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Home , Beernem, De Panne, Diksmuide, Menen, Poperinge, Ypres

Booking Codes J108 & J109

In Fields – a Remembrance Cruise With the accompanying vocal harmonies of the Spitfire Sisters

7 days Full-Board* Tuesday 27th September Wednesday 28th September £1,495 Single Supplement only £225 *excludes one evening meal when guests dine at their own choice of restaurant in

Being part of the Scenery – gentle cruising in Flanders

Navigable waterways are a central feature of the modern history of Flanders, and here we offer the chance to follow a remembrance theme as we cruise over 3 days between the iconic of Gent, and Ypres, with two intervening free days when we can visit some of the moving sites and memorials which commemorate “Flanders Fields”. We are accompanied throughout by the lovely vocal harmonies of the Spitfire Sisters.

After a relaxing outward travel day and some free time on arrival in Ypres, we enjoy an evening meal in-hotel where we are introduced to our musical companions for the week, Louisa and Hannah who make up the Spitfire Sisters duo. It was their joy of music that brought Hannah and Louisa together and over the last 10 years the “sisters” have become popular entertainers to special occasions – amongst their many commitments they are regular performers on the Orient Express!

Booking Codes J108 & J109

Our waterways adventure takes us in either direction between Ypres, , Nieuwpoort, Oudenberg, Bruges, , and Gent - in all fully 121km but as our pathway follows three sides of a square we always stay within comfortable range of our hotels in Ypres. Here we describe the cruise pathway as it would be if setting out from Ypres, but both these cruises will cover the whole cruise route and detail of each daily itinerary is shown in the programme detail.

From the Ypres direction our cruise begins along the Ieper-Ijser Canal, running northwards alongside the wartime Ypres to its junction with the River Ijser (or ). As we leave Ypres we are immediately reminded of sobering wartime history as we reach the site of the Essex Farm Dressing Station, its place in history assured as the location where John McCrae wrote . Our poetic reflection then revisits us as we pass close to Artillery Wood Cemetery, final resting place of Private Ellis Evans, better known by his Welsh name and the posthumous winner of the Bard’s chair at the 1917 National Eisteddfod. His empty - draped chair is still a moving feature of every annual Eisteddfod.

Booking Codes J108 & J109

The Ijser then continues northward, through the restored town of Diksmuide. Like Ypres, Diksmuide was reduced to ruins in the Great War and completely rebuilt in the 1920s. Just downstream of Diksmuide we will visit the memorial and preserved trenches at , the only remaining testimony to heroic Belgian resistance along the Ijser defensive line.

In Nieuwpoort we moor just below the Ganzepoot (Goose ) locks. This complex of sluices and locks gathers the Ijser with two canals and several other watercourses for connection into the maritime port of Nieuwpoort and onwards to the sea. Ganzepoot was of enormous strategic importance in the Great War when the Belgians stopped the German advance by lifting the sluices so that the surrounding were flooded by inrushing sea water.

Booking Codes J108 & J109

Resuming our cruise from Nieuwpoort, we enjoy a long and gentle cruise through to Bruges. Initially we follow the Plassendale-Nieuwpoort Canal across quiet farming country, past the town of Oudenberg and through the de Zwaanhoek wetlands reserve before a lock at Plassendale lifts us on to the historic Gent- Canal. This waterway, completed in 1623, runs us eastwards into Bruges offering more fine views across arable and livestock farmland.

As we enter the northern side of Bruges we encounter the spectacular new Scheepsdale bridge. This construction has high inclined roller arms which convey the road surface upwards and sideways – a spectacular sight when raised to allow us to pass through. After encountering the lock at Dammeport the canal turns southwards along a tree-lined course skirting the old east-side walls and passing the four preserved windmills of Koeleweimill, de Nieuwe Papegai, Sint-Janshuismill and Bonne Chiere before we conclude for the day at St-Katellinepoort moorings.

Scheepsdale Bridge on the Canal Gent-Oostende in Bruges (picture courtesy Wikimedia Commons and Author Le Fou)

For our third cruise day we will re-board in Bruges and now head southwards through mostly arable farmland, passing the towns of Beernem and Aalter. Continuing through a rural setting, we pass the canal’s junction with the Afleidingskanaal at Schipdonk. A little further along the Gent-Ostend Canal we join the Gent Ringvaart – as its name implies a circular navigation around the city – before finally we turn on to the delightful River Leie (the ) for our last few km into the centre of Gent.

