The Somme Day Trip
The Battle of The Somme took place between July and November 1916, and our tours will enable you to visit the main sites in the area. Guided Tours For groups looking to enhance their excursions to the battlefields of Europe, we are partners with the International Guild of Battlefield Guides and therefore have access to trained, experienced and vetted guides. They are chosen for their suitability to work with groups to bring the reality of war to life. All Guild members have one thing in common, their love of Military History.
PLACES TO VISIT
Historial de la Grande Guerre
This museum is located in the medieval chateau of Peronne and is dedicated to the memory of the people who fought in and experienced the Great War. Based around four large rooms, the ’Historial’ deals sensitively with the multi-cultural aspect of the war, displaying British, French and German exhibits.
Neuville-St. Vaast German War Cemetery
Established by the French in 1919 as a concentration cemetery for German war casualties from the areas north and east of Arras, it is the largest German cemetery in France, containing 44,833 burials.
Notre Dame de Lorette
The largest cemetery for French soldiers, with 40,000 burials including 8,000 in a mass grave and the remainder in eight ossuaries, the site is dominated by an imposing chapel and 52 metre high Lantern Tower.
Pozieres
The site of the memorial to the dead of the Tank Corps of 1916-1918, and where the first tanks in history saw action.
Thiepval Memorial
Standing out from the surrounding countryside, the 45 metre high memorial is dedicated to the 73,000 Allied troops who lost their lives in The Somme and who have no known grave. On the old German front line, it marks the site of some of the bloodiest fighting of 1916 and remains a truly poignant reminder of the scale of the suffering encountered during the Battle of The Somme.
Ulster Tower
A memorial to the men of the 36th (Ulster) Division. The tower is located very near to the famous Schwaben Redoubt which the Division attacked on 1st July 1916. The front lines were at the edge of Thiepval Wood which lies to the south-west of the road between the Thiepval memorial and the Ulster Tower. Guided tours of nearby trenches are available (advance booking essential).
Wellington Quarry
Located 20 metres below the town of Arras, this network of tunnels was transformed from chalk quarries by New Zealand soldiers during WWI and provided billeting for thousands of troops.
Visitors are taken on a guided tour to see audio-visual presentations of the campaign (admission fee applies).
Advance booking is essential and Galloway can make this arrangement on your behalf.
Newfoundland Park
A Canadian National Historic Site and a memorial to the Newfoundland Battalion, the park remains very much as it was in 1916.
Delville Wood
Virtually obliterated by shellfire in 1916 (and since re-planted), the wood was the location of some of the Western Front’s most savage and intense fighting.
Musée Somme 1916
Albert was subject to continuous bombardment in the months before the Battle of the Somme. Built within the shelters constructed during the Second World War, most of the museum displays weapons of the era, wartime equipment and lifelike tableaux detailing trench life.
Musée Vivant 1914-1918
An excellent museum, adjacent to the cemetery, with an audiovisual presentation, life-like dioramas and many interesting artefacts and documents.
Vimy Ridge
This spectacular site centres on the Canadian Corps’ superbly planned capture of Vimy Ridge in April 1917, an event that proved to be a turning point for the Allies in the First World War.
The trenches and subways have been preserved and restored for visitors. Guided visits of the tunnels and trench system are possible at certain times of year.
Lochnagar Crater
This impressive crater is situated east of the village of La Boiselle. Approximately 90 metres in diameter and 20 metres deep, it was created by a mine detonated on 1st July 1916. This is now a permanent memorial to the soldiers who lost their lives on the first day of the Battle of The Somme.