Battlefields

This section of the Long, Long Trail is about the British battlefields in France and Flanders.

Connaught Cemetery, Thiepval, Somme lies on the front line from which the 36th (Ulster) Division advanced in their attack on the Schwaben Redoubt. In these battlefields, it is not just the cemeteries and memorials that are important: every lane, track, hill and stream rings with significance.
Connaught Cemetery, Thiepval, Somme, France. It lies on the front line from which the 36th (Ulster) Division advanced in their attack on the Schwaben Redoubt. In these battlefields, it is not just the cemeteries and memorials that are important: every lane, track, hill and stream rings with significance.

My starter guides to these battlefields

If you are considering or planning your own trip? Are you looking for ideas of where to go?

My guides to each area of the Western Front give you specific information: how to get there, local amenities and the sites to see. You can see them listed below: click through for all the detail.

See my article from the October 2012 edition of “Your Family History” magazine on the steps you should take when planning your own independent tour of the battlefields of France and Belgium. Article (pdf format, opens in new window)

And see Visualising the trenches

Specific tours

One Day in Ypres  – see and hear my free walking tour

Ypres salient in a day – my suggested highlights itinerary

Canada at Ypres

Gazetteer of the Western Front

A resource that I am gradually building, giving historical and visiting notes to locations in France and Flanders: Gazetteer of the Western Front

The Long, Long Trail’s Google Earth guides

You don’t even need to leave your seat. My Google Earth guides form a vital part of your tour planning: Google Earth guides

Recommended battlefield tour guide books

An increasingly populated part of the market. If you need books, follow this advice: Recommended reading

Campaign and trench maps

I have maps galore on site, and guidance on where to find others: map pages