Need Info. Touring Canadian Battle Sites in June

[FiRe_MaRSHaL_ShAwN]

I am taking my father to Europe to visit Canadian Battle sites. My father was in 1 RCR for 25 years and I was in the 48th Highlanders for 14. A lot of our battle honours are the same.
Now I need some assistance. We plan on flying to England then Chunnel it over to France.  Sites we want to hit are. Normandy, Vimy, Dieppe, Somme, Belgium (My great uncle is buried in a war cemetary from WWI), Appledorn and as many others that we can fit in 2 weeks.
What is the best way to travel, rail pass or rent a car? And which sites are a must see?

Thanks for your info in advance.

Shawn Ireland

 

[noneck]

I went two years ago and visited the following, Juno Beach, Pegasus Bridge, Arnhem (Oosterbeek), Vimy, Ypres Salient.

The Juno Beach center was a politically correct waste of time, Pegasus Bridge was good, Arnhem and Oosterbeek (Hartenstein hotel) was excellent, Vimy and environs was excellent.

By far the best, was Ypres and the surrounding area. In the center of Ypres you have the best war museum I have ever visited, it is inside the old medieval Cloth Hall. It is called the Flanders Fields Center or something similar and  is fully interactive. A lot of other sites are within a 10 or 15 minute car trip from the center of Ypres, Paschendale, Vancouver Corner, John MacRae's bunker, Sanctury wood, Tyne Cot and Langemarck cemetaries. it's worth staying for a few nights in the area and venturing out for day trips. A must see is the Menin Gate Ceremony that occurs every night in Ypres. PM me and I will forward some links to a few online guides.

Hope this helps
Cheers
Noneck

 

[George Wallace]

At the sounds of it, it would be best to rent a car.  Do all your planning ahead of time, creating a Trace to follow and you may be able to do all of it.  Although Europe is relatively small in comparison to Canada, I am sure that you will spend at least a full day exploring some of the locations.  Make sure you have up to date road maps to avoid getting lost on a 'new' road, or as a resource to detour around construction. 

 

[Drummy]

Hi,

You say that you are flying to England. If I might suggest, take the ferry from Brighton to Dieppe. As you sail into Dieppe, it will give you a very good idea of what our Canadian boys were facing all those years ago, It's not pretty. Some of the bunkers are still there on the hills overlooking the harbor and beaches.

Also, and I can't remember the name of the town, not far from Brighton there is a memorial to the Canadian Engineers.

All the best, and have a good trip    Drummy

 

[Blackadder1916]

If I might suggest, take the ferry from Brighton to Dieppe.

Or take a ferry from Portsmouth to Caen.  It will give you a sense of D-Day and put you in the Normandy area to commence your tour at probably the most south-westerly point.  The rest of the places you may be interested in are all north-easterly.  If you visit the Somme, a must see is the Newfoundland Memorial Park at Beaumont Hamel.

 

[FascistLibertarian]

WLU's Laurier Centre for Military Strategic and Disarmament Studies has put out a number of good battlefield guides edited by Terry Copp.
http://www.wlu.ca/lcmsds/

I would suggest taking a ferry to Dieppe, there are three beachs to see there where Canadians landed. From the pier off the side of the main beach where the tanks landed  you can see Puys (Blue Beach).  Be sure to check out what they landed on, its easy to see how tank treads could not work on it!
Also be sure to check out the Merrit Bridge and of course the cemetry.
Plus Dieppe has great seafood.
At the Somme if you have a chance go see where Newfoudland's best are buried enmass.
When I went we checked out the different places of burial, VERY intresting to compare where 10,000 Germans are buried compared to 10,000 Americans (no disrespect to anyone).
And Blackadder1916 I wish we got Caen on D-Day, the public often doesnt realise we didnt breakout until July 25th. There are alot of places around that area were brave Canadians shed their blood.

I think Canada letting the familys have space on the gravestones is the best thing in the world.

