Podge’s Belgian Beer Tours

Beer & Battlefields - Dunkirk 1940

Wednesday 24 June - Sunday 28 June 2026

This is a brilliant new Tour combining Beer & Battlefields, with a difference. We are moving from WW1 in Belgium to WW2 in France. This five day, four night Tour is based at the four star Hotel Mercure Dunkerque**** and guided by Siobhan McGinn. We'll visit key spots connected with the Miracle of Dunkirk more correctly known as Operation Dynamo, being the amazing evacuation of over 338,000 Allied soldiers from the beaches of Dunkirk in France from 26 May to 04 June 1940.

We'll also be visiting some great breweries and beer cafes in this French Flanders area of Northern France. Siobhan is very excited about the itinerary for this Tour. She has a Masters Degree in British First World War Studies, but is delighted to diversify into WW2! There is plenty of Belgian beer in Dunkerque, but more importantly it has its own beer culture including plenty of regional Bière de Garde here which we can try.

Dunkerque is an attractive city, with a port, marina and beaches. Siobhan has found loads of great beer cafes and three breweries in the city. Just have a look at Podge's Dunkirk Bar Guide which shows hand-picked beer bars within a walk of our hotel. We will manage to fit in brewery visits, some great meals in top beer/restaurants and plenty of visits to interesting beer cafes.

For our Tours we usually travel from Folkestone or Dover to Calais by Le Shuttle train or sometimes the ferry, but for this special Tour we are booked on the ferry from Dover straight into Dunkerque port to add to the authentic experience and to hit the ground running! We are on the outbound sailing from Dover 10.00hrs and we are on the 18.00hrs inbound from Dunkerque.

All from the comfort of our luxury 49 seater coach. Join us.

Hommelbier in Dunkerque? Certainly, this is French Flanders and Belgian beer is everywhere, but why not try some excellent North French beer, such as the Bière de Garde style?

We are based in Chelmsford in Essex and we use a UK hired coach to travel. We try to use Le Shuttle (Eurotunnel) from Folkestone to get to and from Belgium, but if not available we go by ferry from Dover to Calais. Most of our Travellers join the Tour at our main pick up point outside The Woolpack Pub, 23 Mildmay Road, Chelmsford CM2 0DN and most come from other parts of the UK, and some from further afield, especially USA. Lots of our Travellers stay the night before a Tour (and often the night of our return) at Chelmsford Travelodge, only a few minutes walk from The Woolpack or at the Premier Inn, near the Railway Station, about a 10 minute walk to the pick up point at The Woolpack. Podge's Central Chelmsford Map shows suggested accommodation and pubs! We all usually pop in to The Woolpack the night before departure for a meet, greet and a few beers with Siobhan who is your Tour Manager, Tour Guide and drinking pal for the duration.

Our Galloways luxury coach (49 seater coach with toilet) starts from Suffolk and on the way to Folkestone (or Dover, if we go by ferry) and picks up at several points, as agreed with Siobhan, as below:

Ipswich, Bus Stop, Tesco Extra Store, Copdock Interchange, Pinewood, Ipswich IP8 3TS.

Colchester, McDonald's, Tollgate West, Stanway, Colchester C03 8RG.

Chelmsford, The Woolpack, 23 Mildmay Road, CM2 0DN.

Dartford, BP Garage (formerly Esso) 474 Princes Road, DA1 1YT. On the return leg we drop off at Dartford Railway Station DA1 1DR.

Swanley, Unit 4, Moreton Industrial Estate, London Road, BR8 8DE.

Ashford, pull in Outside Dobbies Garden Centre, Opposite Premier Inn, Ashford Eureka Leisure Park, Rutherford Road, Ashford, Kent, TN25 4BN.

Folkestone, Shell Garage, Stop 24 Services, J11, M20, Kent, CT21 4BL.

This Tour is currently being built so keep an eye on this web page or subscribe to our monthly email newsletter for updates - there is a form to do this at the foot of this page. The final detailed and timed itinerary will be posted here at least four weeks prior to departure. If you would like to join us please send Siobhan an email or call on +44 (0) 7722 724 558 for details on how to secure a place and pay the deposit for this Tour, or if you have any questions about this Tour.

WW2 visits currently being planned are:

• Dunkerque 1940 Operation Dynamo Museum in Dunkerque.

• Dunkerque CWGC Cemetery & Memorial to Missing in Dunkerque.

• The Mole in Dunkerque, the 8-foot-wide, half-mile-long breakwater wall which served as the makeshift dock for the evacuation of 400,000 troops pinned down by German forces.

• The amazing wreck sites of sunk British rescue ships which today still lie exposed at low tide on the beaches between Dunkerque and De Panne.

• Several German and British Concrete Blockhouses of the period (concrete blockhouses - one of Siobhan's specialities).

• A German V2 Rocket launching site.

• The infamous Le Paradis site and its associated CWGC war cemetery.

• We will pop over the Belgian border, only 6 miles from Dunkerque to De Panne. We'll visit the site of the landing of Air Commodore Alan Christopher Deere's Spitfire on the beach in May 1940 having been downed by a Dornier. He was knocked unconscious, came round and made his way to a café where a lady dressed his head wound. He then hitched a lift to Dunkirk and returned to England to fight again. We'll visit the beach where he landed and also go to a nearby café, but for a beer rather than wound-dressing.

Beer visits currently being worked on are:

As for the beer part of the Tour, we are spoiled, for this part of France is historically quite Flemish and has heaps of breweries you've never heard of and plenty of great bars. We'll be on the search for Northern France speciality Bière de Garde.

•Brewery des 4 écluses.

•Brasserie du Pays Flamand in Blaringhem or Brasserie du Moulin in Saint-Sylvestre-Cappel.

•Orge & Houblon Brewery Tap in Sainte-Marie-Cappel.

•Brasserie Thiriez in Esquelbecq.

Tour Price is £1085 per person price sharing a double or twin room.

Single Supplement: £345 if you would like a room of your own.

The deposit payable to secure a place on this Tour is £230 per person.

Send Siobhan an email to find out how to pay the deposit.

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 one of our agreed joining points on the way to Folkestone or even on the other side of the channel.

Courier Services from Siobhan McGinn, your Tour Guide.

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 required to be taken out by Travellers on Podge's Belgian Beer Tours, as is carrying the free UK Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) which is the 2021 replacement for the old EHIC. You can still use your EHIC card so long as it is in date, then you need to apply for the GHIC replacement online.

All Tours are subject to our Terms and Conditions.

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