The Ypres Salient + Ghent

Day 1 – Journeying south, a visit will be made to the Battle of Britain Memorial in Kent, an eye-catching building designed in the shape of a Spitfire wing, complete with its famous uplift. The central focal point is a statue of a seated airman looking out to sea, which is striking in its simplicity yet so moving in its context. There is also the Christopher Foxley-Norris Memorial Wall with the names of all those aircrew known to have flown at least one sortie with an accredited squadron or unit of the Royal Air Force during the Battle of Britain in 1940. A first floor ‘cockpit’ area with an open balcony offers superb views across the Channel to France, from where the Luftwaffe would have appeared in 1940. Here you will find the Cockpit Café where lunch can be purchased.

Included is the high-tech interactive Scramble Experience, a fantastic way to learn more about the Battle of Britain.

At its heart is a unique + moving film created especially for the Trust which helps show just what life was like for the ‘few’ in the summer of 1940. Taking an afternoon crossing we continue to Flanders where dinner is included.

Included visit to the ‘In Flanders Fields Museum’ located in the rebuilt Ypres Cloth Hall. This depicts the consequences of the Great War and how old and young were faced with life and death in the Ypres front region. The exhibition has videos, unique soundbites and the most up-to-date multimedia displays, immersing visitors in life on the front line.

With the aid of a poppy bracelet, you will be able to access personal stories of 'Joe Public' in the Great War.

Following free time for lunch, you will join your local guide at the Menin Gate for an introduction before departing by coach for an included battlefields tour of the Ypres Salient + other interesting sites. This will include Tyne Cot, the largest British military cemetery in the world, where Commonwealth, French, Belgian and German forces fought almost continuously throughout WWI. This evening is at your leisure.

Today is dedicated to one of Belgium’s oldest cities - Ghent, known as the ‘flower capital of Belgium’ and one of the country’s best kept secrets. It boasts an opera house, many museums, ancient churches and dozens of bridges.

During your free day here, a leisurely boat cruise is a perfect way to get to see the historic centre filled with charm & beauty around every corner (local cost). You may choose to buy an early dinner in one of the many restaurants before returning to the hotel mid-evening.

Included visit with guided tour of the Hooge Crater Museum, Belgium's best private WWI museum. This fascinating museum has an extensive collection of weapons, equipment and photographs. Life during WWI is also depicted as true to life as possible with the help of life-size battle scenes, ranging from life in German bunkers and British trenches, to life-size horses ridden by cavalry troops. A light lunch is included before continuing on to the Passchendaele Memorial Museum (audio-guided visit) & their reconstructed trench system. Dinner is at your leisure.

Day 5 – Checking out of the hotel after breakfast, the final included visit is to Talbot House where you will breathe in the atmosphere of wartime years. Throughout the house, notices, artefacts and paintings, all tell its history. Your discovery tour will lead you to the upper room in the attic and some of the most sacred ground in Flanders Fields, the chapel. Here 1000’s would have had their 1st and many their last communion. In its own ‘Concert Hall’, experience the Happy Hoppers Concert Party of 1917. This show would have been a highlight for 1000’s of soldiers who came to see it in this very room. This visit finishes in the Oast House + Tubby's post-war dining room, where a documentary on his later life and work is shown. Lunch can be purchased in the town before the short onward journey to Calais for the return crossing to the UK and onwards to your original departure point(s).