 

[FiRe_MaRSHaL_ShAwN]

Has anyone rented a car before? Should I rent in England or wait and rent in France.  A history teacher friend of mine told me to rent in France, they do 2 weeks leases so they get around new car taxes when they sell them.

Thanks for the info so far.


Shawn

 

[NL_engineer]

At the sounds of it, it would be best to rent a car.  Do all your planning ahead of time, creating a Trace to follow and you may be able to do all of it.  Although Europe is relatively small in comparison to Canada, I am sure that you will spend at least a full day exploring some of the locations.  Make sure you have up to date road maps to avoid getting lost on a 'new' road, or as a resource to detour around construction. 

This can be avoided by renting a car with a nav system, or bringing one with you (make shore you update it); or by using a GPS with updated road maps (or even a cell phone with mapping capability).

 

[time expired]

When you do Juno go inland to Caen and visit the D Day museum well worth a visit gives a good
overall impression ,everyone who took part in OVERLORD are represented.A couple more I would not
miss,Pegasus bridge museum and the restruant by the bridge and the Saint Mer Eglise US Airborne
museum right in the middle of the village next to the church with the jumper hanging from the
steeple.
              Regards

 

[gaspasser]

Unless you can drive on the left side of the road. I suggest you rent a car in France where they drive on the right side like us.
Your tour sounds very honourable and heart touching.  What a great thing for a father and son team of serving soldiers to do.  Almost brings a lump to my throat. 

Kudos. 

 

[Crimmsy]

I rented a car when I did a trip to France in '01. It was one of those short term leases. If memory serves it was around $600 for a sixteen day lease (the shortest term they offered) and unlimited kilometres. The car was brand new, 6 km on the odo. Gas will likely be way more expensive than it is here, but something small should do you fine - I had a Peugeot 106 with a 1 L, 3 cylinder engine and it was fine for two of us. Standard transmission of course, automatics are rare over there. The travel agent here arranged it for us before we left so it was waiting for us at the airport when we landed.
IMO, it's a fantastic way to do the type of trip you're planning, not having to be tied to the train schedule. I'd wholehartedly recommend it.

 

[daftandbarmy]

I visited the First War battlefields several times from the UK. I always took the train from London straight to a central location, like Ypres, then hooked up with various tour companies that ran visits to the battlefields. There are also taxis and private citizens that will show you around. I did a ton of hitchhiking, but I'm cheap. When they find out you're Canadian they generally can't do enough for you - it's kind of embarrassing actually.  Search the web for info like this before you go: http://www.1914-1918.net/tourist_ypres.htm

WW1 and 2 are big tourism business there, so don't feel like you have to rent a car if you don't want to. You can rent a bike, take a bus etc etc. I know we North Americans feel naked without a car, but you really don't need one. There are also ample guide books in just about every major centre, so plan on making some plans while you're there based on the info you dig up locally and just wander around. I literally stumbled on some very intersting sites out of the blue "I slept on Hill 60" (but be careful about the 'iron harvest' - piles of UXBs!). The Normandy area is called 'The Invasion Coast' and there are a series of guidebooks that cover just about every battlefield.

Must visits:

Tyne Cot Cemetery (Passchendale)
Ypres, Menin Gate, at 4.00pm for the Last Post
Vimy Ridge
Pegasus Bridge
Omaha Beach cemetery (as seen in Saving Private Ryan) and Pointe du Hoc
Mulberry harbour at Arromanches http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mulberry_Harbour
Mont Ormel 'A Polish Hill' at Falaise http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falaise_gap
Bény-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A9ny-sur-Mer_Canadian_War_Cemetery
Verdun is also amazing/ hideous, but it's quite a bit further away, on the French-German border.

