Somme Battlefield Sites
Less than 2 hours from Lille, the Somme is a poignant destination that gives students real insight into the history of the First World War. Adaptable Travel can arrange a range of visits in the area with a historical focus, including these three memorials.
A colossal brick structure that dominates the surrounding countryside, Thiepval commemorates over 72,000 British soldiers whose bodies were never found and have no known grave. It's one of the most moving stops on any Somme visit, and a powerful way for students to grasp the true scale of the losses.
One of the few places on the Western Front where the battlefield survives largely untouched, Newfoundland Memorial Park still holds the original trench lines. A bronze caribou, emblem of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, stands at the park's highest point in memory of the regiment's devastating losses on 1 July 1916, the first day of the Battle of the Somme.
A short drive north near Arras, the Ring of Remembrance is a striking modern memorial unveiled in 2014. Its vast elliptical structure lists the names of 580,000 soldiers from every nation involved in the First World War, arranged alphabetically with no distinction of rank or nationality, a powerful prompt for discussion about remembrance today.
For a fuller itinerary built around this area, take a look at our dedicated tours: WWI Battlefields: Ypres & the Somme and War Poets of the Somme.
Travelling by ferry also gives your group the chance to build in a stop before or after your time in Lille. Dunkirk's Second World War sites make for a natural cross-curricular addition, bringing History to life alongside your main trip focus.
