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BEATLERADIO

Special Group Tours

Toll Free: 1 866 725 5250

kate@specialgrouptours.com

BRITAIN AT WAR
60th Anniversary of the end of WW2
plus The Yanks & Canadians in Britain

9 day tour inc. arrival/departure days

Sixty years ago, 1945, after six long years of war, occupation and deprivation, peace was finally declared in Europe.

Over this past 60 years veterans, their families and military enthusiasts have revisited the great battlefields across the European continent. But what was it like on the 'home front'? How was Britain affected by the war? How was the war fought from the home front? How did it affect how life was lived here? What now remains to be visited?

Perhaps, unsurprisingly, there are a large number of historic sites remaining to bring to life those war years and this unique tour exploits the theme of 'The Home Front' to help you explore the UK from a new perspective. In addition to seeing many long neglected fortifications built in anticipation of invasion, we visit a variety sites connected with the planning and operation of the war by land, sea and air. You'll see Battle of Britain museums and preserved airfields in Kent and Essex. In Liverpool there's the amazing planning room for the Atlantic Convoys sailing the Western Approaches, untouched since the doors finally closed on VE Day. In the middle of the Yorkshire Moors there's the fantastic Eden Camp, where 1940s life is recreated. In the picturesque Durham Dales there's a preserved Prisoner of War camp. Then there are the two Coventry Cathedrals, the ancient bombed out one being preserved as a memorial. And, of course, the capital, London, has the 'Blitz Experience' exhibition, Churchill's cabinet War Rooms and Imperial War Museum.

For those with time and interest then we certainly recommend you take the extended tour and include Portsmouth with it D-Day and associated sites and the Channel Island of Jersey - the only part of Britain to be occupied by the enemy. The German's underground hospital is worth the visit in itself.

Available at any date for private groups of 2 – 15 people. Price available upon application.

Rates are based upon vehicle and guide hire per day; groups of 7 - 15 would have a per person rate same/similar to one of our scheduled tours of the same length.

Please note, this is a suggested itinerary. It may be revised to suit your individual group needs.

If you do not have a group of traveling companions and are still interested in this custom tour itinerary, you are welcomed to join a waitlist…

We record who is looking for travel companions to make up a tour with them. We need between 6 and 8 persons minimum to operate a tour without it being uneconomic for us or too expensive for you. Back-Roads Touring Co Ltd will be happy to run the occasional special departure IF there is sufficient interest.

If you would like to check on or join a waitlist for this itinerary, please email us for full information: kate@specialgrouptours.com

TENTATIVE ITINERARY

Day One - Wednesday

You are meet at London's airport on arrival and transferred to our London base hotel. This afternoon we'll begin our explorations of London with a visit to Churchill's underground Cabinet War rooms. These have recently been extended and offer a fascinating insight into the heart of the allies London nerve centre.

This evening you'll be free to relax and dine independently.

NIGHTSTOP: London

Day Two - Thursday

Today we explore London of the 1940's. Our memorable day includes the Blitz experience, seeing war damage that still exists in the city, and seeing where various resistance movements and war time leaders had their HQs. We'll also be including major museums such as the Imperial War Museum and private ones such as the Sikorski house, or Osterley Park where the 'Home Guard' were originally trained in guerilla warfare tactics.

Tonight, you're joined for dinner by some very special guests. Local Londoners who lived through the blitz will be with us and will talk about their memories of the blitz years.

NIGHTSTOP: London

Day Three - Friday

We explore the county of Kent. It was over the villages and pretty countryside of this county that the Battle of Britain was played out and on which Hitler's V1 and V2 rockets fell. It was also from the beaches and ports of the south coast that the great armada left to evacuate Dunkirk. The county has many fascinating sites and museums recalling its role in the 1940s (including Churchill's home at Chartwell and the secret underground tunnels at Dover).

NIGHTSTOP: London

Day Four - Saturday

Departing London we drive north. Today is airman's day but who can suppress a shiver of excitement when seeing a Spitfire or Hurricane? We are driving through what was known as the Hornchurch Sector of the Battle of Britain and we'll make appropriate stops at sites en route to the amazing air museum at Duxford. Perhaps the most evocative is the North Weald Airfield where we step back in time to a control tower that is exactly as it was in the early 1950's, with just a few changes from it's 40's design.

Next, we'll spend some time visiting USAF sites and memorials around Cambridge before continuing further north to the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight museum at Coningsby.

