Somme and Ypres Battlefield Tours Avis 

This is the third trip we have done with James and I cannot begin to express the emotion that is experienced. I don’t want to sound crass but it is the most wonderful trip, evocative, and meaningful! The details are organised down to the minutiae and everything works like clockwork! The hotel Ariane
is fabulous, one of the very nicest hotels I’ve stayed in anywhere. Nothing is too much trouble for the staff and after a good old weep, the garden is a soothing spot with a large g & t! The food is great and very reasonably priced for great quality. We travelled as a group of 6 and not one of us could find fault with anything! Well done again Mr Power, we shall travel again with you soon!

I cannot recommend Battlefield Tour highly enough. Professional, personable and patient James steered us through what we needed to see. The information pack was absolutely excellent. Without all the directions, maps, hints and information we would not have seen anywhere near as much as we did. It was invaluable, beautifully researched and detailed. We were able to access the history of the battlefields before turning up. From museum recommendations to places for refreshments we would not have managed to see nearly as much.

As many of the previous reviewers have noted, James' tour materials are quite simply superb. The three-layer system of route map, directions guide plus overview, and finally the detailed narrative pack allows easy planning and navigation. Plus detailed, informative and insightful details of what happened during those dark days. This is not an emotionally easy trip, nor should it be. Ours coincided with the terrible and sadly continuing events in Ukraine, making them seem even more incomprehensible.

Beyond the 'standard' excellent materials, James also helped us find locations that were of huge personal interest to each member of our party. We all had direct relatives who were involved. Some survived, others didn't. We were able to follow their footsteps on what became a very moving pilgrimage.

To leaven the emotional impact, it was brilliant to stay is the wonderful hotels that James had organised.

All in all this was a hugely memorable trip which I cannot recommend highly enough.

Fantastic experience all round, cannot fault James and his team one bit.

The guides are simply outstanding. The research and precision of the maps and guides is notable. With a bit of pre-reading, you can pick and choose your route to make sure you see all the things you have time to see

Excellent local knowledge and good advice on accommodation et cetera as well. Strongly strongly recommended

I started my planning for this tour with no more than a nebulous idea of visiting the battlefields of WW1, and gaining an adequate insight into the events of that time. I also wanted to self drive.
James brought my wishes to fruition with his excellent and comprehensive itinerary and information books, and with the travel and accommodation bookings.
Coming from Australia, and travelling with a UK hire car, nevertheless I found the trip to be seamlessly easy and straightforward. James is easy to contact, including via Messenger, making the organisation in advance of the trip straightforward.
Highly recommended.

A friend and I have recently returned from a self-drive battlefield tour of the Ypres area using the guidance material and itinerary provided by James Power of Somme Battlefield Tours Ltd. The great advantage of such a tour is the ability to progress at your own pace whilst viewing battlefield locations. These are informed by a high degree of well expressed understanding of the actions which took place and at what human cost. Using the maps and guide provided it was straightforward to relate the modern ground to the contours and views of a century ago, albeit without the desolation. The itinerary was faultless and the descriptions of events comprehensive and always written with an appropriate degree of respect and reverence for the gravity of the events and reminding us that much of the ground over which we travelled was the final resting place of so many soldiers.

It is also worth mentioning that the recommended hotel which we chose, the Ariane, was excellent in all respects and ideally located. Thank you for facilitating such a memorable experience, James.

Just completed an excellent 5 day, 4 night tour of the Somme and Ypres battlefields arranged by James at Somme and Ypres Battlefield Tours. From start to finish the organisation and information provided for our self-drive tour was superb. The guidebooks that James had written and accompany the detailed itinerary, gave us a unique insight into this terrible period of history. James has managed to provide directions to many locations that were not on the 'tourist' trail and the history he has written gives a real insight behind the many examples of heroism and places that we visited. The guidebooks provided also gave an insight into the atrocities of these battlefields and provided a background to the countless thousands that perished in such awful conditions.The whole visit was a very moving experience and I would whole heartily recommend James's company for providing all (and more) a visitor needs on this unique self-drive tour of the WW1 battlefields of the Somme and Ypres..

