Podge’s Belgian Beer Tours

Tour 94 / Beer & Battlefields Armistice Tour

Tuesday 30 October – Sunday 4 November 2018

We are pleased to announce this new Beer and battlefields Tour focusing on the centenary of the end of the Great War. We will be staying in the comfortable and centrally based Novotel In Flanders Fields in Ypres. We are planning a day around First World War sites in Mons connected to the opening and closing of the Great War and where the Allied armies ended up on 11 November 2018 when the armistice ended the war at 11.00hrs. We will have a look at the poignant First and Last Shots memorial on each side of the same road in Mons, the 1914 and 1918 burials at the beautiful St Symphorien Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery and fit in a brewery or two.

The full, timed itinerary is set out below. If you would like to join Siobhan (Mrs Podge) on this Tour please send an email or call +44 (0)1245 354677.

Beer & Battlefields Armistice Tour 2018

Day 1 – Tuesday 30 October

Very early! Galloways Coach starts from Galloways depot at Denters Hill, Mendlesham, Suffolk IP14 5RR.

05.15hr Coach pick up at bus shelter outside Crown House, Crown Street, Ipswich, Suffolk IP1 3HS (opposite NCP Car Park).

06.15hr Coach pick up at The Woolpack, Mildmay Road, Chelmsford, Essex CM2 0DN.

08.00hr Coach pick up Stop24 J11 M20 near Folkestone Kent CT21 4BL.

09.20hr Eurotunnel Train Crossing from Folkestone.

11.00hr Arrive Calais. We make our way across northern France into Flanders.

12.45hr Arrive at our first stop the Restaurant Hollemeersch in Dranouter. This is an attractive almost Germanic-style thatched Café-Restaurant found near the top of Mount Kemmel with magnificent views of the Franco-Flemish plain. Here we will have a group meal and a beer or two from their small but perfectly formed beer menu including the local Hommelbier from Leroy, Sint Bernardus Triple and also La Chouffe and McChouffe on draught. Ask Siobhan about the ‘Shit of Mouse’ dessert.

15.00hr Leave Restaurant Hollemeersch and proceed up Kemmel Hill to follow the 1918 battles which have been overshadowed by those of Third Ypres (Passchenedaele) 1917 but which were just as heavy in casualties. The British held Kemmel Hill through most of the war and held it against a determined German onslaught on 17 April 1918, during the German Spring Offensives 1918. Just after this the French army took over the lines here. The Germans attacked again on the 25 April using gas, and this time they broke through and took this hill partly because a single French Division found itself opposed by three and a half German Divisions. However, the German final offensive was now running out of steam and they didn’t get much further. Mount Kemmel remained in German hands from April 1918 until the end of August 1918 when the American 27 Division and British 34 Divisions finally drove them back from this area.

We visit two sites which commemorate the French soldiers who died here in the Spring Offensives 1918. Near the top of the hill is the odd French Cemetery and Ossuary. There are information boards outside the Ossuary to the left with interesting photographs of the site over time, with the original excellent views being partially obscured by tree growth. For those used to the individual headstones of CWGC cemeteries, it is shock to learn that 5,294 soldiers are buried in this small area, with only 57 identified. The 57 identified are listed alphabetically by name on the front of the obelisk in the centre of the Cemetery. There are no individual French grave markers here. A very steep cobbled road continues from up to the summit to the huge French memorial. We will have a look at the imposing 60ft high Memorial to French Soldiers, the so-called ‘Angel’ looking over the fields of Flanders. The female figure represents France and is topped by a poilu's (French infantryman’s) helmet. Her eyes are closed with what is said to be an expression of suffering on her face for the French losses here. Though the huge statue is known as the angel, in fact she represents the winged Greek Goddess of Victory, Nike, and was unveiled in 1932 by French Marshal Petain. This is a very different style monument to any design found in Commonwealth memorials as the British authorities in charge of memorial design (IWG) had a horror of ‘gothic angels’ in their designs.

15.30hr Leave Kemmel Hill.

16.00hr We drive the short distance east towards the front line and the village of Wijtschaete. Tommy couldn’t pronounce this so it was known as ‘Whitesheet’. The road we travel on was known as ‘Suicide Road’ and is now famed for the Irish soldiers who fought here. We’ll have a look at some new Irish memorials including the new one to Redmond & Meek. A little further on in the centre of the village we’ll take a peek at a new statue to underground miners in the Salient recently erected next to the church.

