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TO BOOK: email us to secure your place, and then post your desposit to us. Include all of the folowing information with the deposit, or print out and complete the form (printer-friendly version available here):
Monday 28 July 2008:
from Brussels to Eindhoven (101st Airborne) & the Arnhem area (British zones)
The tour starts at Brussels Gare du Midi at 10.00 local time. We will be meeting the 07.00 BST Eurostar from London St Pancras (0715 from Ebbsfleet) which arrives at 10.03 (09.03 BST). We drive 90 minutes north-east to the Dutch border, from where we follow as closely as we can the route northwards of the British land force tasked to link up (in Operation Garden) with the three airborne drop zones (the airborne operation being ‘Market’). Visit the U.S. 101st Airborne drop zones, and the bridges they fought for at Son and Best. Drive 1 hr north to the outskirts of Arnhem to check into our hotel, after viewing the British airborne drop zones of 17th September 1944.
Group evening meal in hotel (included in the price).
Market-Garden (September 1944) & the Battle of the Bulge (December 1944)
Why World War II in Europe lasted until May 1945
start/finish Brussels (Gare du Midi)
Provisional schedule (incl. Eurostar timetable), subject to change.
Minimum number for a tour 14, maximum 18.
For information on our other group tours in 2008 click here.
Above: two famous names from the 'Battle of the Bulge' set against a backdrop of the stone farmhouses of the Ardennes region
Tuesday 29th:
Arnhem, Oosterbeek, Nijmegen, Grave (82nd Airborne drop zones)
Tour taking in the British cemetery at Wolfheze, the Airborne Museum in Oosterbeek, the fight into Arnhem, and the famous bridge in the town centre (the “Bridge Too Far” - captured by the British, and gallantly held for three days). Then south to look at the taking of the bridge at Nijmegen, the boat crossing of the Maas, and the U.S. 82nd Airborne’s drop zones & the bridge at Grave which they seized intact right at the start. Venlo (1 hr south) for the night + group meal (included in the price).
Wednesday 30th: 16 December 1944 attack in the Ardennes; Col. Peiper’s route (& Tiger II tank)
2 hour drive south to the Ardennes region - look at the German opening attack of the ‘Battle of the Bulge’ on 16th December 1944: Siegfried Line anti-tank defences, tracks that the Panzers attacked down, sites of strong U.S. resistance. Follow the spearhead route taken by SS Col. Peiper’s tank force - see a Tiger II tank (the largest operational tank of WWII) at La Gleize, where Peiper was finally surrounded. 1 hour south to Bastogne for 2 nights in hotel on the main square.
Thursday 31st: Bastogne (101st Airborne), La Roche-en-Ardennes
Tour of the Bastogne battlefield (Foy, Noville, US Memorial) - visit Bastogne & La Roche museums. 2nd night Bastogne.
Friday 1st August:
Hotton British cemetery, Marche, Panther tank, U.S. cemetery, return to Brussels
Visit the British part of the Bulge battlefield (Marche, & British cemetery at Hotton). See Panther (Panzer V) tank, and visit the U.S. Cemetery at Neuville (Liege area) before a 2 hour drive back to Brussels, arriving around 16.00 hrs - allowing a buffer of time before check-in for the 17.59 Eurostar to St Pancras (arriving 19.03 BST, or 18.45 at Ebbsfleet).
£ 390 ($776) per head for the on-ground arrangements in Belgium & the Netherlands: transport by minibus, guiding, 4 nights accommodation in 3-star hotels (sharing Double/Twin, with private shower & w.c. - Single supplement £ 90 / $179), 4 breakfasts, group meals first two evenings, plus all payable entries (museums in Oosterbeek, Bastogne & La Roche).
NOT INCLUDED: Eurostar (currently costs from £59 return from London or Ebbsfleet), other meals, private insurance.
For our Canterbury clients - getting to Ebbsfleet: we can arrange transport by shared car for £25 per head (return).
Above left: the memorial to Easy Company (the 'Band of Brothers') stands close to the woods - the Bois Jacques - where the group held the line defending Bastogne in December 1944
IMPORTANT NOTE RE. EUROSTAR BOOKINGS: our price does not include your Eurostar ticket. With prices starting from £59 return, these only open for booking (at www.eurostar.com or 08705 186 186) approximately 90 days before the date of your return leg - viz. around 3rd May. Before you book you must wait for our confirmation that we have the required numbers for the tour - we will be in contact as soon as we know that, and certainly before Eurostar booking opens.
The deposit is £ 75 per person (payable by cheque to "Dr Thomson's Tours" - I regret that we do not take credit cards). Payment of the balance will be due 8 weeks prior to the date of the tour. All payments go into our Trustee Account - no funds are released to us until after completion of the tour (as per the consumer protection measures under the EU Package Travel Regulations 1992).
Cancellation conditions (our full Booking Conditions will be sent with your Confirmation - if you are not happy with them then you have the option to cancel without charge within 7 days): on cancellation we will refund your purchase as follows: up to 8 weeks prior to the tour: 100%, less £ 5 p.p. admin charge 4 to 8 weeks prior: 67% 2 to 4 weeks: 34% 1- 14 days: 20% on the day: no refund.
M-GARDEN/BULGE - July 2008
Booking Form:
Name: .................................................. Telephone: ....................................
Address (+ postcode): .................................................................................
Booking for:
Number sharing double rooms
Number sharing twin rooms (2 beds)
Number requiring single rooms
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.........
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@ £ 390 p.p. }
@ £ 390 p.p. }
@ £ 480 p.p. }
grand
total
£ ..........
Option: extra nights in Brussels before or after
the tour ?
We can book you rooms in the 2-star Ibis Grande Place or Ibis Gare du Midi for £48 p.p. per night incl. breakfast.
Deposit required now: £ 75 ($150) x no. places: ...........
Total (£ or US$ cheque enclosed*): £ ($) ...........
Outside the UK or US? BANK TRANSFER details available on request
Dr Thomson's Tours, Bethany, 37 The Crescent, Canterbury CT2 7AW
Top left: metal sculpture marks one of the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division's drop zones for Market-Garden
Top right: "The Bridge Too Far" across the Rhine at Arnhem
Above right: the American Memorial outside Bastogne
German anti-tank defences on the Siegfried Line, right on the German-Belgian border
JULY 2008