World War I Battlefields: A Travel Guide to the Western Front

Sites, Museums, Memorials

by Emma Thomson and  John Ruler

Publication Date:  08th Dec 2017


£6.99

World War I Battlefields: A Travel Guide – Expert tips and itineraries for travel along the Western Front including sites in France and Belgium, maps and routes. Also includes guided walks, battlefield tours, museums, child-friendly tours, Ypres, Poperinge, Nieuwpoort, Mons, Lille, Pas-de-Calais, Marne, The Somme, Verdun, Aisne and Champagne.

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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.

About the Author

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.

Reviews

‘A slim volume, fitting into virtually any bag or pocket, its main achievement is the joining up of the dots along the whole Western Front. It’s an ideal companion for both Western Front novices and more seasoned explorers.’ Best of British

‘A compact guide covering all the main museums and memorials’
France Magazine

‘This slim volume is the ideal pocket book for anyone planning a visit to the battlefields.’
Good Book Guide

‘Good overview of the main sites.’
Travel Which

‘Extremely well-written, with some panels reading like pieces of literature rather than some dry guidebook entries’.
Engineering & Technology Magazine

‘A comprehensive but easily digestible travel companion’
My Weekly

Featured in Good Motoring Magazine

Additional Information

Table of Contents

Introduction
Acknowledgements
PART ONE GENERAL INFORMATION
Chapter 1 World War I Timeline
Chapter 2 Practical Information
Getting there and away, Getting around, Tourist information, Battlefield tours

PART TWO BELGIUM
Chapter 3 Ypres and the Ypres Salient
Ypres (Ieper), The Ypres Salient, Zonnebeke
Chapter 4 Poperinge and Heuvelland
Poperinge, Heuvelland, Messines (Mesen)
Chapter 5 Diksmuide, Veurne and Nieuwpoort
Diksmuide, Veurne, Nieuwpoort
Chapter 6 Mons
Mons

PART THREE 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, Étaples-sur-Mer, Montreuil-sur-
Mer
Chapter 9 The Somme
Battlefield tours, Amiens, Péronne, Around Péronne, Albert, Around Albert, Doullens, Cantigny
Chapter 10 Aisne
Laon, Chemin des Dames, Soissons, Saint-Quentin, Château-Thierry
Chapter 11 Marne, Champagne and Verdun
Meaux, Reims, Verdun
Appendix Further Information
Further information, Glossary
Index