As this is an alternate-day cruise programme, we also have two clear days between our three days of cruising where we can explore more of the remembrance heritage of Flanders. For the first of these days we are joined by a local wartime guide as we visit the In Flanders Fields Museum, set in the wonderfully restored Cloth Hall in the centre of Ypres. The permanent exhibition here tells the story of the invasion of , the first months of

Booking Codes J108 & J109

mobile warfare, then the four years of static trench-based fighting that followed until the end of the war, and the permanent remembrance ever since. The focus is the human war experience. Hundreds of authentic objects and images are presented in an experience-orientated layout. Lifelike characters and interactive installations confront the contemporary visitor with his or her peers in the war a century ago, and add life and depth to the battlefield locations and memorials we will see during the week.

After our museum visit we will convene nearby for a restaurant lunch before the coach takes us just the short way out of Ypres to the area around Langemark-Poelkapelle. Our guide will explain some of the history of the conflict along this front-line village and we will visit the local Canadian and Welsh memorials as well as the German War Cemetery.

For our second day of excursions, our coach takes us first to the small town of , a major rail supply depot on the allied side, and also location of the famous Talbot House “Every Man’s Club” set up by two army chaplains so that traumatised allied soldiers could get away from the front-line conflict to enjoy some “R&R”. To this day Talbot House is kept as it was through the Great War and it makes for a fascinating short visit complemented by a welcoming tea or coffee just as would have been offered more than a century ago.

From Poperinge the coach takes us onwards to the coast at where we join the historic tramway for a one-hour ride through to Nieuwpoort. The 67km line from de Panne to has its own 130-year history and makes for a fascinating ride. The line was of course cut during the Great War as the wartime front-line intersected it, and as we alight in Nieuwpoort we are able to take a few minutes to visit the city’s two co-located memorials: the King Albert I Belgian memorial; and the British Memorial, dedicated to the 547 men who have no known grave, lost in the Battle of Antwerp in 1914 and in later fighting along the Ijser defensive line.

By now lunchtime beckons, so we rejoin our coach for the half-hour journey into Bruges, where we allow ourselves a free afternoon. Bruges may have served as a German recreational centre in the Second World War, but in the Great War the city, with its major canal connection to the sea at , was seen by as an important naval base for attacks on the British fleet. Fortunately, Bruges itself was spared substantial damage as British naval and air attacks fell mainly on the port at Zeebrugge. And Bruges was spared too in the Second World War as it was not a strategic target for allied bombing and on liberation of the city in 1944 the German commandant ignored Hitler’s instructions to destroy it.

As our cruise-tour draws to its conclusion we come to our final day, but before we make for we visit the great centenary visitor centre at Passchendaele and Cemetery, a stunning reminder of the scale and futility of the conflict. We continue to Calais for some free time to lunch and shop in the Cite-Europe complex before our late afternoon crossing.

There will be a complimentary bar throughout cruising and our on-board lunches will be complemented by a selection of Flanders cheeses. For our evening meals we include dinners in hotel on all except one evening when we leave guests free to decide their own dining venue in Ypres. Guests may like to choose that evening to attend the ceremony at Gate.

The Programme:

Tuesday 27th September departure Day Eurotunnel Crossing at 11:50 for 13:30 arrival in Calais and 15:00 hotel check-in in Ypres. Remainder of day free 1 for sightseeing in Ypres. Dinner in hotel Embark Disembark Km/Locks Lunch Other Detail Hotel ETD/ETA Day Gent 10:00 Bruges 48/0 On Board All day cruise. On-board guide for 09:00/17:00 2 16:30 initial introduction to Gent. Dinner in hotel

Booking Codes J108 & J109

Day Guided visit to the In Flanders Fields Museum, Ypres followed by free time and restaurant lunch 09:30/16:30 3 in Ypres. Afternoon guided visits to the battlefield sites and memorials around Langemark- Poelkapelle. Free evening for guests to attend the Last Post Ceremony at Menen Gate. Dinner not included today Day Nieuwpoort Ypres 17:00 35/3 On Board All day cruise with remembrance 09:00/17:15 4 Ganzepoot guide. Break at lunchtime to visit the 10:00 Dodengang trench and memorial. Dinner in hotel. Day Coach transfer to Poperinge to visit Talbot House 09:00-10:00. Continue to de Panne to join the 08:30/17:30 5 coastal tramway for a ride through to Nieuwpoort arriving around 12:30. Continue by coach to Bruges for a free afternoon, departing at 16:30. Lunch not included today Day Nieuwpoort Bruges 38/3 On Board All day cruise. Dinner in hotel 09:00/17:00 6 10:00 16:30 Day Morning visit to Passchendaele Visitor Centre 09:30-11:30. Free time in Cite-Europe Calais 13:00-15:30. 7 Eurotunnel crossing at 17:50 for return to around 17:30 UK time.

