For the fifth Charlton Life Battlefield Tour we will be visiting Arnhem from 23rd to 26th July 2026. This is a four day, three night trip.
Once again I am extremely grateful to Clive Harris for agreeing to guide this tour and for fitting us into his already packed schedule for next summer.
As we are travelling in a peak travel period there is the inevitable increase in both coach and ferry costs which we cannot avoid in passing on, although the trip is a day longer that recent tours. The cost of this trip will be £170 per person.
We will need a take up of at least 40 people just to be able to break even and make the trip viable. As a result the above £170 does not include an element of charitable donation as is normal so we would ask that when final payment is due this is taken into account and an additional amount included so that we can support The Upbeats and the Charlton Museum as usual.
However, if take up exceeds the required 40 people it may be that such a donation is not necessary but we will advise of this in due course.
As usual if you wish to join us on this trip we would request a deposit of £50 per person be paid. If you message me I will give you details of the bank account to which this sum need be paid. Please do not use previous account details as I have recently changed banks.
If we don’t get sufficient take up then please be assured that all deposit monies will be repaid. Once we get sufficient take up for the tour to go ahead and commit to expenditure then I’m afraid deposit monies will be non refundable.
Whilst we can’t confirm exact timings at this point, on 23rd July we’d expect to leave The Valley at 6.00am and Ebbsfleet International at 6.30am to ensure arrival at Dover in good time for a 10.00am ferry crossing to Dunkirk.
On 26th July we’d expect to depart Dunkirk at 6.00pm, arriving back to Ebbsfleet International around 8.00pm and The Valley at 8.30pm.
Clive, myself and the coach will be based at the Holiday Inn Express in Arnhem. Other accommodation is of course available but please be aware when booking accommodation that the coach will only pick up and drop off each day at the Holiday Inn Express so don’t stray too far afield. When booking accommodation we’d suggest doing so whereby payment isn’t due now just in case we don’t get sufficient take up and need to cancel the trip. Due to the fact the trip isn’t until next July some accommodation may not yet be available to book.
Clive will be along in the next few days with a detailed itinerary for the trip. In the meantime if you want to pay your deposit to secure your place then please message me for the account details.
For those who have joined us before it will be great to see you again but for anyone who hasn’t it will be equally as great to have you onboard. If anyone has any questions then please do not hesitate to ask either here or message me privately. Equally if anyone has anywhere specific you would like to visit, especially if it relates to a family member, please let us know and Clive will do his best to include it in our itinerary.
thanks for reading and Up The Addicks !!
Neal
Comments
I'm up for it. Please send me your new bank details and i will make the deposit.
Thanks in advance to both you and Clive.
Travel by coach? I thought we were parachuting in.
The commemorations are moving, although it's likely that the veterans in attendance will be very limited these days. it was great to see veteransand current paras chatting in the bars in the evening.
fantastic place, double friendly people
bloopers bar is a decent spot
enjoy chaps
Thanks Andy
Thanks
please would you send me your bank details for Nick.
For this year's event, we have settled on an Operation Market Garden Tour, Montgomery's 'Rapier Like Thrust' towards the industrial heartland of Germany between 17-25 September 1944.
We will be looking at both the ground element (Market) led by Brian Horrocks XXX Corps and of course the Airborne element (Garden) led by General Brererton and involving the 82nd, 101st US Airborne Divisions, alongside our own 1st Airborne Division, the tip of the spear.
As importantly we will look at the battle from the other side of the wire through the 9th & 10th Panzer Divisions, as well as the Impact on the local population from their resistance assistance to the hunger winter that followed.
Our tour base will be Arnhem itself, where there are lots of accomodation options, many of whom wont be open for bookings this far out.
Rough day to day itinerary will be
Day One - Travel Day with a stop at Joe's Bridge (Bridge No9) at Neerpelt for context
Day Two - Njimagen & Groesbeek Heights Day
Day Three - Arnhem Day
I will post a more detailed itinerary once people send in their relatives/neighbours connections to the battle, but a walk around Njimagen Bridge to consider the Guards Armoured Brigade assault and Hail Mary Crossing will feature on day 2, whilst a similar stroll around the Oosterbeek perimeter, a visit to St Elizabeth's Hospital and of course a number of visits around Anrhem bridge will also be factored in.
Its a battlefield I have led tours to for 25 years now so know the ground well, many with veterans on board.
Look forward to seeing you all on the trip if not before. Any queries or requests, drop me a line and thanks again Neal.
Neal, is it too late to for a refund