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Day One - Eindhoven (101st Airborne) & Grave (82nd Airborne)
Travel from start point: Canterbury / Channel Tunnel - 35 minute Tunnel crossing, then 3 hour drive
Brussels - 90 min drive
Following the route of the ‘Garden’ ground forces (60 miles south to north), we start on the Belgian-Netherlands border and head north: visit the 101st Airborne drop-zones north of Eindhoven; the fights for the bridges at Son and Best; the 82nd Airborne’s drop-zones south of Nijmegen; the taking of the bridge at Grave. 2 nights hotel in Nijmegen.
Day Two - Nijmegen, The Island, Arnhem drop-zones (British 1st Airborne)
The 82nd Airborne fighting south-east of Nijmegen (right on the German border); the dramatic taking of the bridge over the Maas and the amphibious assault across the river; ‘The Island’ between the Maas and the Rhine; across the Rhine to the see the British airborne drop-zones west of Arnhem and the attack route into the town. 2nd night Nijmegen.
Day Three - Arnhem
The British cemetery; the Oosterbeek Museum; the trapping & evacuation of British forces; the fight for the bridge in the town centre - the ‘Bridge Too Far’. Leave early/mid-afternoon, aiming to get you to your finishing point by 6.00 p.m.
Canterbury / Channel Tunnel - 4 hour drive to Calais (back in the UK we will put you on a train to London, arriving there around 8.15 p.m.)
Brussels - 2 hour 30 minute drive
Check out our prices here.
Other related pages:
Other related photo galleries:
Photo Gallery:
Market-Garden Private Tour
Commonwealth War Graves Commssion cemetery at Oosterbeek
The longest bridge seized in the operation - the bridge over the Maas at Grave (original bridge still in use today)
The bridge at Nijmegen
The 'Bridge Too Far' - the bridge over the River Rhine at Arnhem today
Marker to the 82nd Airborne's dramatic crossing of the River Waal west of Nijmegen
Memorial marking one of the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division's drop-zones, 17 September 1944
These are private tours for family / friends groups of up to 5 people, offered by Dr Thomson’s Tours – see Introduction and More About Us for details about us and how we operate our tours. Do get in touch to discuss possible dates.
Travelling in a comfortable air-conditioned Citroën C8 or rental vehicle, tours can start either on the continent or in England - with a choice of a night in historic Canterbury (90 minutes by train from London), or of getting the first train of the day down to Ashford International Station to meet your guide.
Staying in comfortable hotels in the region, we will explore the battlefields on foot, by car, and through museums. The history, context, and significance of all we shall see will be clearly explained by your Guide Dr Andrew Thomson.
On all our trips we are of course happy to accommodate specific requirements, and to adjust the schedule depending on weather, circumstances and preferences.
Sample private tour itinerary: MARKET was three simultaneous airborne landings in the south-east Netherlands followed by GARDEN, a land attack north from Belgium to link up all three landing zones and secure a Rhine crossing. The failure of this potential war-winning operation led to the war continuing into 1945. The ten days of fighting saw many dramatic actions - here is a 3-day (2 nights) tour suggestion to see the highlights. Naturally we can put together a family-specific tour, and tours of different durations.