06.45hr Leave Wijtschaete.

17.00hr Arrive at Klein Rijsel Cafe (‘Little Lille’) at the ramparts on the south side of Ieper. It is at the Lille Gate which was left largely undamaged from bombardments in the Great War. Ieper is the local Flemish name for the town but it is known as Ypres in French and English (Wipers to Tommy). This is a nice little café which used to have a private First World War museum out the back, but this was sold and they now have some artefacts in the café. They also sell Vredesbier (Peace Beer) in ceramic mugs with a poppy on. The beer is said to be brewed by what was Van Eecke Brewery in nearby Watou, but which has now taken the name of its linked family brewery, Leroy. Siobhan will buy everyone a Peace beer*.

17.45hr Leave Klein Rijsel for the five minute journey to our base for the next five nights the Novotel Ieper Centrum Flanders Fields Hotel in Ypres. The evening is free in this historic city armed with Podge’s Ypres Bar Guide and map*.

Travellers can take in the moving last post ceremony at the Menin Gate. This is an imposing white memorial gateway inscribed with the names of more than 54,896 men whose have no known grave and who died in the salient up to 16 August 1917. There was not enough room on this gate to record all the names of the missing so the names of the missing after that date appear on panels at Tyne Cot CWGC, a further 35,000. This site was chosen because of the thousands of men who passed through this spot on their way to the battlefields. It is most famous for the last post ceremony that takes place every evening at 20.00hrs by the Belgian Fire Service. We will arrive in time for those who would like to experience this brief ceremony in this special centenary year.

Don’t forget to go to the non-town side of the Menin Gate and have a look at the original stone lions which sat at either side of the gate before and during the war. In 1936 these shell damaged lions were presented to the people of Australia in recognition of the sacrifice of Australian soldiers in the defence of Ypres. Since then the lions have been proudly displayed at the War Memorial Museum in Canberra, Australia. They have returned to Ypres for a visit to their original haunt at the gate and will return to Canberra after Armistice Day, 11 November 2018.

Day 2 – Wednesday 31 October

10.00hr After breakfast on the ground floor of the Novotel In Flanders Fields, leave by coach.

10.30hr Arrive at the Vanuxeem Beer Warehouse in Ploegsteert (Plugstreet to Tommy) for an opportunity to buy beers, glasses and chocolates to take home.

11.30hr Leave Vanuxeem Beer Warehouse.

11.55hr Arrive at the ‘Busseboom Thirteen Memorial’, a special new memorial recently erected to thirteen men who died on this spot from the explosion of one shell.

12.15hr Leave the Busseboom Thirteen Memorial.

12.25hr Arrive at Gwalia Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery to see the Chinese Labour Corps graves and Siobhan will tell us about their little known war experience.

12.55hr Leave Gwalia CWGC.

13.00hr Arrive at De Plukker brewery just outside Poperinge. This area is the predominant historical hop growing area in Belgium and this hop farm has been run for generations. They are an organic hop farm and installed their own brewery in an old hop kiln and since 2012 they make organic beers which are bottled on site. We will have a tour round the hop fields* (recently harvested) and the brewery* and a taste of their beer* Their year round beers are:

Keikoppenbier - the first beer brewed, a 6.1%abv blonde beer using three varieties of hop.

Rookop - a brown beer of 6.5%abv formerly brewed at St.-Joris brewery in Reningelst until 1963. It is a dubbel-style made with Admiral and Golding hops, fruity and sweet with some chocolate notes.

Tripel Plukker – a 7.5%abv blond beer brewed with only one hop. This is a low gravity (for a tripel!) with fruity, banana notes. Created in 2015.

They also brew some seasonal specials with fresh ‘green’ hops each September, the ‘Single Green’ beer and the ‘All Inclusive’.

14.20hr Leave De Plukker Brewery.

14.30hr Arrive at Café Den Hertog just South of Poperinge. This is a fascinating First World War survivor and was an estaminet then known as De Hertog van Brabant (The Duke of Brabant). This café was within range of the heaviest German artillery and was "the first stop after Hell". It was on the wartime rail track built behind the front line in this area. From October 1916 to June 1917 it was Divisional HQ of the 47th (London) Division (Territorials). The authority of the military Town Major of Poperinge extended to here and this café was closed and put out of bounds to soldiers under his order several times because it failed to observe the strict regulations for opening hours and beverage sales. The British Army imposed on cafes ‘estaminets’ in their area a closing time of 20.30hrs, but establishments often served soldiers after this and risked temporary closure and loss of business

16.30hr Leave Café Den Hertog, Poperinge.