Fantastic service from James Power. The self drive guides are incredibly detailed and clear. We were thoroughly moved by the tour and plan to book again. I cannot rate this company enough! Fantastic!!!!

My son and I spent a long weekend following James Powers' guides and maps on a self-guided, self-driven car tour of the Somme battlefields. Both of us were surprised at how moving an experience it was. We knew the history, the fatal military judgements and huge number of losses, but history books don’t give any sense of the magnitude of the casualties in the terrain that exposed so many troops to slaughter. Being there does. Seeing all those cemeteries does. And the Somme Battlefield Tour maps and guides with their detail and meticulous and compassionate explanations brought the Somme battles to life. What made our experience all the more poignant was that the beauty of the gentle rolling Picardie countryside, its fields, copses, and steepled villages today belied what took place there 102 years ago on what is now essentially sacred ground. We were especially moved by Sheffield Park and the PALS memorials, and thought, "There, but for time, place and the Grace of God” we could have been among those dead young men. I cannot over state the high quality of James Powers careful planning of the tour for our specific needs. We could linger at a site as long as we wished, our time not driven by the needs of a scheduled, crowded coach tour. My son and I continue to talk about the tour and the images of memorials, battlegrounds and cemeteries that remain indelible in our minds.

We have just returned from the WW1 battlefields on a self drive tour organised by Somme and Ypres Battlefield Tours .

The attention to detail is amazing. The only time we made any mistakes in navigating was when we chose to ignore the directions provided! We were soon put right by referring to the incredibly detailed and well-illustrated route plans. The itinerary covered everything we hoped and expected to see on such a tour, plus a whole lot more!

The accommodation arranged/provided was first class, and the Eurotunnel crossing was similarly perfectly arranged.

I would not hesitate to recommend this company to anyone – whether a WW1 battlefield novice like myself, or a veteran of many visits – to use their services. It was a fantastically organised trip with every attention to detail catered for.

Easily followed directions from the tunnel terminal to our accommodation and major battle sites .Avril Williams guest house is to be recommended for friendliness, value, comfort and a very knowledgeable hostess. The Ariane Hotel inYpers is very comfortable with excellent food.
The battlefields are staggering and bought to life by James excellent guides throughout.

Visited the Somme & Ypres battlefields with my mother during September 2018; the tour itinerary provided extraordinary detail that gave a real insight into the terrible history of the conflict.

We also enjoyed both hotels that we stayed, especially the Ariane in Ypres - and the cafe's & restaurants that were recommended including the Hotel de Basilique and the Ocean Villas Tea rooms.

From the moment of contact, to booking our Battlefield tour, we experienced marvellous service, the guides provided were interesting, detailed and easy to use. The accommodation recommended was excellent.
The tour was made easy and was a very fascinating and so moving and a marvellous, memorable experience, so well supported by the Somme and Ypres Battlefield tour team. Thank you

Everything worked like clockwork; Jan and I want to thank you for the detailed and comprehensive planning which went into the whole trip. The Ariane Hotel was excellent, including the upgrade, and we were blessed with superb weather which no doubt you also arranged. (We couldn't help thinking that a steady downpour would have been more appropriate to tour the Salient!).

We spent Tuesday and Wednesday touring the Ypres area, and on Thursday drove down to the site of the Battle of Loos, taking in Messines, Ploegstreet and the Irish Peace memorial on the way. The former Hohenzollern Redoubt is unmistakeable and overgrown but firmly entrée interdite. We were not tempted, but were mightily impressed with the Quarry cemetery nearby - we believe the quarry was the Battalion HQ during the battle. It also has the grave of Captain Bowes-Lyon, the Queen's uncle.

The Battlefield guides were superb, giving just the right amount of information; we much appreciated retaining control of our own timing and activity. As a former naval person, I am now more aware of the importance of the terrain than I was; the aspect of the slight slope up to the Hohenzollern looked frightening!

Again, many thanks for the attention to detail and comprehensive information. We shall certainly recommend Somme Battlefield Tours to our friends.