The Somme

WWI through the eyes of a modern child must seem like an implausible event that they will never begin to understand. Classrooms provide a setting for learning, however a visit to the battlefields and trenches of the Somme and Ypres will give pupils first-hand experiences that will help them put the war into perspective. This is a very important educational trip for all pupils of history.

Educational Value: History • Geography • Modern Foreign Languages

Ypres & The Somme by coach*
Day 1: Depart school to catch the Channel crossing to the Continent. Continue your journey to Ypres for dinner at your accommodation.
Day 2: The first day will be spent in Ypres visiting: St George‘s Memorial Church, Flanders Field Museum, Cloth Hall and Menin Gate.
Day 3: Travel to France to visit Vimy Ridge and the German Cemetery at Neuville St Vaast, then onwards to Newfoundland Park and Thiepval Memorial in the Somme.
Day 4: Your final day will be spent at the Tyne Cot British Cemetery, The Trench Museum, Sanctuary Wood, La Boiselle Crater and Menin Gate to hear the Last Post.
Day 5: Depart after breakfast for return

Ypres
Almost completely destroyed in WWI, Ypres has since been meticulously restored to its original medieval state. As well as being the perfect base from which to study world war history, you’ll find many other amenities including: a
sports centre, bowling alley and a cinema.

Yorkshire Trench
When this site was originally discovered at the end of WWI, 165 soldiers’ bodies were found beneath the earth. This permanent memorial is a reconstruction of the Yorkshire Trench including the original entrance and exit
from 1917.

Cloth Hall
This is the first interactive war museum that allows pupils to investigate, through varied methods of media technology, the lives that were affected by WWI. Educational packages and workshops are available as well as the
biographies of historical figures.

Essex Farm Cemetery
The poem, In Flanders Field, was written in the concrete dug-outs behind Essex Farm Cemetery. The cemetery itself is the burial place of Joe Strudwick who was one of the youngest British soldiers (aged 15) to die on the battlefields.

Hill 60
A visit here will show pupils the strategic advantage that can be taken from geographical location. The elevated land of Hill 60 was created through two mines that exploded at the beginning of the Battle of Messines.

Hill 62 and Sanctuary Wood
This is a museum that holds wartime artefacts and an interesting collection of slides taken by war correspondents. Outside, in Sanctuary Wood, pupils will find the only preserved trenches in the whole of Belgium.

Tyne Cot British Cemetery
This is the resting place for nearly 12,000 soldiers making Tyne Cot the largest Commonwealth Cemetery in the world. The tranquility of this site helps to preserve the atmosphere of remembrance and will put the
losses suffered during the war into context.

Menin Gate and the Last Post Ceremony
The Menin Gate has the names of 55,000 officers and soldiers who fell on the Ypres Salient. Every day, at 20.00hrs, the bugler sounds the Last Post and the traffic stops as a sign of respect.

Passchendaele Memorial Museum
There are a number of films, images and life-like-dioramas that make this museum a ‘must see’, especially when visiting Tyne Cot Cemetery. This is a fascinating example of how British soldiers used to live underground.

Recommended Accommodation

Salient Hotel
This youth hotel is adjacent to Ypres market square and close to all amenities and places of interest. Great emphasis is placed on safety and fire regulations.

Facilities:
• Bedrooms have private facilities
• Breakfast room
• TV room with Cable TV
• Games room
• Free internet access
• Party leader bar
• Large private garden
• Self-service continental breakfast
• Packed lunch
• 2-course dinner

Our recommended hotel is situated close to the connecting ferry terminals of Ostend with easy access to many other resorts via tram.

Facilities:
• 57 en-suite bedrooms
• Teachers’ bar
• TV room
• Dining room
• Meeting room
• Swimming pool
• Nearby tennis court
• Close to the beach

*The highlighted itineraries are entirely flexible to suit your group’s educational and recreational needs.
For more details regarding excursions, prices and alternative activities contact us on: 01273 320993.