Ypres: Battles in Flanders Fields


4 - 5 days from £549pp

NEW About the tour: Ypres: Battles in Flanders Fields


Tour Introduction

Travel with us to Ypres, the main British battlefield of the First World War, and stay right in the heart of the city, close to the Menin Gate. This fascinating tour explores key WW1 sites and memorials, including Tyne Cot Cemetery, The Bluff, and Spanbroekmolen Mine Crater, as well as Essex Farm where John McCrae wrote the world-famous poem ‘In Flanders Fields’ in 1915.

Tour Includes


  • 3 or 4 nights hotel with continental breakfast
  • Specialist Battlefield Guide
  • Convenient local joining points
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(Deposits from £50pp)

Once you have booked your battlefield tour either online, or by telephone (), you have the flexibility of how you pay off the remainder of your balance. You can -

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  3. Send payments via cheque.
  4. Call us and make a card payment, either a small amount or as lump sum until your final due date.

Our contact and online banking payment details will be on your confirmation invoice to remind you of your choices.

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Tour Itinerary

Day 1

Local departure by coach or Door-to-Door service, then on to Ypres where we stay in the centre for three nights.

Day 2 - Passchendaele & In Flanders Fields Museum

More than 250,000 British and Commonwealth soldiers died at Ypres during the First World War, and we begin our visit by driving up the iconic Menin Road via Hell Fire Corner out onto the ground where the fighting took place.

We explore where Scottish troops fought in 1914 at Black Watch Corner and visit the impressive memorial, walk into Polygon Wood, and see an original German bunker, the nearby cemetery, and the Australian and New Zealand Memorials.

At Tyne Cot Cemetery, we see the largest British and Commonwealth Cemetery in the world, and then examine one of the most controversial battles of the conflict: Passchendaele. We see the Canadian Memorial and ground around the village where the fighting occurred in 1917.

After lunch at Hooge, we visit the In Flanders Fields Museum, one of the most important WW1 museums in the world.

We return to the battlefields and see Essex Farm where John McCrae wrote the poem ‘In Flanders Fields’ in 1915, and end at Yorkshire Trench, a preserved British front-line trench found in archaeological work here during in the early 2000s.

In the evening, you have time to attend the moving Last Post Ceremony, just a five-minute walk from the hotel.

Included meals: Breakfast

Yorkshire Trench

Yorkshire Trench (8)

Key Visits

  • Tyne Cot Cemetery
  • Polygon Wood Cemetery
  • Last Post Ceremony
  • In Flanders Fields Museum
  • Yorkshire Trench
  • Passchendaele Village
  • Black Watch Corner Memorial

Day 3 - The War Underground & Messines Ridge

We start this morning at the so-called Aristocrat’s Cemetery at Zillebeke where officers were buried in 1914, many of them from titled families. We then look at the fighting for the key position at Hill 60, examining the War underground and seeing preserved mine craters and bunkers.

We then visit The Bluff; located alongside the old Ypres canal, this was also an area of mine warfare and heavy fighting, and here we see impressive mine craters and the visitors’ centre.

After lunchtime at Hooge Crater Café, with time for the excellent museum and reconstructed trenches, we travel down the Messines Ridge and have an included visit to the German trench system at Bayernwald, a place where Adolf Hitler fought in 1914.

Later, we see the Spanbroekmolen Mine Crater, now the ‘Pool of Peace’, and end at Ploegsteert, or ‘Plugstreet’, where we visit the Ploegsteert Memorial and discuss the story of the Christmas truce in 1914.

Included meals: Breakfast

Bayernwald Trenches

Bayernwald Trenches (7)

Key Visits

  • Ploegsteert
  • Catepillar Crater
  • Messines Ridge
  • Ploegsteert Memorial
  • Hill 60
  • Spanbroekmolen Mine Crater
  • Bayernwald Trenches
  • Zillebeke Churchyard
  • The Bluff

Day 4

Return home.

Included meals: Breakfast

Day 1

Local departure by coach or Door-to-Door service, then on to Ypres where we stay in the centre for four nights.

Day 2 - Passchendaele & In Flanders Fields Museum

More than 250,000 British and Commonwealth soldiers died at Ypres during the First World War, and we begin our visit by driving up the iconic Menin Road via Hell Fire Corner out onto the ground where the fighting took place.

We explore where Scottish troops fought in 1914 at Black Watch Corner and visit the impressive memorial, walk into Polygon Wood, and see an original German bunker, the nearby cemetery, and the Australian and New Zealand Memorials.

At Tyne Cot Cemetery, we see the largest British and Commonwealth Cemetery in the world, and then examine one of the most controversial battles of the conflict: Passchendaele. We see the Canadian Memorial and ground around the village where the fighting occurred in 1917.

After lunch at Hooge, we visit the In Flanders Fields Museum, one of the most important WW1 museums in the world.

We return to the battlefields and see Essex Farm where John McCrae wrote the poem ‘In Flanders Fields’ in 1915, and end at Yorkshire Trench, a preserved British front-line trench found in archaeological work here during in the early 2000s.

In the evening, you have time to attend the moving Last Post Ceremony, just a five-minute walk from the hotel.

Included meals: Breakfast

Tyne Cot

Tyne Cot (9)

Key Visits

  • Tyne Cot
  • Polygon Wood Cemetery
  • Last Post Ceremony
  • In Flanders Fields Museum
  • Yorkshire Trench
  • Essex Farm
  • Passchendaele Village
  • Black Watch Corner Memorial

Day 3 - The War Underground & Messines Ridge

We start this morning at the so-called Aristocrat’s Cemetery at Zillebeke where officers were buried in 1914, many of them from titled families. We then look at the fighting for the key position at Hill 60, examining the War underground and seeing preserved mine craters and bunkers.