You should read 'Back to the Front' if you can find it. This is a good book about visiting the WW1 battlefields, written by a Canadian living in the UK. Follow along with some of his writing. http://www.daedalusbooks.com/Products/Detail.asp?Media=Book&ProductID=57550&SubCategoryID=2153

Take good rain gear, fleece jacket and walking shoes/ boots as the weather can be grim. Enjoy yourself: quaff Belgian beer - the best in the world, bring back lace and chocolate, drink Calvados, takes millions of pictures (post some here when you get back), marvel at the achievements of our veterans. It's a unique, and very humbling, experience.

 

[FiRe_MaRSHaL_ShAwN]

Now where did everyone stay while touring? Hotels, Hostils, Hills?
Let me know what you found the most affordable and comfy. My trip has now added 2 more travellers. My father's buddy from RCR and my buddy from the 48th.  We need something the 60+ year olds will find comfy.

Thanks again

Shawn Ireland
Dileas

 

[Brads MM]

Hi,
I strongly reccommend much like others to take in the Menin gate ceremony in IEPER, if I remember correctly every night at 1900 the last post is played by members of the fire department, very touching ceremony which has taken place every day since the end of the great war. Also when at Vimy take the tour of the Grange Subway, its hosted by Canadian University Students  and is well worth it. Also the grave of the unkowns in Mons, France is something that has to be seen.

 

[time expired]

If you rent a car,rent in France,cheaper,dont buy gas at gas stations go to shopping centres
LeClerk,Rond Point,etc.up to 10cents cheaper.The autorouts are quite expensive but my advice would be to get the Michelin maps,map236 for the WW1 battlefields,and use the Route national
roads,no tolls,and in a lot of cases as good as the autorouts.Another tip do not speed as it is
very expensive and the Gendarmes have no sense of humour.
Have a good trip.
                  Regards

 

[Haletown]

two books by Terry Copp

1.  a canadian's guide to the battlefields of Normandy

2.a canadian's guide to the battlefields of Northwest Europe

EXCELLENT . .  detailed, very detailed maps, complete tours etc.


a bit dated so some new memorials might not be mentioned but they are must haves, for the tour maps alone.

 

[FiRe_MaRSHaL_ShAwN]

Haletown, I just ordered both those books from Wilfred Laurier University. Thanks

Timeexpired, Any tips on where to rent a car?  My plan is to Fly to Gatwick and take the Ferry across, just to get the experience of what the soldiers had plus its about $400 cheaper to fly into England than France.  Once we dock we plan on renting a car.

Anymore tips will be very useful thanks

Shawn Ireland

 

[George Wallace]

You can rent a car through any of the major Agencies, online or through a Travel Agent here at home.  It is sometimes cheaper to pay for it here, than it is to go and pay over there.  I have had a bad experience with AVIS, so I won't recommend them, but most of the other companies are well represented: National, Budget, Eurocar, Hertz, etc.

http://www.autoeurope.ca/index.cfm?aff=google&c=614&gclid=CKuAvqHjp4sCFQGPWAodsAouiw

http://www2.europcar.com/EBE/module/booking/FirstStep.do?checkoutCountry=FR&checkinCountry=FR&checkoutLocation=CDGT01&checkinLocation=CDGT01&gclid=CIyRno3lp4sCFSd5SQodinG3eQ 

http://www.carrentals.co.uk/

http://www.thrifty.com/index.aspx?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1

http://www.alamo.com/

http://www.europcar.com/home.html

http://www.rentalcars.com/

 

[the 48th regulator]

Now where did everyone stay while touring? Hotels, Hostils, Hills?
Let me know what you found the most affordable and comfy. My trip has now added 2 more travellers. My father's buddy from RCR and my buddy from the 48th.  We need something the 60+ year olds will find comfy.

Thanks again

Shawn Ireland
Dileas

What buddy from the 48th??

dileas

tess

 

[FiRe_MaRSHaL_ShAwN]

Well not you worm, since you didnt get back to me.

Danny boy is coming, he has the time off.

Ireland