Anyone visited battlefields in France and Belgium?

[Becaroooo]

My (nearly 9 year old) ds1 wants to do this. He is very interested in the 1st and 2nd world wars generally - I read him Warhorse last year which has got him really interested particularly in the 1st world war.

We are not going on a "proper" holiday this year (due to moving house and other expenses) so told him we would go on lots of day trips and weekends instead.

He has asked if we can go to see the Somme battlefield and pay our repsects at the cemetary, but is this even possible? I am assuming a lot of the battlefiled sites are just...well....fields.

We also have ds2 who is 3 so we would need a decent family hotel to stay in.
Am thinking eurostar would be cheapest - have never been on it though?

TIA

There are lots of battlefield sites in the North of France, around the Somme. We visited Vimy Ridge, where you can get an idea of what life was like in the tunnels. I wish that all children from Europe could visit these places, feel the sadness and remember the futility of war and aggression. The atmosphere at them is solemn and many people are moved to tears - there is definitely nothing 'glorious' about them.

Many of the graveyards are just small areas of fields, set aside, filled with row upon row of gravestones.

It's easy to travel around the area if you have a car, and taking your car on eurotunnel is likely to be the cheapest option, we got a £99 return ticket Dover/Calais and stayed at St. Valery sur Somme. It has a great little steam railway if you want to do something more fun during your time there.

This website may help.

Agree with worldgonecrazy

Eurotunnel or ferry is a much better option for getting there. Driving is pretty much the only way to be able to access the battlefields - there are no trains.

St Valery's a lovely place to stay and gives good access as it's right at the mouth of the Somme. From there it's a good hour and a bit to the front line though. It would however let you take in some of the other sites such as Montreuil where Haig's GHQ was - the cellars at the town's Citadelle have a v good display about the time.

Another option would be to stay in Arras. Several lovely hotels around, the city itself has lots to see including the underground tunnels used to get supplies to the front line and as hospitals. From there you're much closer to the 'Circuit of Remembrance' which covers most of the main sites from the Somme campaign. Absolute must sees are the Lochnagar Crater, Thiepval and Beaumont Hamel but just as moving are the little battlefields scattered around. The Commonwealth War Graves Commissions has a great leaflet here

Yet another option would be to go to Belgium and to the area around Ypres. Again lots to see, from the plus it has the benefit of being quite near the coast.

There are some amazing resources out there, this website is good, as for books, any of the Major and Mrs Holt series would be superb.

As you can tell, it's something we've done a lot (am even thinking about putting a book together on how to do it best with families...). Our dcs have been to sites from the age of 6 months. Shout if there's anything I can help with :)

Oh wow, such great replies (and so fast!) thank you so much!!

I have warned ds1 that I will probably cry as its just so sad/was so futile and he said "thats alright mum, I probably will too!"

I am NOT looking forward to the eurotunnel (worst nightmare for a claustrophobe like me!) but its def the cheapest way.

We live in Derbyshire and I was wondering if it would be better to have a night in london/outskirts and then go down to folkestone and eurotunnel? Need to make sure its not too much travelling in one go for ds2. Could stay 1 night in france/belgium and then back home again.

We need to do it as cheaply as poss really!

oooohh we like steam railways!!! Thing is we need to accomodate ds2 too who obv wont understand much.

St Valery sounds lovely. An hours drive isnt too far.

hmmm..maybe 2/3 nights in france would be better???

It's a bit of a passion of mine :)

Don't worry about the tunnel, we do it 5 times a year - the kids will love it. There's also a playpark at the Folkestone terminal if the little one needs to stretch his legs and they can get out of the car inside the train.

If you're going to do it in a weekend, Ypres might be better - have a look here

We stayed at the Premier Inn (I think it was about £49?) near the Eurotunnel entrance, taking a day to travel down from the Midlands, with a very long stop for lunch in Canterbury.

Don't worry about claustrophobia, you stay in your car and it's all over in about 35 minutes, so you probably won't notice. We were in France by 9.00 a.m.

We did the long midweek break very cheaply using Sun tokens and staying at this place. It's not the most luxurious campsite but it was clean, cosy and comfortable and cost us about £50 for 4 days, plus the £99 for the Eurostar, so altogether a real bargain! Great for children too. If you're camping you can also save money by cooking for yourself - there are some good supermarkets within a couple of miles of the campsite.

p.s. DD was 21 months when we went and she loved it, especially the steam train. Not so impressed with the tunnels at Vimy Ridge but Daddy was carrying her so she felt safe.

If it's a steam fix you need... Baie de Somme and P'tit train de la Haute Somme should do the trick

wgc I draw the line at camping! I think we would do the same...i.e stop for lunch and stay near/in folkestone and get an early train next day.

How many nights in france? Would 2 be enough? Thinking we would need to stop on the way home again too....