We then visit The Bluff; located alongside the old Ypres canal, this was also an area of mine warfare and heavy fighting, and here we see impressive mine craters and the visitors’ centre.

After lunchtime at Hooge Crater Café, with time for the excellent museum and reconstructed trenches, we travel down the Messines Ridge and have an included visit to the German trench system at Bayernwald, a place where Adolf Hitler fought in 1914.

Later, we see the Spanbroekmolen Mine Crater, now the ‘Pool of Peace’, and end at Ploegsteert, or ‘Plugstreet’, where we visit the Ploegsteert Memorial and discuss the story of the Christmas truce in 1914.

Included meals: Breakfast

Bayernwald Trenches

Bayernwald Trenches (7)

Key Visits

  • Messines Ridge
  • Bayernwald Trenches
  • Ploegsteert
  • Catepillar Crater
  • Ploegsteert Memorial
  • Hill 60
  • Spanbroekmolen Crater
  • Zillebeke Churchyard
  • The Bluff

Day 4 - The Trench of Death & Behind the Lines

This morning, we depart for the Flanders coast and see the Nieuport Memorial to the Missing, looking at how British soldiers occupied the trenches here at the top end of the Western Front, alongside the beaches.

We look at the Belgian Army in Flanders, visiting Ramskapelle, and then the Trenches of Death, a whole system of front-line trenches preserved along the Yser Canal.

After lunchtime in central Dixmude, we visit the impressive German Cemetery at Vladslo, with sculptures by Käthe Kollwitz showing parents morning for their fallen son, just as she and her husband did when their son Peter died here in 1914.

We then examine life behind the lines in Flanders and visit the town of Poperinghe to look at the subject of men who were ‘Shot at Dawn’. We visit Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery, one of the largest in Flanders, and here look at the story of women who served as nurses, and the role of the Chinese Labour Corps, also having time to see the visitor's centre.

Included meals: Breakfast

Vladslo German Cemetery

Vladslo German Cemetery (6)

Key Visits

  • Nieuport Memorial to the Missing
  • Poperinghe
  • Trenches of Death
  • Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery
  • Ramskapelle
  • Vladslo German Cemetery

Day 5

Return home.

Included meals: Breakfast

Specialist Battlefield Guides

All of Leger’s battlefield tours are accompanied by specialist guides. Their individual in-depth knowledge of warfare will be informative, as well as enhance your overall experience, as they recreate a fascinating perception of the history and factual events of each battle. Discover the actual catalysts for war, the strategies employed and the final, inevitable outcomes, as well as experiencing the emotional human side of the front line.

Please note: On certain tours, you may get tour guides other that the ones listed below.

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Hotel

You will stay for three or four nights at the 3-star Novotel Ypres located in the heart of Ypres, close to Menin Gate and the Market Square.

Novotel Ypres Centrum

Novotel Ypres Bar and Lounge
Novotel Ypres Bedroom
Novotel Ypres Bar

About the hotel

The Novotel Ypres Centrum is located in the heart of historic town of Ypres, just a short walk from the Menin Gate. The hotel makes the ideal base for exploring the rich military heritage of the area.

Hotel Features

  • Bar
  • English Speaking Staff
  • Guest Lounge
  • Lift
  • Restaurant
  • WiFi Available

Room Features

  • Bath and/or Shower
  • Hairdryer
  • Tea and Coffee Making Facilities
  • Telephone
  • TV

Travel Options

All our coaches and transfer vehicles operate a 'no smoking on board policy'. The use of electronic cigarettes is strictly forbidden.
In the interest of fellow guests, do not take hot food or ice cream on board.
alcohol can only be taken on board our vehicles at the discretion of your driver.

When it comes to getting to the Battlefields, Leger Holidays make it easy, with a selection of travel options for you choose from.

Executive Coach

Executive Features

  • Air conditioning
  • Drinks machines
  • Onboard toilet
  • Reclining seats

Silver Service Coach

Silver Service, refreshments
Silver Service, lounge
Silver Service, entertainment

Silver Service Features

  • Sit back and relax in specially-designed, deluxe reclining seats, with leather headrests, footrests and more legroom than standard coaches.
  • Enjoy the perfect temperature onboard with climate control.
  • Relax and have a chat in the spacious rear lounge.
  • Servery on board offering a range of refreshments.
  • Porterage* at most hotels, so you really don’t have to lift a finger.
  • Time flies with our onboard entertainment system.
  • With free personal headphones you can tune into the music channel, listen to the radio or watch DVDs.
  • Onboard toilet

Silver Service Seating Plan

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Luxuria Coach

Luxuria - Charging sockets
Luxuria - TV
Luxruia - Seating

Luxuria Features

  • Deluxe armchair-style seats with leather exterior, central arm rests with cup holders and retractable calf rests give you a more comfortable journey.
  • Every seat has its own, fully interactive, touch screen T.V. offering a wide choice of entertainment so you can control what you want to watch and when.
  • There’s also a selection of double and single seats, including four seats face-to-face with tables. And with a total of 7 single seats available, these are ideal for passengers travelling independently.
  • Plug sockets and USB points at each seat mean you can keep your devices fully charged throughout your journey.
  • Onboard toilet.

Luxuria Seating Plan

Luxuria Seating Plan

Travel Extras

With an overnight stay or the option to meet us at the interchange, our travel extras allow you to create a travel experience to suit your needs...

Join coach at Interchange

Join your tour coach at the interchange.

On most tours if you’d prefer to join your tour coach at Stop 24 services, you can park your car in the car park which is accredited by the Park Mark safer parking scheme and is monitored 24 hours a day by CCTV. Payment for the parking is made on arrival using the self-service machines.

Excludes tours to Ireland and the U.K. and tours travelling via Brittany Ferries.

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