Mat McLachlan Battlefield Tours | Tours - Armistice Day 90th Anniversary

Somme Mud Tour - In the footsteps of Private Lynch
9 Nights 20-29 September 2010 $3597*

Somme Mud, the best-selling account of the Western Front service of Private Ted Lynch, is Australia’s equivalent of All Quiet on the Western Front. Lynch is a masterful storyteller and his gripping accounts of life in the trenches during the First World War have shed new light on this important chapter of history for thousands of readers. This is a unique opportunity for you to join the book’s editor, Will Davies, in a moving tour that follows the footsteps of Private Lynch across the battlefields of the Somme and Flanders. All the main Australian battlefields will be visited, with a special emphasis on those sites where Ted Lynch fought — a very special journey.

Features and Inclusions:

A unique opportunity to visit the sites immortalised in Somme Mud with the book’s editor, Will Davies
All excursions, scenic drives and sightseeing as described in the itinerary
9 nights first-class accommodation
Hotel porterage
Breakfast daily, 3 lunches, 4 dinners
Welcome drink in Paris
Services of a Tour Manager, Driver plus a WWI War Historian and experienced local guides
Extensive touring of the WWI battlefields
All entrance fees as per the itinerary
Travel by first-class air-conditioned coach
Local taxes and end of tour tips to your Tour Manager, Historian and Driver
Commemorative cap
Autographed copy of Will Davies’ Somme Mud, plus Mat McLachlan's definitive guide to the Western Front, Walking with the Anzacs
Quality travel bag
Detailed map showing the battlefields and key sites visited on the tour

DAY 1 20 SEPTEMBER (PARIS)

Welcome to your Western Front tour! After checking in to your Paris hotel, join the rest of the group for a welcome drink. This is an excellent opportunity to get to know your fellow passengers, Tour Manager, Driver and War Historian. After drinks, we'll enjoy a welcome dinner in the hotel. (D)

DAY 2 21 SEPTEMBER (PARIS)

Spend the day exploring Paris with the group. In the morning a local guide will escort us on a Panoramic Tour of the city's iconic sights. The Eiffel Tour, Champs Elys̩es, the Arc de Triomphe, the Louvre and Notre Dame will all be seen. We will then enjoy a scenic cruise along the River Seine, viewing the landmarks of Paris from the water. Our afternoon is at leisure to enjoy the sights and sounds of one of the world's great cities. (B)

DAY 3 22 SEPTEMBER (PARIS TO YPRES)

Our tour in the footsteps of the Anzacs and Private Lynch begins today. After breakfast we depart Paris for Ypres, just across the Belgian border, scene of some of the most horrific fighting of the First World War and our home for the next three nights. On the way to Ypres we will stop at Epernay, the birthplace of Champagne, and enjoy a guided tour of the cellars of Moet & Chandon. After a tasting of their famous bubbly we will depart for Reims, the historic city in the heart of the Champagne district. We will have free time for lunch and to explore the historic old town — don’t miss the magnificent cathedral, where the Kings of France were once crowned. After leaving Reims we will visit the inspiring Australian 2nd Division Memorial and see the remains of trenches captured by Australian troops on the 1918 battlefield of Mont St Quentin. On arrival at Ypres we will enjoy dinner in our hotel. (B, D)

DAY 4 23 SEPTEMBER (YPRES)

Between 1914 and 1918 Ypres was the centre of four great battles, and was completely destroyed by shellfire. Today the rebuilt town is one of the iconic places on the Western Front. This morning, join Will Davies for a walking tour around the town, visiting key sights from the war such as the magnificent Cloth Hall, St George’s Chapel, St Martin’s Cathedral, the Menin Gate and Ramparts Cemetery. After some free time for lunch, we will visit the outstanding In Flanders Fields Museum, a provocative collection of relics and displays that chronicles the fighting in Flanders and the personal stories of the people involved. This evening we will return to the Menin Gate, where the names of 54,000 missing British and Commonwealth soldiers are recorded, for the moving Last Post ceremony. The Ypres fire brigade has performed this bugle ceremony every day and in all weather since the memorial opened in 1927. The only interruption was during the four years of German occupation during the Second World War — the ceremony recommenced on the day the town was liberated. (B)

DAY 5 24 SEPTEMBER (THE YPRES SALIENT)

The Ypres Salient was a bulge in the front line that curved around Ypres for most of the war. More than a million men were killed or wounded trying to gain control of this small patch of ground. Today we will explore the Australian battlefields in the Salient, places where the Anzacs made history in 1917. Our first stop will be the Passchendaele Museum which features a recreated British dugout. We will then visit the 5th Australian Division Memorial at Polygon Wood and see the graves of Private Hunter and Sergeant Calder, the two Australian soldiers who featured in Mat McLachlan’s documentary Lost in Flanders. Lunch is included at Cafe de Dreve, where the owner, Johan Vandewalle, will tell us about his discovery of five Australian bodies including those of Private Hunter and Sergeant Calder in a Belgian field. We then get a taste of the devastation caused by four years of continuous artillery fire at the cratered landscape of Hill 60, before visiting Tyne Cot, the world’s largest Commonwealth war cemetery. Tyne Cot sits in the heart of one of the most horrific battlefields of the war — Passchendaele. Our final stop today is at the German Cemetery at Langemarck, where we will learn about the men on the other side of the line. As we drive back to Ypres we will see the magnificent Canadian memorial at Langemarck. Our evening is free to enjoy dinner in Ypres. (B, L)