We have visited the Somme (just DH and me) and stayed in Albert (nearest town to the battlefields) at a lovely family run hotel, Hotel de la Basilique, though I don't think they do family rooms for 4 (food is excellent, including proper French children's menu). It is opposite the Basilica and the very interesting Museum.
There are lots of places to visit which still have some battlefield resemblance - including Lochnagar Crater and Newfoundland Memorial Park as well as Vimy Ridge - which is a little way north of the Somme. Then there are so many cemeteries. My "favourite" was in the valley near Mametz Wood - visited late on a clear April day with no one else around and just the sound of birdsong ...
And don't forget to take your copy of Major & Mrs Holt's Guidebook - these guides are amazingly good!

thanks all, so much

Becaroo camping in France bears no relation to camping in the UK. It is much more pleasant. Nothing beats sitting with a glass of wine, watching the stars and warming yourself on the final embers of the barbecue. It really is idyllic.

We have done both sets of battlefields with DD. In the Somme Lochnager Crater (La Grande Mine on French sign posts), Vimy Ridge, Thiepval and the German cemetry north of Lochnager with 44,000 soldiers buried there. In Normandy Arromanche, Pont d' Hoc and Longue sur Mer are all excellent.
Another vote for the Hotel de la Basilique in Albert we always stop for lunch here on our way to our family in Northern Paris DD loves the child's steak on the childrens menu and I know I am truly in France when I have my steak frites with bernaise sauce for lunch. Plus I love their smoked duck salad.
Personally I prefer crossing in the evening on the Eurotunnel and then staying at the Ibis right by the tunnel in Calais makes for a much more relaxed start the next day. Family room at Ibis booked more than 2 weeks in advance is around 41Euros.

Will have a chat to dh about it..you have all given me great info, thanks!

Yet another question....best time of year to go? Would need to be in school hols really...

Any time other than Winter tbh! The Somme can be incredibly cold and bleak.

Half-term in June and October are nice temperature-wise and not too wet. Be guided by the price I guess, it'll be cheaper then than high season.

The area's never too crowded tbh.

I don't know the details, but my brother took his boys to the Somme battlefields and war graves when they were about 9 and 4. He said it was one of the most profound experiences he has ever had and that taking young children adds a whole other dimension. He has a glorious picture of his sons running and playing among the gravestones in the sun.

Good tips that I can only agree with so far. FYI Vimy is closed from I think, Sept - March (the tunnels) and also lots of secondary schools do battlefields trips in years 8 & 9 ish so DS1 will prob get the chance then too. I take kids usually in Oct (year 8s & 9s) and last year we got a gloriously sunny day in Belgium. (we take a coach that drives us around Ypres and various battlefields and cemetaries). Must sees in Belgium are Ypres (town and Menin Gate), Tyne Cot and Langemarck cemetaries. Also Essex Farm field dressing station where John Macrae wrote 'In Flanders fields'. I could go on...

Am going to get the major and mrs holt guide from amazon and look into the hotel you have recommended too.

Thanks so much again (oh and if you ever write that book weblette I will def buy a copy!!)

ooohh am getting excited now!

Am looking at the June half term hols (dh has already got that week off)

Will e mail the hotel to ask about family rooms.

We've been here www.west-vlaanderen.be/kwaliteit/Leefomgeving/raversijde/Pages/default.aspx

It's only 40 mins from Calais and easy to find, you're pretty much going to the airport, go past it for 5 mins and it's on the left. There are several parts to the site but we only did the Atlantic Wall trenches, we were using it a leg stretch to break up a journey. It took us 2 hours to follow the path, even if you're not that into the history it's a nice walk. They have audio in English and you can go up to the old anti aircraft guns on the coast. One word of warning take drinks and go to the toilet before starting, there's none on the way! It's perfectly possible to head back to the main building but a faff. I thought it was really well done.

This year we're going to visit one of these:
www.lacoupole-france.com/en/musee/default_dedie.asp
www.leblockhaus.com/modulosite2/welcome-gb.htm

There are loads of the motel brands in Calais.
www.hotel-bb.com/holiday-hotel-bb-france.html are good for family rooms. We stayed at the one near the tunnel, we've stayed at nicer in the chain but it was fine. Walking distance of a Buffalo Grill for an evening meal and near a supermarket. The Holiday Inn Express was also very convenient for the tunnel on the UK side, has the added benefit that breakfast is included.

what a great thread. well done ladies!

DS2 would love to do this. I was thinking of going over on North Sea Ferries to Belgium.
When they were 8 and 10 we took the boys to the National Liberation museum in Holland and the nearby WWII cemetery filled with young airmen. It stands out in my memory.
Have bookmarked this thread for planning purposes.

OP is there anybody in your family tree who fought and died in WW1? If so, the Commonwealth War Graves web site will tell you where they are buried or commemorated and at the risk of making you weep buckets, it would add an extra dimension to your trip.

I met someone recently who organises personalised guided trips to the western front and she has incredible detailed knowledge. If you tell her where someone fought, she can find the history of their campaign and pinpoint their trench positions on GPS and take you there. She told me all sorts of stuff about a distant relative of DH who died in a futile attack where out of 700 men, less than 70 survived the day.

As you want to do this trip cheaply, may not be for you, put thought I'd just put it out there.

mm I have been wondering about this actually....I would imagine on either one side or another there would be a WW1 soldier who didnt come home

Ds1's great grandfather died in WW2 (his boat was torpedoed and all lives lost off the coast of manilla) leaving 14 months old FIL and his 4 year old sister and my grandfather was part of the D Day landings.

I will make enquiries with family members and look into it.

I really think this is something ALL kids should get a chance to do.