Thursday thru Sunday
Introductory tour of the Western Front (North)
Dover - Somme - Atrois - Flanders - Dover
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Status 16 Spaces available
Type Motorcycle only
Distance c450 miles
Saddle time 5-7 hours per day
Difficulty Medium
Off road Is possible
Cost £400-600
Support van Is possible
This is our most popular tour, designed for busy people who have limited free time to begin storming around the some of the Western Front battlefields from the Great War.
This tour is designed to introduce you to the Great War by focussing on the well-known sites and battefields in France and Belgium. We encourage all guests to join The Foundation Tour before progressing to our other tours.
Starting early on a Thursday morning, we pre-plan to meet as a group at the M20 Services, EuroTunnel or Dover ferry port.
Arriving France by mid-morning, your guide will introduce you to components of CWGC in France, before begining your tour of 1st July 1916 (Somme) at Gommecourt.
Following lunch at Albert or Thiepval, Rocky or Austin will give you a private tour of Thiepval Wood from which the 36 (Ulster) Division attacked on 1st July 1916.
Continuing the tour on the 1st July 1916 until overnight in Albert after cold beverages and food.
On Friday we consider the later battles of the Somme in 1916, including a visit to Delville Wood and pay our respects at High Wood before sweeping north towards Artois to consider Loos (1915) and Vimy (1917). Arrivng in Ypres, Flanders (Bel), in the evening. Cold beverages and food await.
Saturday, reduced mileage with a clockwise tour of the Ypres Salient. we will consider the key moments in Oct/Nov 1914 when the German Imperial Army was stopped by the combinaed efforts of the French. Belgian and the BEF. Then Langemark, Passendaele, Messines Ridge, lunch and then the kind of cup of tea at, Mount Kemmel that bikers need. In the evening Menin Gate before cold beverages and food await.
Sunday, head for home but first a visit to Talbot House in Pops. If you've not been before - be warned, you won't want to leave. You will ascend the stairs to the Upper Room, following the footsteps of, it is believed, over 100,000 British & Commonwealth Soldiers who, in the Great War, were confirmed or baptised, many of whom returned to the front 11km away never to return. Get up early enough and your guide will arrange a full English breakfast - we think the best you'll get between Berlin and Dover.
£400-600
Price breakdown.
1- Channel crossing depends on season - for motorbikes about £90 each way.
2 - Accomodation also depends on season and your taste - budget for €75 per night. Hotels cost more but if you are a group, houses can be booked in Ypres with inevitble savings.
3 - Food and drink - cost varies depending on your taste and thirst!
4 - Fuel - depends on your bike and wrist.
5 - Guide fee - £500 - divided between the number of riders (20 riders = £25 per head).
Dates
APRIL 2025
THURSDAY 3rd to SUNDAY 6th April
THURSDAY 10th to SUNDAY 13th April
MAY 2025
THURSDAY 8th to SUNDAY 11th May Fully booked
THURSDAY 22nd to SUNDAY 25th May Fully booked
JUNE 2025
THURSDAY 5th to SUNDAY 8th June
THURSDAY 19th to SUNDAY 22nd June
JULY 2025
THURSDAY 10th to SUNDAY 13th July
THURSDAY 24th to SUNDAY 27th July
AUGUST 2025
THURSDAY 7th to SUNDAY 10th August
THURSDAY 14th to SUNDAY 17th July
SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER
Dates to be released in May.
Tuesday thru Sunday
A blended tour encompassing Mons and Verdun.
Dover - Mons - Verdun - Flanders - Dover
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Status 19 Spaces available
Type Motorcycle only
Distance c800 miles
Saddle time 5-8 hours per day
Difficulty Medium
Off road Is possible
Cost £600-800
Support van Is possible
This is tour, builds on the Foundation Tour where we travel a little further afield to consider both the first battles in 1914 when Belgian and Britiush troops first clashed with the German Imperial Army. Heading South to Verdun, if you've not been before, prepare yourself for some jaw-dropping sites.
We encourage all guests to join The Foundation Tour before progressing to this tour.
