Western Front Explorer

A full day exploring the killing fields of the Somme and, in particular, the horror of the first day, July 1^st, 1916, the most costly day in the history of the British Army. Our day begins near the village of Serre, where we will explore an original frontline trench from July 1^st, as well as the Sheffield City Memorial and Serre Road No 2 Cemetery. We will then visit the famous Sunken Lane, immortalised in Geoffrey Malins’ black and white films. We will then explore the massive Hawthorne Ridge mine crater, which was blown twice during the Battle of the Somme and has been preserved as a memorial to the thousands of men who fell in and around it. Our next stop is the Newfoundland Memorial Park, where we will walk through a full First World War trench system, including British trenches, German trenches and the shell-cratered no man’s land in between. After free time for lunch, we will visit the Ulster Tower near the site of the Schwaben Redoubt, before exploring the magnificent Thiepval Memorial to the Missing, where more than 72,000 missing men from the Somme are commemorated. Our day ends with visits to Mansell Copse, Lochnagar Crater and the imposing Fricourt German Cemetery, to learn the story of the men from the other side of the line. Our evening in Arras is free. (B)