In Flanders Fields
HERE at LRM we have covered several Battlefields by 4x4 tours in the past including their Calais Taster Day (an introduction to greenlaning in France), 1917 Battle of Arras, D-Day Anniversary Special and the 1916 Battle of the Somme. Each tour is very different but all very poignant as not only do they give you expert insight into those campaigns, they also have you driving your Land Rover where most battlefields tourists don’t or can’t go.
Now it was time to go and do one of their newer tours, the Western Front which would take us from soggy Somme in France to the moving Ypres in Belgium.
Day 1: Dash to Albert
NO one likes waking up at 4.00 am especially not my six-year-old son Isaac, who is on half term. But it’s the only way to make the early morning ferry to Calais. We are in the Frontrunner UK Discovery 4, driven by Johnny Nel. It has more kit on it than a G4 Land Rover. There is even a cooking pot on the roof rack! It certainly attracts attention. By now we are used to storms and French strikes so despite a two hour delay on our P&O ferry, our flexi-ticket allows us to board an also delayed but earlier boat, which ends up leaving at the same time as our original booking!
Our friends from the G4 Challenge Owners Club are on a ferry from another company. This was to be my first outing with the G4 Challenge Owners Club of the UK.
Once on French soil it’s a quick 100 miles on toll roads to Albert. The Ibis Hotel carpark (it’s too cold to camp) is full of bright orange Land Rovers, so we know we are
