Small-Group Australian Battlefield Tour in Flanders from Bruges
Bruges, Belgium
Trip Type: Day Trips
Duration: 12 hours
You will stand in the footsteps of the Australian soldiers in Fromelles, Ploegsteert and Messines. You will see some of the mine craters laid by the 1st Australian Tunneling Cie. Polygoon Wood, and Passendale will be visited. You will finish your day at the Last Post ceremony at the Menin Gate in Ypres
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You will stand in the footsteps of the Australian soldiers in Fromelles, Ploegsteert and Messines. You will see some of the mine craters laid by the 1st Australian Tunneling Cie. Polygoon Wood, and Passendale will be visited. You will finish your day at the Last Post ceremony at the Menin Gate in Ypres
The tour starts at your accommodation in Bruges. You will be heading towards Fromelles, seeing where the mass grave was where 250 Australian soldiers were buried by the Germans. You will stand at the newly built Pheasant Wood Cemetery and visit the Fromelles Museum.
From there your guide will take you to the Australian Memorial Park seeing the statue of Simon Fraser, the "Cobbers" Memorial, and to VC Corner Cemetery the only exlusively Australian cemetery in France. Next, you will drive towards Armentières and Ploegsteert.
In Ploegsteert, the only place where the 5 Australian Divisions were all together in the winter 1917-18, you will visit the new "Plugstreet 14-18" interpretative centre and the Ploegsteert Memorial to the missing.
Time for lunch. After Lunch you will be in Messines near one of the 19 mine craters. From there to another mine crater the "Caterpillar crater" at Hill 60 where the Memorial to the 1st Australian Tunneling Cie stands. You will now drive towards Polygoon Wood the site of the 1st large air battle more than 90 aircraft were involved in that battle, seeing the 5th Australian Division Memorial and a remaining bunker in the wood.
You are now at Tyne Cot Cemetery in Passendale near the bunker taken by the ANZAC's on 4 Octobre 1917. Tyne Cot is the largest CWGC cemetery in Europe. Leaving Passendale towards Ypres standing where John McRae wrote "In Flanders Fields" and having some free time in Ypres before attending the "Last Post" ceremony at the Menin Gate.
Leaving Ypres towards your accommodation.
From there your guide will take you to the Australian Memorial Park seeing the statue of Simon Fraser, the "Cobbers" Memorial, and to VC Corner Cemetery the only exlusively Australian cemetery in France. Next, you will drive towards Armentières and Ploegsteert.
In Ploegsteert, the only place where the 5 Australian Divisions were all together in the winter 1917-18, you will visit the new "Plugstreet 14-18" interpretative centre and the Ploegsteert Memorial to the missing.
Time for lunch. After Lunch you will be in Messines near one of the 19 mine craters. From there to another mine crater the "Caterpillar crater" at Hill 60 where the Memorial to the 1st Australian Tunneling Cie stands. You will now drive towards Polygoon Wood the site of the 1st large air battle more than 90 aircraft were involved in that battle, seeing the 5th Australian Division Memorial and a remaining bunker in the wood.
You are now at Tyne Cot Cemetery in Passendale near the bunker taken by the ANZAC's on 4 Octobre 1917. Tyne Cot is the largest CWGC cemetery in Europe. Leaving Passendale towards Ypres standing where John McRae wrote "In Flanders Fields" and having some free time in Ypres before attending the "Last Post" ceremony at the Menin Gate.
Leaving Ypres towards your accommodation.
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