16.45hr Arrive at the famous In de Vrede café at Sint Sixtus Trappist Monastery in Westvleteren. The monks in this monastery continued brewing here during the First World War, and thousands of British soldiers bought bottles of beer from a canteen on the premises. Accounts still exist and sales to Tommy made a lot of money for the Monastery. Their brewery had never been busier than during the four years of war. Today the monks deliberately restrict brewing to 5000 hectolitres per year, despite being voted the world’s best beer in 2014. Their wartime beer was stronger than most local beers at the time being 4-6 %abv. The monks were scandalised at Scottish regiments kilt-wearing and recorded annoyance in their diaries at the destruction of their pasture by British soldiers persistently playing football on monastery land. Herbert Chase of the Lancashire Fusiliers was shot at dawn here for desertion in 1915. The bullet holes are still in the brick walls within the private parts of the Abbey and Herbert Chase is buried at nearby White House CWGC.

18.00hr Leave In De Vrede, Westvleteren.

18.20hr Arrive at Bar Bernard, the new project from St Bernardus Brewery. Bar Bernard is billed as a 360 degree roof terrace tasting bar and cafe. It opened in August 2018 and is situated next to the brewery outside the village of Watou. It has an underground car park, a shop on the ground floor and a lift to the cafe bar on the third floor. There are outdoor terrace views over the Flanders fields. On draught they have St Bernardus Extra 4, Pater 6, Prior 8, Abt 12, the Tripel, the Watou Tripel (made for the French market) and their wheat beer. They also have the Christmas Ale but this may be seasonal. They also offer the linked project Kazematten beers being, Grotten Sante (the old Grotten beer), Wipers Times 14, 16 and the new beer, Saison Tremist. Also on draught is a selection of German beers from Bavarian State brewery Weihenstephan. This may be because this German town has a Benedictine Abbey which claims to be the oldest still-operating brewery in the world and thus has links with St Bernardus brewery. They also sell beer in bottles with some specials such as Magnums. Interestingly they offer a 15cl tasting glass of Abt 12 from the 'magnum of the day'.

St Bernardus started life as a religious community in the late nineteenth century and made cheese to finance abbey activities. It closed in 1934, the monks moved to France and the cheese factory was sold to an Evarist Deconinck who obtained the contract to brew Sint Sixtus (Westvleteren) beers from 1945 to 1992. The brew master from Sint Sixtus became a partner in the brewery and brought along with him the know-how, the Monks recipes and the Sint Sixtus yeast strain. When the contract ended in 1992 St Bernardus continued to brew Sint Sixtus style beers but under their own name. Yet, despite its branding with smiling monk lablels, the St Bernardus range are not ‘designated abbey beers’ (Erkend Belgisch Abdijbier). This brewery makes beers of real quality and out-punches many certified abbey beers illustrating the fact that the Belgian Trappist designation is concerned with high quality, whereas the Abbey designation is not.

19.30hr Leave Bar Bernard, Watou.

20.00hr Drop off outside Novotel Ypres.

Day 3 – Thursday 1 Novemeber

10.00hr After breakfast on the ground floor of the Novotel In Flanders Fields, leave by coach.

10.20hr Arrive at the Belgian Military Cemetery in the Houthulst Forest. This once huge forest fell to the German Army on 21 October 1914 and remained in their hands until almost exactly four years later. The Germans turned this forest into a fortress from which they poured machine gun fire into the Belgian lines. In the final liberation offensive the Belgians were given this sector to push the Germans back. Their advance from behind the River IJzer began at dawn on 28 September 1918. The forest was captured by the Allies but 3500 Belgian soldiers died in the two day battle and the majority of these are buried here in this unusual cemetery laid out in the form of a star. Siobhan will tell us about why these gravestones were controversial in Belgium and will show us the graves of 81 Italian prisoners of war used by the Germans as forced labour. Within the Houthulst Forest the Belgian Army Service (DOVO) explode weekly WW1 ordnance collected from Flanders fields and hopefully we can hear them during our visit.

11.00hr Leave Houthulst Belgian Cemetery.

11.10hr Arrive at the Weunwaegne Café in Staden. This funny little café is done out inside in the form of an old wooden horse caravan. They have a choice of 30+ beer including a house beer brewed by Deca. This village was held by the Germans throughout the war and liberated in late 1918. Time for a quick rest and a beer.