Starting early on a Tuesday morning, we per-plan to meet as a group at the M20 Services, EuroTunnel or Dover ferry port.
Arriving France by mid-morning, we will get visit the bend in the Canal at Mons after first visiting John Parr. If you've the energy and we have the time, an oprtional lunch stop at the Brasserie at the site of the museum on the Waterloo battlefield (off-topic at 1815) is possible. Overnight at Waterloo after cold beverages and food.
Wednesday we head SE to Liège where we visit one of the 19th century fortresses, parts of which were destroyed in 1914 as the Belgian army fought to prevent the invasion by the German Imperial Army in 1914. Finally we find some twisty roads in Belgium we head South in Wallonia toward Dinant and Verdun. Overnight in Verdun after cold beverages and food (notice the theme?)
Thursday we reduce the miles covered with a tour of Verdun. How would you like to see this yourself? internal://f981128f-ae9b-47c2-93bc-b6a015368682
Friday, we back-off with the history and ride for the pure joy of riding in Lorraine and Ardennes. Near Sedan a much accalimed 'perfect corner' has to be taken three times. Continuing west through Parc Naturel regional de l'Aesnois, to arrive in Cambrai. Offroading on the ground of the Battle of Cambrai (1917), what? Perhaps a visit to Deborah?
Saturday we head north. If possible, we will overnight in Talbot House or Ypres to pay our respects at the Menin Gate before cold beverages and food.
Sunday, head for home but first a visit to Nieupoort and see the Goose's foot/museum to the inundation. Then an easy to ride along the coast for an optional visit to Dunkirk to see the beaches and Mole. The Calais, home and rest.
£600-800
Price breakdown.
1- Channel crossing depends on season - for motorbikes about £90 each way.
2 - Accomodation also depends on season and your taste - budget for €75 per night. Hotels cost more but if you are a group, houses can be booked in Ypres with inevitble savings.
3 - Food and drink - cost varies depending on your taste and thirst!
4 - Fuel - depends on your bike and wrist.
5 - Guide fee - £700 - divided between the number of riders (20 riders = £35 per head).
Dates
APRIL 2025
TUESDAY 22nd to SUNDAY 27th April
MAY 2025
FRIDAY 9th to SUNDAY 18th June Fully booked
JUNE 2025
TUESDAY 24th to SUNDAY 29th June Fully booked
JULY 2025
TUESDAY 1st to SUNDAY 6th July
AUGUST 2025
NOT THIS MONTH
SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER
Dates to be released in May.
Duration varies - you decide
Your tour, your way,
Dover - you decide - Dover
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Status Spaces available
Type Motorcycle only
Distance You decide
Saddle time You decide
Difficulty You decide
Off road You decide
Cost £You decide
Support van Is possible
So, you've attended both Foundation and Focussed Tours.
You've had the toured of some of the main battlefields and now you want to visit places you've read about or watched documentaries.
Ideas:-
Gallipoli, Turkey - 1915 Gallipoli peninsular campaign was the first major amphibious operation in modern warfare. The campaign was an Anglo-French attempt to force the Dardanelles channel and capture Constantinople (now Istanbul). The campaign's goals were to allow Allied ships to pass through the Dardanelles and remove Ottoman Turkey from the war. At a paltry 3,600 round trip, this is a memorable route, never to be forgotten.
Pynrénées, France/Spain - Could this be a bttlefield tour you might ask? With access to an excellent Guide, hugely knowledgable about the Comet Line, this tour isn't just about the switchbacks and the views. If you've not heard of the Comet Line......https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comet_Line
Normandy and Brittany - Of course we're happy to run a tour of the D-Day beaches but how about extending the trip to see the submarine pens at St Nazaire (Operation Chariot)?
Morocco - Okay we admit it, this is just an excuse to ride to the Atlas mountains and back.
Italy - We have a private tour in May 2025. Watch this space for a post tour report - it's going to be memorable.
Telephone: +44 1332 413907
E-mail: cicerone@the-charabanc.com
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