DAY 6 25 SEPTEMBER (YPRES TO THE SOMME)

Today we leave Ypres and travel south to the battlefields of the Somme. En route we will visit the battlefield of Messines, where 19 huge mines were detonated beneath the German defenders in June 1917. Here Will Davies will guide us around the battlefield where Ted Lynch fought and was wounded. We can follow his battalion path through the shattered village and visit a German blockhouse where he was wounded and where many Australians were killed and from here to Ploegsteert Wood and the site of the catacombs. After crossing the border into France, we will stop at the very moving 1916 battlefield of Fromelles, where Australia lost 5533 men during its first action on the Western Front. Whilst here we will visit the Australian Memorial Park, VC Corner Cemetery (the only all-Australian cemetery in France) and see the site of the recently discovered Australian mass grave at Pheasant Wood. Leaving Fromelles, we will visit the battlefield of Bullecourt, where Australia lost 10,000 men in two great battles in 1917. We will pay our respects to them at the Slouch Hat Memorial in the centre of town and the Australian Memorial Park on the site of the German front line. We then drive to Amiens, passing the outpost villages and Bapaume which Private Lynch would have known well. A packed lunch is included today, and we will enjoy dinner in our hotel on our arrival in Amiens. (B, L, D)

DAY 7- 26 SEPTEMBER (THE SOMME 1916)

Today we will explore the battlefields of the 1916 Battle of the Somme. Our first stop will be the imposing Lochnagar Mine Crater, which was detonated beneath the German lines on the first day of the Battle of the Somme. Even though erosion has reduced the size of the crater it is still enormous — more than 100 metres across and 30 metres deep. We will then visit the village of Pozieres, scene of the most costly battle in Australia’s history. 23,000 men were killed or wounded in six weeks’ fighting, and we will visit the scenes of their heroic sacrifice at the 1st Division Memorial and the Windmill. We will also have time to walk the battlefield with our historian, gaining a better understanding of the fighting that led to more Australian casualties than any other battle in our history. From here were travel to Gueudecourt where Lynch spent the awful winter of 1916-1917 and visit actual trench lines and the site of an Australian VC. In the afternoon we will see Mouquet Farm, scene of bitter fighting in August 1916, and the Ulster Tower, where will enjoy lunch. We will also visit the Thiepval Memorial, where the names of 75,000 British soldiers missing from the Somme fighting are recorded. Later we will explore the trenches at the Newfoundland Memorial Park. Returning to Amiens, our evening is free to enjoy dinner and share our experiences of a memorable day with our fellow travellers. (B, L)

DAY 8 27 SEPTEMBER (THE SOMME 1918)

Fighting returned to the Somme in 1918, and Australian soldiers played a major role in ending the war. Today we follow in their footsteps. Our first stop is Villers-Bretonneux, where Australian troops staged a magnificent attack on Anzac Day 1918. While we are there we will visit Adelaide Cemetery, the place where Australia’s Unknown Soldier lay for 75 years before being returned to Australia in 1993. We will also visit the remarkable Victoria School, home to a wonderful small Australian museum, and where a sign in the playground entreats that the students ‘Do Not Forget Australia’. We will then visit the Australian National Memorial where the names of more than 10,000 Australians missing in France are recorded. From here, we travel to the battlefield of Hamel, where General John Monash orchestrated a great Australian victory in July 1918. After lunch we will visit some of the beautiful Somme villages, well known to the Australians, like Dernancourt, Corbie, Sailly-le-Sec and the site where the Red Baron crash in the Australian lines. Our journey will also take us along the line of the 8th August advance, the attack that became "the black day for the German Army". In the evening we return to Amiens where we will have free time for dinner. (B)

DAY 9 28 SEPTEMBER (AMIENS TO PARIS)

Our last day on the battlefields will begin with a visit to Amiens Cathedral, one of the world’s most glorious Gothic cathedrals — be sure to see the plaque honouring the Australian forces in the nave. Leaving Amiens we will travel to Compiegne, and visit the carriage where the Armistice was signed in November 1918. We then travel back to Paris, where our afternoon is at leisure. In the evening we will enjoy a farewell dinner in our hotel. After dinner a local guide will take us on an Illuminations Tour of Paris’ landmarks bathed in glorious light. (B, D)

DAY 10 29 SEPTEMBER (PARIS)

Sadly our journey in the footsteps of Ted Lynch ends this morning after breakfast. (B)

*Per person, twin share, land only. Single supplement: $997. Ask about our great airfare deals! Important note: This tour requires a minimum of 25 passengers to operate.