12.10hr Leave Weunwaegne Café in Staden.

12.30hr Arrive at Vladslo German Military Cemetery. This is a concentration cemetery consisting of the collected remains of German soldiers from hundreds of war time cemeteries now closed. It contains 25,644 German soldiers, twice as many as are buried at Tyne Cot CWGC, but in a much smaller area. It is home to the beautiful and now important artworks 'The Grieving Parents' by Käthe Kollwitz, a noted German sculptor who made these statues in the 1930s as a tribute to her youngest son, Peter, killed near here in October 1914. The eyes of the father-figure gaze on the ninth stone before him, where Peter is buried and on which his name appears with nineteen others. The statues are striking and very unlike what appear in a Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries and Siobhan will tell us why that is.

13.15hr Leave Vladslo German Military Cemetery.

13.30hr We proceed to the Lange Max Museum at Koekelare. This is the wartime site of a huge German WW1 gun, the biggest gun in the world in 1917, 'Lange Max' which could fire 29 miles and rained shells on Dunkirk. Parts of the original circular concrete gun base still exists and there is a newly revamped museum to life here in the war. Here we’ll have a guided tour of the gun site* the museum* and have a group meal and a beer in their café on site which has a good beer list of 40 choices including Filou, Keyte Blonde and Bruin, five from de Haalve Maan and local beer Couckelaereschen Doedel from Strubbe plus the powerful 11.6 %abv Kanon, the house beer, of course.

16.30hr Leave Lange Max Museum and Cafe, Koekelare.

17.10hr Arrive at the lovely Witte Paard in Oostvleteren. This café/pub has been elected the coziest café in West Flanders. It was also a film location in the TV series ‘The Forests of Flanders'. This cute place does everything well. Service is sharp, the food is excellent and the 50 long beer list is pretty good too. As you would expect with the Struise Brewery don the street , their beers are represented here but there are a couple of surprises too.

18.15hr Leave Het Witte Paard, Oostvleteren.

18.35hr Drop off outside Novotel Ypres.

Day 4 – Friday 2 Novemeber

10.00hr After breakfast on the ground floor of the Novotel In Flanders Fields, leave by coach for a tour of First World War sites around Mons. We will visit the memorials marking 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 tiny BEF engaged with the might of the German invading armies for the first time in the Great War.

11.00hr 11.00hr Arrive at the Dubuisson Brewery and their Trolls & Bush Brasserie café in Pipaix in the province of Hainaut. This huge place started life as a little brewery in a farm here in 1769 and is still family owned. This area and specifically this brewery was occupied by the Germans in the First World War, and there are some photos in the tasting rooms of mounted German soldiers here. We will stay for an hour’s break in the big Trolls and Bush Café and you can try their beers, the most famous being the mighty Bush Ambree, a deceptively easy drinking amber beer at a serious 12%abv. Alternatively you could go for the Cuvée des Trolls (7%abv), a blond beer made with dried orange peel.

12.00hr Leave Dubuisson Trolls & Bush Brasserie Café, Pipaix.

12.30hr Arrive at Mons and visit the First and Last Shots memorials, opposite each other on the same road. These commemorate the first shot fired by a German soldier on the BEF in August 1914 and the last shots fired against the Canadian soldiers in November 1918, since this was the place where the German armies had retreated to when the armistice came into force at 11.00hrs on 11 November 1918.

13.00hr Arrive at the famous Nimy Bridge, where Siobhan will tell us the story of the action here in August 1914 when the small, professional BEF met the might of the German Army. We will hear about what led to the Victoria Crosses awarded here for action by Lieutenant Dease and Private Godley on the bridge over the canal. Siobhan will also tell us about German Private Oskar Niemeyer and what he did here. We will then drive to have a look at the moving memorial at Obourg Station and hear about the rear-guard action fought there and the little piece of wall preserved where the mystery British soldier fired to protect his mates getting away (the start of the retreat from Mons), until his ammunition was spent. We then drive slightly out of town to the east past the famous La Bascule crossroads where BEF men with ladles prepared themselves for the German onslaught and arrive at:

14.30hr The beautiful St Symphorien Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery where Lt Dease is buried. Siobhan will show us the graves of the first and last BEF soldiers to be killed in the war and the grave of several German soldiers including that of Private Oskar Niemeyer.

