Somme Battlefields Backwaters River Cruise & Stay

Day 1

After departing, we travel south for our ferry to France, then continuing via a scenic journey through the Opal Coast Regional Park to our hotel in Amiens. Once checked-in, why not take the time to explore the little Venice of the North, home to an attractive city centre, whose UNESCO-listed thirteenth-century cathedral of Notre-Dame is the tallest Gothic cathedral ever built. Dinner is included at the hotel this evening.

Day 2

After breakfast, we board our cruise in Amiens and set-out through the famous Hortillonnages island gardens - once a thriving area of vegetable production, it is nowadays mostly second homes, complete with pretty gardens. We continue via a series of locks along the River Somme enroute to Corbie with lunch included onboard. Noted for its seventh century abbey, the town is close to the site where the Manfred von Richthofen, best known as the famed 'Red Baron' met his end in 1918. Here we'll disembark and visit the nearby Australian National War Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux and the Sir John Monash Visitor Centre; set in the grounds of this military cemetery, it offers an outstanding Western Front experience for visitors, telling the story of the war in the words of those who served. From here, we return by coach to our hotel.

Day 3

This morning, we head into the heart of the Battle of the Somme for a visit to the Somme 1916 Museum, which traces the lives of soldiers in the trenches during the Franco-British offensive in 1916. Found ten meters below ground and a quarter of a kilometre in length, you'll discover the daily lives of our soldiers brought to life through fifteen realistic scenes as well as hundreds of authentic artifacts and weapons on display. From here, we continue to Péronne, where today's cruise begins on the Canal du Nord, through the pretty villages of Frise and Feuillères, then onwards to Cappy, where our coach will be waiting to take us back to Amiens.

Please note: the Somme 1916 Museum is located underground and is only accessible by 62 steps, with no lift available.

Day 4

We reboard our boat in Cappy for the twenty-five-kilometre journey through the Somme flood plain, a rural setting perfect for birdwatching. As we continue our trip, we pass the terminus of the 'Le Petit Train de la Haute Somme', a trainline built to supply front-line munitions and near to Bray-sur-Somme and cross the 1916 front line. Here, a small but moving Great War Memorial, in memory of half-a-million horses killed on the Western Front can be seen from our boat. Lunch is served onboard today before arrival back in Corbie. After disembarking the boat, we board our coach as we travel towards Thiepval. We include a visit to the Memorial to the Missing of the Somme, bearing the names of more than 72,000 British and South African men who died in the Somme and have no known grave before a special guided visit into Thiepval Wood; here, you'll find preserved trenches and positions in an area now protected as a lasting memorial to the men of the 36th (Ulster) Division who fought there, with many now resting for eternity close to where they fell. Following our tour, we briefly stop at the nearby Ulster Memorial Tower, a copy of Helen's Tower in County Down, Northern Ireland which was built in memory of the men of the 36th (Ulster) Division who laid down their lives in World War One. We return to Amiens for the final night in our hotel.

Day 5

Enjoy this morning at leisure to explore more of Amiens on market day, before we begin our journey back home.

B=Breakfast, L=Lunch, D=Dinner