Special Group option: for special groups only it is possible to arrange the unique and unforgettable experience of actually experiencing what it felt like to be manning a Lancaster bomber. Groups of up to 9 persons can hire a Lancaster for the morning and enjoy a 20-minute experience of a lifetime in the cockpit and other seating positions, as the plane taxis along the runway. This is expensive, at £200 per person (including lunch), BUT unforgettable.

NIGHTSTOP: Lincoln

Day Five - Sunday

Before departing Lincoln we'll visit the city museum dedicated to the 'Dambusters' Flight of 617 Squadron.
Next, we've an amazing visit - the Camp Eden. Here we discover the totally unique WW2 theme museum where, in a series of 25 original POW huts, you're transported back to wartime Britain. The sites, the sounds, even the smells of those dangerous years are recreated. You'll sing along with Vera Lynn, walk down a wartime street seeing the latest fashion, see a 'prefab' fully kitted out with furniture of the period and even sample war time food!

NIGHTSTOP: Lancashire

Day Six - Monday

We take a lovely scenic drive across the Pennine Hills and Lancashire Dales to the mighty maritime city of Liverpool.

En route, we'll see where the famed 'Dambusters' practiced their bombing runs, and where British commandos (the SOE) trained before being dropped behind the lines.

In wartime Liverpool and surrounding towns were heavily bombed as the Germans sought to disrupt the Atlantic convoys and the great Mersey ship building yards. Almost unbelievably the original underground control room for the 'Western Approaches' has survived. Standing in this room in front of the massive table top and wall maps is like being in a movie set and you have to pinch yourself to believe it's real!

NIGHTSTOP: Liverpool

Day Seven - Tuesday

Across the Mersey, in Birkenhead, there is a fascinating collection of wartime wrecks, salvaged by enthusiasts and some preserved battle ships. Others may simply enjoy a morning discovering other aspects of this marvelous Victorian city.

Our next exciting visit is 30 miles away, near Manchester, at the Stockport Air Raid shelters. Here we explore a vast underground complex that has been totally refurbished to authentically recreate the experience of spending a night underground while the bombers unloaded their high explosives on the town above.

NIGHTSTOP: Stockport

Day Eight - Wednesday

We turn south, traveling first through the magnificent Peak District. This is an area of outstanding scenic beauty. South of the Peaks we visit the city of Coventry. This city suffered terribly in terms of bombing. Controversially, Churchill knew the city was a target but was unable to warn the community for fear of giving away the fact that Allied Intelligence had broken the Nazi codes. The city was rebuilt after the war but left the skeletal remains of its great mediaeval cathedral as a memorial beside the new, rededicated cathedral.

Next to Bletchley Park. It was here the Enigma code breakers, under Alan Turing, worked in high secrecy. You'll enjoy the exhibition and see a surviving Enigma machine.

We return to London and to our final night's accommodation and farewell dinner.

NIGHTSTOP: London

Day Nine - Thursday

Today is departure day unless you're joining our tour extension.

Our extension continues our theme with a visit first to various sites in Buckinghamshire, including the Free French Navy HQ and Cliveden House which became a Canadian military hospital. Thence to Portsmouth where we see the D-Day embroidery and various military museums (there will be some choice depending on group interest) illustrating the preparations for the D-Day landings. Portsmouth

Day Ten - Friday We'll continue with local South coast visits today, looking at various fortifications that remain here, before boarding a ferry or flight for the Channel Island of Jersey.

The Channel Islands were the only part of the UK to be occupied during the war. The Germans set about making the island impregnable and not for nothing was it known as a northern 'Gibraltar'. The islanders' experiences are unique and much remains to remind visitors of what life was like under Nazi occupation.

NIGHTSTOP: Jersey

Days Eleven & Twelve - Saturday & Sunday We've two days to explore the island. Amongst the most memorable of many site visits will be the huge German Underground Hospital, built by slave, prisoner of war labour.

There is also the Island Fortress Occupation Museum, telling stories of resistance and civilian life, the main military museum and the occupation tapestry.

Altogether, a fascinating destination with plenty to do for those for whom our theme might not hold as much interest (long-suffering partners, please take note!).

NIGHTSTOP: Jersey

Day Thirteen - Monday We return from Jersey to London. On arrival, you'll be free to visit independently any of the London sites that we've not managed to see to date.

Alternatively, you can fly home.

This tour is operated by Back-Roads Touring Co Ltd