15.30hr Drop off in central Mons for a chance to look around this attractive town square and the opportunity to have a beer and something to eat armed with Podge’s Mons Bar Guide and Map*. Don’t forget to touch the head of the famous Guard Room Monkey, a brass statue on the wall of the Hotel de Ville in the Grand Place, as it is said to bring good luck.

18.00hr Leave Mons.

18.45hr Arrive in the Unesco world heritage city of Tournai (Fr.), Doornik (Du.) for a couple of hours wander amongst the cafes and bars on this beautiful long city square, armed with Podge’s Tournai City Bar Guide and Map*.

21.00hr Leave Tournai.

21.45hr Drop off outside Novotel Ypres.

Day 5 Saturday 3 November

10.00hr After breakfast on the ground floor of the Novotel In Flanders Fields, leave by coach for a day looking at the 1918 coastal attacks by the British on the German coastal defences at Zeebrugge and Ostend.

11.00hr Arrive at Zeebrugge. Here Siobhan will tell us about the little known Zeebrugge Raid and the Ostend Raids of 1918. At the infamous Mole (sea wall) we follow the story of the Zeebrugge Raid, the role of Mersey Steamers Iris & Daffodil, the exploding of Submarine C3 and the limited successes of the block ships. We will go to the nearby Zeebrugge Churchyard CWGC to follow the fate of missing officer Frank Brock who was last seen on the Mole fighting Germans with his fists. Here are buried those British sailors and marines who in a collection of monitors, destroyers, motorboats, launches, old cruisers, old submarines and Mersey ferry-boats attacked the mole at Zeebrugge. This was an attempt to block the canal leading to the sea from Bruges which was German submarine headquarters. There are 30 Commonwealth servicemen of the First World War buried or commemorated in this little churchyard of whom 17 are unidentified. There are also a number of German Navy personnel who were stationed on the Mole at the time of the attack. Within the churchyard is the Zeebrugge Memorial to the missing (the smallest memorial to the missing in Belgium) which commemorates three officers and one mechanic of the Royal Navy who died on the mole and have no known grave, one of which is Frank Brock. Siobhan will explain why this mission was undertaken and the effect it had on the course of the war.

11.55hr Leave Zeebrugge.

12.05hr Arrive at Herman Bierhuis in Blankenberg. A new 2016 addition to the beer cafes of the Belgian coast. This long, thin modern café bar has a whopping 25 beers on tap and a further 100 in bottles. The beer choice is mainly from Flemish family brewers but there are a few treats from brewers such as Struise, Cantillon, Oud Beersel, Boon, 3 Fonteinen, Gulden Spoor, Dolle, Dupont, Malheur, De Ranke and Viven.

13.00hr Leave Herman Bierhuis in Blankenberg.

13.15hr Arrive at the coastal town of Ostend where we visit the newly moved monument incorporating the actual surviving prow of HMS Vindictive and hear its fate from its return to the UK after the first daring raid at Zeebrugge to its role in a second outing in the First and Second Ostend Raids.

14.00hr Leave HMS Vindictive, Ostend.

14.15hr Arrive at de Vlasschaard in the village of Stene just inland from Ostend. 'The Flaxfield' is a pretty restaurant café in a picturesque village next to the windmill and church. Here we will have a pre-arranged meal and a crack at their really good 70+ beer list with a strong slant to local breweries.

16.15hr Leave de Vlasschaard, Stene.

06.45hr Arrive at the famous De Dolle Brouwers in Esen. Three brothers formed the ‘Mad brewers’ in 1980 forming the spearhead of the renaissance of Belgian brewing. Here we will visit their brewery tap and shop and Siobhan will get everyone an Arabier or Oerbier*. In the First World War this brewery was owned and run by the Costnoble family and the village of Esen was occupied early by the Germans in autumn 1914 on their push through Belgium and at a time when atrocities were committed against the Belgian population. Parts of the brewery have survived from WW1 and several local inhabitants were shot whilst seeking shelter in the brewery cellars.

18.00hr Leave de Dolle Brouwers, Esen.

18.25hr Arrive at the lovely Bij de Witten in Fintele. This is a tiny bar in a tiny hamlet with very knowledgeable and friendly owners. They only open at weekends but surprisingly stock 80 beers with an emphasis on local breweries including De Dolle, Struise, all the Trappists (except Westvleteren) including Gregorius and St Josephs, USA. There are plenty of lambic beers too, unusual for West Flanders and a long way from their Zenne Valley origin.

20.00hr Leave Bij de Witten, Fintele.

