Walking the Ypres Salient

Our day begins with a visit to the In Flanders Fields Museum (entrance included), located in Ypres’ magnificent Cloth Hall which was destroyed during World War I and meticulously rebuilt.

In the afternoon, we’ll meet our local guide and transfer to the southern Ypres Salient. We’ll walk following the front line, taking in the Bluff, Ravine Wood, Hill 60, and the Caterpillar Crater. We’ll walk to what was known as no-man’s land taking in the landscape clearly marked by war. After dinner, we’ll watch the poignant Last Post ceremony at the Menin Gate.

Distance: 2.5 miles (4km)

This morning we’ll transfer with our guide to the northern Ypres Salient. We’ll follow a section of the old front line which remained virtually unchanged between 1915 and 1917. Here we’ll discover Klein Zwaanhof, Colne Cemetery, Caesar’s Nose, and the Yorkshire Trench and Deep Dug-Out, which contains an underground shelter which served as a headquarters for two battalions.

We’ll leave the Ypres Salient and continue by coach to Essex Farm, where John McCrae who wrote the poem In Flanders Fields is buried. We’ll then visit Tyne Cot Cemetery, the largest commonwealth cemetery in the world in terms of burials and the German Langemark Cemetery. 

Distance: 1.5 miles (2.8km)

This morning we’ll transfer with our guide to the eastern Ypres Salient where we’ll discover two of the most important wartime heritage sites: the grounds of Hooge Chateau and Bellewaarde Ridge. We’ll firstly visit the Hooge Crater Museum, which contains reconstructions of a number of wartime scenes, together with a collection of artifacts, documents, and photos. Bellewaarde Ridge held a position of strategic importance due to the panoramic view it offered over Ypres and was the scene of heavy fighting. 

Once we return to Ypres you’ll have the afternoon to explore at your leisure. 

Distance: 2 miles (3.5km)

Today we’ll take the train to Bruges, a medieval gem. A guided walking tour will show us the highlights before you have free time to explore and sightsee some more. We’ll return to Ypres for our farewell dinner.

After breakfast, we’ll take the opportunity for a final stroll around Ypres before joining our coach late morning for the transfer to Lille. Here we’ll board the Eurostar for our journey back through Northern France to London.