About this book
Published to coincide with the centenary of the end of World War I, this new, thoroughly revised edition of Bradt's World War I Battlefields is the only compact practical travel guide to cover both French and Belgian battlefield sites. Produced in a lightweight and portable format, the guide features all the main memorials and museums alongside practical information on how to book the best guided tours or find the resting place of family members lost in battle.
New for this edition are updates on special projects opened in 2017 to mark the centenary of the Battles of Arras, Vimy Ridge and Cambrai, along with new walking or cycling trails based on major sites and towns or on 'themes' such as well-known wartime poets, including the 90-km long Remembrance Cycle Trail linking Arras and Amiens. Also new are child-friendly tour suggestions, information on new apps to aid independent exploration, and details of the new HI Belgium Pass.
Also included in this new edition is information on the new poppy cenotaph in Ypres, a full list of events to commemorate the Battles of Messines and Passchendaele, the new 14-18 trail created with 1/25 scale models at Mini-Europe, Brussels, the Menin Road exhibition, Flanders Fields by boat tours and a special focus on Women of the War.
More than 100 countries took part in World War One, and this guide covers information relevant to many, from Australia and New Zealand to South Africa, Canada and the USA. New for this edition are details of the new information centre focusing on Arras and the Battle of Vimy Ridge, the Sir John Monash Centre and the Marne 14-18 Interpretation Centre.
The authors, John Ruler and Emma Thomson, are both members of the British Guild of Travel Writers and have each previously written a Bradt guide on the area.
Contents
Part 1 General Information
Chapter 1 Background Information
Historical timeline
Chapter 2 Practical Information
Getting there and away, Getting around, Tourist information, Battlefield tours , How to trace a missing relative
Part 2 Belgium
Chapter 3 Ypres and Ypres Salient
Ypres, Ypres Salient, Zonnebeke
Chapter 4 Poperinge and Heuvelland
Poperinge, Heuvelland, Mesen (Messines)
Chapter 5 Diksmuide, Veurne and Nieuwpoort
Diksmuide, Veurne , Nieuwpoort
Chapter 6 Mons
Mons
Part 3 France
Chapter 7 Le Nord and Lille
Lille, Seclin, Armentières, Fromelles, Cambrai, Ors, Le Quesnoy, Maubeuge/Feignies
Chapter 8 Pas de Calais: Arras, Lens and the Ports
Arras, Around Arras, Around Lens, Escalles, Boulogne-sur-Mer, Etaples-sur-Mer, Montreuil-sur-Mer
Chapter 9 The Somme
Amiens, Péronne, Around Péronne, Albert, Around Albert, Doullens, Noyelles-sur-Mer, Cantigny
Chapter 10 Aisne
Laon, Around Laon, Chemin des Dames, Soissons, Saint-Quentin, Château-Thierry
Chapter 11 Marne, Champagne and Verdun
Meaux, Reims, Verdun
Appendices
Further Information
Books, Websites, Glossary
Index
Customer Reviews
Biography
John Ruler is a member of the British Guild of Travel Writers and the Outdoor Writers Guild. He is a Nord-Pas-de-Calais specialist and writes about the area frequently for monthly magazines. Emma Thomson is an award-winning travel writer and a member of the British Guild of Travel Writers. She writes for international magazines, newspapers and guidebook publishers (online and print) and was shortlisted for the Young Travel Writer of the Year at the British Travel Press Awards. She lives in Aalst, Belgium.
