OK. You have 3 days?
Day 1 - 1914 - 1915
Essex Farm CWGC . Location of grave of Valentine Strudwick. Jsut go and look for the grave. No spoilers! This area was the site of bloody fighting in the first battle of Ypres. The Germans determined to take the town. British troops (many territorials) defending the nearby canal. It's also the location where John McCrae wrote "In Flanders' Fields". (He was operating on the wounded in the bunker to the left of the graveyard. That's why it's there.) Take a copy with you and pick a few poppies if you see any. They'll likely be descended from the poppies he saw.
Head over to Vancouver Corner. For my money, one of the most impressive monuments on the Western Front. This is where Canadians held the line during the first German gas attacks.
More here.
Finish the day in Ypres with a walk around the walls and a look at the Cloth Hall Museum. DO NOT GO ANYWHERE NEAR THE MENIN GATE!
DAY Two
Nip down to the Somme! A couple of hours on the autoroute.
You could spend a whole week on the Somme but I suggest you focus on ...
1. The Ulster Tower. Approach this from the valley floor going UP the hill. Will make you understand what an achievement this (relatively) successful attack was.
2. Newfoundland Park. Try to book a tour with one of the student guides IN ADVANCE!
(Here for more info.)
3. The Thiepval Memorial.
There are lots of individual regimental memorials on the Somme. Do your own research for your own area of the UK.
On the way back from the Somme, you can swing by Vimy Ridge. The memorial there came first in a Canadian compo. The one that came second was place (in smaller scale) at Vancouver Corner. I think they got it the wrong way round!
If you are staying near Ypres, go into the town and have a beer. but ... DO NOT GO ANYWHERE NEAR THE MENIN GATE!
Day 3.
Leave the bikes at memorial at the top of Paaschendael ridge and walk down Canadalaan and Tynecotstraat to Tyne Cot. It's not THAT far but it will remind you that every step cost countless lives. Spend an hour or so at Tyne Cot and have a packet of tissues handy!
Walk back to the bikes or call a taxi.
Now that you've done the above wee tour, you have my full permission to attend the Menin Gate Ceremony at 8pm on your last night. Youll appreciate it all the more for waiting, I can assure you!
) and would like to visit some of the military memorials, sites etc, but not too much time in the museums unless there's a 'not to be missed one'. Also want to travel along some interesting & twisty roads in between the stops.