20.30hr Drop off outside Novotel Ypres.

Day 6 - Sunday 4 Novemeber

10.00hr After breakfast on the ground floor of the Novotel In Flanders Fields, check out and leave by coach.

10.30hr Arrive at Bray Farm which is a new front line working farm holding a new museum run by 18 year old Enrique who happens to have a German trench on the family farm. He will show us his collections, which may feature a lot of German pieces*.

11.45hr Leave Bray Farm.

12.00hr Arrive at an original, unrestored German Command Post at Zandvoorde in the Ypres Salient. This is a treat for Siobhan who is very interested in First World War concrete on the Western Front. It is very complete, in great condition and has several rooms which can be entered, and we know that it was constructed in 1916 by men from the 3rd Company of Armierungsbatallion No. 27 as these Imperial German Army labourers (or pioneers) left an inscription in the concrete which is still there.

12.30hr Leave German Command Post, Zandvoorde.

12.45hr Arrive at the Palingbeek Nature Reserve. This is where a special First World War commemorative art installation from the Coming World Remember Me project has been placed. It was installed in Spring 2018 and is on show until 11 November 2018. This project was started in 2014 and since then thousands of people from around the world have made, in the Salient, small clay crouched statues to represent each person who died in the Ypres Salient during the Great War. The 600,000 statues have been arranged in the Palingbeek, similar to the poppies at The Tower of London, on the front line battlefield location here. Our Beer & Battlefields 2017 Passchenedale Tour included a session for our travellers to make one of the statues themselves which contribute towards this installation. Now you will get the chance to see the complete piece and the personalised dog-tags attached to each figure with the name of a real individual. We will park up in the large car park on site next to a café where you can pop in for a beer.

14.45hr Leave from outside Palingbeek Cafe.

15.15hr Arrive for a brilliant last stop of the Tour at the beautiful Cafe Molenhof in Oostvleteren, one of Belgium’s top beer cafes. Bjorn serves an impressive beer menu of over 120 choices and we can have a crack at their draught Struise Brouwerij beers from the brewery across the road. Do not leave here without trying a Black Albert, Black Damnation or, quite frankly, any De Struise Brewers beer. A sublime experience.

18.20hr Leave Café Molenhof, Oostvleteren.

19.20hr Arrive Eurotunnel, Calais.

20.20hr Leave Calais on Eurotunnel Train (30 mins later than our usual train home).

20.00hr Arrive Dover.

20.15hr Coach drop off Stop24 J11 M20 near Folkestone Kent CT21 4BL.

21.10hr Coach drop at Dartford Railway Station, Kent DA1 1BP.

21.50hr Coach drop off 102 Mildmay Road, Chelmsford CM2 0EA.

22.00hr Coach drop off Premier Inn Victoria Road, Chelmsford, Essex CM1 1NY.

22.50hr Coach drop off Crown Street, Ipswich, IP1 3HS (opposite NCP Car Park).

23.20hr Coach drop off Mendlesham,IP14 5RR.

Tour Price: £885 per person based on sharing in a twin or double room

Single Supplement: £225

If you are travelling alone and want to share a room with another traveller please contact Podge as we are regularly able to pair up travellers in twin rooms to avoid the need for payments of Single Supplements.

Included in the cost of this Tour are:

Hotel accommodation and breakfasts;

Hotel city taxes;

Luxury coach travel on a 49 seater coach with toilet;

All brewery visits, tours and brewery beer tastings;

Entrance fees to attractions, museums and historical sites;

All items marked with an asterisk above and on the individual detailed tour itinerary when issued;

Copies of Podge’s City Bar Guides and Maps for the town where we stay or spend some time;

Still and sparkling water on the coach;

Pick up from Ipswich (at bus shelter outside Crown House, Crown Street, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP1 3HS (opposite NCP Car Park), Colchester (Southway Chapel St South Layby) or Chelmsford (The Woolpack, Mildmay Road). Arrangements can be made for different joining points on the way to Folkestone or even on the other side of the channel.

Travellers are responsible for the costs of all food and drink apart from items marked with an asterisk on the detailed itinerary plus all passport and insurance costs.

All itinerary times are local and approximate.

Personal insurance is not included in the Tour price but is strongly advised, as is carrying the European Health Insurance Card available online, by phone or via the Post Office.

If you have any questions or would like to be added to the interested list please send an email or call on +44 (0)1245 354677.

All Tours are subject to our Terms and Conditions.

book this tour