The Good Battlefield Guide

The battlefields of the Great War are evocative and fascinating places to visit. The Long, Long Trail presents information for those wishing to travel to the battlefields of France and Flanders.

Chris Baker's son Lawrence at Bailleul Communal Cemetery Extension


General tourist advice

Guidebooks: general tour guides for the first timer or wanderer 
If you plan to travel to the battlefields independently, perhaps have not been before, remember this advice: take a good guide book. You will get much more out of your visit. If all you do is go to the main sites and stick to the main roads, you will definitely miss out on the most interesting places and sights.

There aren't too many good guide books. This is what I consider to be the first and still the best: Rose Coombs "Before Endeavours Fade". A series of routes covering the areas in which the British Army fought in France and Flanders, describing what happened, the sites to see and the route.


Recently published and a very good guide, full of photographs: Major & Mrs Holt's "Concise illustrated guide to the Western Front - North". This book not only covers the British areas well but also takes us into the areas occupied and fought over by the French and Belgian armies.

This book was reviewed on this site.

Similar in style and taking us all the way down to Verdun: Major & Mrs Holt's "Concise illustrated guide to the Western Front - South". This book covers the area of the Somme battlefields, one of the most popular areas for British tourists.