in the Ypres Salient. It will include a brief overview of the war and why much of the fiercest fighting ended up in Belgium. We then cross the front line for a three hour tour* with a local guide who will join us on the coach to guide us around the Memorial Museum Passendale 1917*, Tyne Cot* and Cryer Farm* a recently discovered underground German first aid post and bunker. We then move on to our hotel for the next two nights, the delightful Oude Abbdij in Lo near Ypres housed in the former St. Louis malt house and brewery. After checking in and an evening meal* Siobhan will give a presentation of the story of beer in WW1 concentrating on beer behind allied lines in towns such as Poperinge and what happened to the breweries of Belgium during the war. Rest of the evening at leisure in the hotel’s well-stocked bar.
Tyne Cot Commonwealth War Grave Cemetary
Saturday 1 May
After our buffet breakfast at the hotel we make the short coach journey to Nieuwpoort on the coast and follow the story of the Battle of the Ijzer and the flooding of the river in 1914 to halt the German advance. We follow the line of the flood to its furthest extent at Dixmuide and we visit the Dodengang or Trench of Death which is situated on a bend in the River Ijzer. We then travel to Poperinge, a town never occupied by the Germans and which was full of British and Allied soldiers travelling to and from the front line. Here soldiers enjoyed some rest, good food and beers. We will visit* the famous Talbot House (Toc H) a home from home for the Tommies and unchanged since WW1 for a an introduction from a guide*, a cup of tea* and a look round*. After lunch in Poperinge we stop on the way to Ieper at a couple of sites which reflect life just behind the line. Late afternoon we visit the Ramparts Museum/Klein Rijsel Café where we will look round the collections* and taste their special Peace Beer* served in ceramic mugs. The rest of the evening is free and a copy of Podge’s Bar Guide to Ieper will be provided*. Travellers can take in the moving last post ceremony at the Menen Gate, sounded by the Belgian Fire Service at 20.00hr every evening. The coach will return us to our hotel in Lo late in the evening.
Dave enjoying a cup of tea, accompanied by David on piano at Talbot House, Poperinge
Sunday 2 May
Following breakfast we take the short coach drive to Boezinge and the recently discovered Yorkshire Trenches found by “The Diggers” during the recent construction of a new industrial estate. From here we travel to one of the most poignant memorials on the Salient, the Brooding Soldier Canadian Monument at Vancouver Corner. This monument marks the spot where poison gas was first used by the Germans on the Western Front. From there we head to the Hoog Crater Museum at the heart of the front line and one of the most dreaded spots on the Salient. We will have a look at the museum and a light lunch* and a beer* at the cafe. We will also have an opportunity to go into the grounds of the hotel next door and visit* some original blockhouses (pillboxes). It was here that the Germans first used the 'flammenwerfer' or flamethrower against the Allies. We then move south along the front line to the infamous Polygon Wood and to In Den Dreve Café where owner Johan Vandewalle will show us a film based on his book on tunnelling in WW1* and we have a chance to choose a beer from his menu. Suitably refreshed, we travel by coach south towards Mons stopping on the way for a brewery visit* to Abbaye Des Rocs and a taste of their beers*. From here we move on to our base for the next two nights, the centrally located Hotel Ibis Mons Centre Gare. After check-in the evening is at leisure armed with a copy of Podge’s Mons Bar Guide* and City Map*.
The group on a guided tour of Abbaye des Rocs Brewery
Monday 3 May
We will take the coach to where the first shots were fired by the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) on the continent since Waterloo. Siobhan will guide us around some of the sites associated with the opening moves of the war when the small BEF engaged with the might of the German invading armies. She will tell us the story of the action at Nimy Bridge especially that leading up to the V.C.’s won by Lt Dease and Pte Godley on the bridge over the canal. We will also visit the moving memorial at Obourg Station and hear about the rearguard action fought there and the unknown private who fired from the roof of the station until finally hit. We will also spend a little time at the beautiful Commonwealth War Graves Commission St Symphorien Military Cemetery where Lt Dease is buried and we can see the graves of the first and last soldiers to be killed in WW1. Following lunch, we hope to fit in a brewery visit* and tasting* in the afternoon before heading back to Mons for an evening beer or two.
The group enjoying a beer at Le Brasse Temps Brewery, Mons
Tuesday 4 May
We travel towards Ploegsteert in the south of the British and Commonwealth sector and briefly stop at Frelinghien where we visit the memorial to the 1914 Christmas Truce which started in this area with these immortal lines from the German soldiers “Don’t Shoot, we’ll send beer!” We then proceed to Vanuxeem at Ploegsteert which stocks well over 500 beers from which we can make our selection to take home. This is followed by a beer and snack at In de Vrede the café of the Trappist Monastery at Westvleteren which also has many WW1 stories attached to it. Our final visit of the tour is to 't Rohardushof cafe at Roesbrugge which has a superb selection of beer at normal times but which just happens to have a beer festival on at the time of our visit! We then make our way to Calais for a Eurotunnel train home in the early evening.
The price of this five-day tour is £395 per person based on sharing a twin or double room. There is a single supplement of £112 if you want your own room. All above times are local and approximate. Food, drink, passport and insurance costs are each Traveller's responsibility. The items marked with an asterisk are included in cost of the Tour. We use a luxury coach throughout the Tour. Included in the price are coach travel from Colchester or Chelmsford, still and sparkling water available on the coach, hotel breakfasts plus all items marked with an asterisk above. Arrangements can be made for different joining points on the way from Colchester to Dover or even on the other side of the channel. Personal insurance is not included but is strongly advised, as is carrying the European Health Insurance Card available online, by phone or via the Post Office.
Siobhan McGinn talking to the group about the Christmas Truce at the monument in Frelinghien
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