Wednesday 28th September Departure Day Eurotunnel Crossing at 11:50 for 13:30 arrival in Calais and 15:00 hotel check-in in Ypres. Remainder of day free 1 for sightseeing in Ypres. Dinner in hotel Embark Disembark Km/Locks Lunch Other Detail Hotel ETD/ETA Day Bruges Nieuwpoort 38/3 On Board All day cruise. Dinner in hotel 09:00/17:00 2 10:00 Ganzepoot 16:30 Day Guided visit to the In Flanders Fields Museum, Ypres followed by free time and restaurant lunch 09:30/16:30 3 in Ypres. Afternoon guided visits to the battlefield sites and memorials around Langemark- Poelkapelle. Free evening for guests to attend the Last Post Ceremony at Menen Gate. Dinner not included today Day Ypres 09:30 Nieuwpoort 35/3 On Board All day cruise with remembrance 09:30/17:00 4 Ganzepoot guide. Break at lunchtime to visit the 16:30 Dodengang trench and memorial. Dinner in hotel. Day Coach transfer to Poperinge to visit Talbot House 09:00-10:00. Continue to de Panne to join the 08:30/17:30 5 coastal tramway for a ride through to Nieuwpoort arriving around 12:30. Continue by coach to Bruges for a free afternoon, departing at 16:30. Lunch not included today. Dinner in hotel Day Bruges Gent 16:30 48/0 On Board All day cruise. Dinner in hotel 09:00/17:30 6 10:00

Day Morning visit to Passchendaele Visitor Centre 09:30-11:30. Free time in Cite-Europe Calais 13:00-15:30. 7 Eurotunnel crossing at 17:50 for return to Kent around 17:30 UK time.

Booking Codes J108 & J109

What’s Included:

• Executive coach tranfer • Eurotunnel crossings • 121km of cruising the waterways between Ypres and Gent • Six nights stay at a 4* Hotel in Ypres • Dinners on all evenings except one when free in Ypres • Lunch on board on the three cruise days • A restaurant lunch in Ypres on our first excursion day • Complimentary bar throughout cruising • Trip on the Belgian Coastal Tramway between De Panne and Nieuwpoort • Visits to the In Flanders Fields Museum in Ypres, Passchendaele Visitor Centre, Talbot House and Dodengang trenches • Other visits to battlefield and memorial locations as described • Free time in Ypres, Bruges and Cité-Europe, Calais • Opportunity to attend the Last Post ceremony at Menen Gate in Ypres • Professional Great War history guide services on the first of our excursion days • Tour Manager services

Guests Should Please Budget separately for:

• Travel to or from London St Pancras • Any overnight accommodation required in UK preceding or following our coach transfers • Lunch on the two travel days, and on the day we have a free afternoon in Bruges • Evening meal on one evening in Ypres • Travel and Health Insurance

Coach Pick-ups

The planned pick-up sequence for these departures is as follows:

27th September Departure:

North Greenwich Jubilee Line Station (O2 Arena) 07:30 Medway Services 08:20 Faversham (Preston Park bus stop on the A2) 08:50 Canterbury Bus Station 09:15 Hawkinge (bus stop adjacent LIDL store) 09:50 Folkestone West Station 10:10 Eurotunnel Crossing at 12:20

28th September Departure:

North Greenwich Jubilee Line Station (O2 Arena) 07:30 Medway Services 08:20 Maidstone Services 08:40 Ashford International Station 09:15 Stop 24 Services Folkestone 10:00 Eurotunnel Crossing at 12:20

Booking Codes J108 & J109

Guests will be asked to signal their preferred pick-up point on booking and this will be confirmed and subject to detailed instructions when tickets are issued. It may be possible to arrange additional pick-up points for guests travelling as a group of 10 or more. Please raise this on booking for further consideration.

Return journey set-downs will match the outward pick-up sequence.

Coach Transfer – Connection for Guests Travelling from Distance

For any guests travelling from distance, our coach will call at either Folkestone West Station or Ashford International Station to meet guests travelling via fast train services from St Pancras or local services from elsewhere in the South-East. Guests unable to travel on the day for a scheduled pick-up are asked to book a stopover hotel close to one of our pick-up locations.

Our Hotels and Meal Plan:

We may stay at either of two excellent hotels in Ypres.

(27th September departure) The family-run Hotel Ariane in Ypres is a well-reported 4* establishment situated just north side of the city centre and about a 10-minute walk from the St-Martin Cathedral and the Market Square. The Ariane has held the Trip Advisor “Best Hotel in Belgium” Award for six consecutive years and so could hardly come better recommended.

(28th September departure). The similarly well-regarded 3* Novotel Ypres Centrum is centrally-situated just off the market square with all the features to be expected of a good mid-range Accor hotel and consistently good reviews. At both hotels, evening dining is included in our programme except for one evening when guests will be invited to make their own arrangements to allow them to dine either side of the 8pm Menen Gate Ceremony.

Scenic, Intimate, Silent, Slow, Comfortable, Relaxing….cruising the Backwaters way!