mercat tours battlefields

Mercat Tours

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Small Group Ghostly Underground Vaults Tour in Edinburgh

Royal Mile Small Group Walking Tour - Optional Edinburgh Castle

Small Group Edinburgh Underground Vaults & Graveyard Ghost Tour

Small Group Ghost Tour incl. Underground Vaults & free drink in Megget's Cellar

Small Group Edinburgh Underground Vaults Historical Walk

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MERCAT TOURS (Edinburgh) - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go

WW1 Battlefield Tour Companies and Guides: Starting from the UK

An increasing number of guides and tour companies offer tours to the First World War battlefields: these tours can include one day visits or all-inclusive tours over several days, walking tours, themed tours, cycling tours, self-drive and personalized tours for individuals or groups. Tours will usually range in size from coach tours, to minibus tours, to tours by private vehicle.

Most tours will provide the opportunity for the first-time visitor to see the main sites of interest in a battlefield sector. An increasing number of tour companies are also able to offer, separately or within a standard tour itinerary, an extra special personalized service, whereby travellers wanting to follow in the footsteps of an ancestor who served on the battlefields can be taken to specific places of action and commemoration. Do be aware that your guide will more than likely need sufficient notice if you have a particular request to visit a place of special interest, so ask well in advance of the tour if you have any special requests.

Travellers should expect a high level of experience and expertise in the subject from a guide to the WW1 battlefields. It goes without saying that you should also expect a high standard of service for all the travel and accommodation requirements of a given tour. You are advised to look at testimonials from previous travellers and ask for the tour guide's credentials before booking a tour. Guides and companies requesting to be listed on this website are taken on trust where they are not already known to greatwar.co.uk.

List of Tour Companies and Guides Starting from the United Kingdom

The following list is an overview of organizations or individual guides offering tours to the First World War battlefields where the tour starts from designated pick-up points in the United Kingdom.

This list is offered to assist travellers in finding a tour company to suit your specific requirements. You are advised to contact the tour guide or company directly with any enquiry about the tours they offer. You must be satisfied that they comply with travel, package holidays and package tours regulations. Greatwar.co.uk cannot be held responsible for a guide or tour company failing to comply with package holiday travel regulations and public liability cover.

Guild of Battlefield Guides (GBG)

greatwar.co.uk is proud to be a Supporter of the International Guild of Battlefield Guides. The aim of the Guild is to raise the understanding and promote best practice for guiding on the battlefields.

The late Lt. Col. Graham Parker, OBE, Retd. and his daughter Joanna Legg organized battlefield tours as Flanders Tours for military, private and public groups from 1980 and 2000. They founded and operated tours as Flanders Tours for 12 of those years. Graham was honoured to have been made an Honorary Member of the International Guild of Battlefield Guides. Joanna is proud to promote the International Guild of Battlefield Guides and its Badged Guides. Members and Supporters are highlighted in our list of guides and tour companies.

Battlefield Tour Companies and Guides (from the United Kingdom)

These tour companies and guides offer all-inclusive tours starting from pick-up points in the United Kingdom.

Advance! Bespoke Battlefield Tours

Member of the Guild of Battlefield Guides (GBG)

Telephone: +44 (0)1728 603 645

Website: www.advancebattlefieldtours.co.uk

After Action Battlefield Guiding

Website: www.afteraction.info/index

Battlefield guide David Grainger is a member of The Western Front Association and the Guild of Battlefield Guides. David specializes in arranging bespoke tours to suit the needs of individual travellers or groups, but for sample itineraries of the places that can be included on a tour, see the After Action website.

Anglia Tours Ltd.

ABTA No. Y3463; ATOL Protected; stf (School Travel Forum) Assured Member; Quality Badge from the Council for Learing Outside the Classroom.

Address: First Floor, Charles House, Kelvedon Road, Inworth, Essex CO5 9SH

Telephone: +44 (0)1376 - 574 130

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.angliatours.co.uk

Anglia Tours has an established reputation for organizing high quality tours to the First World War battlefields amongst other historical tours. Colonel Alain Chissel, TD, is director of Anglia Tours and a Member of the Guild of Battlefield Guides (GBG).

Experienced and expert guides offer a range of guided tours suitable for individuals, schools and military groups. Anglia Tours also specializes in organizing private tours for “Friends and Family”. These tours offer a personalized pilgrimage for small parties of friends and family members, providing an unforgettable experience in the shared experience of following in the footsteps of relatives, military units or the men and women named on the local war memorial.

Back-Roads Touring Co. Battlefield Tours

Members of the Guild of Battlefield Guides (GBG)

Telephone: +44 (0)208 9870 99

Website: www.backroadstouring.co.uk

Bartletts Battlefield Journeys Ltd.

Telephone: +44 (0)1507 - 523 128

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.battlefields.co.uk

Highly acclaimed tours visit the battlefields in small groups of up to 7 people. Bartletts Battlefield Journeys (BBJ) was founded by David Bartlett in 1995. BBJ has a well-established reputation for providing excellent, meticulously researched tours by highly qualified, experienced guides, combined with the high standards of organization provided for every BBJ traveller.

Tours with BBJ feature:

• Year-round programme of all-inclusive 3 to 12 day tours to the 1914-1918 battlefields of the Western Front and WW2 tours to Normandy.
• Bespoke tours arranged for larger groups including military personnel and school parties.

Battle Honours

Guild of Battlefield Guides (GBG) Badged Guides

Telephone: +44 (0)1438 791 020

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.battle-honours.co.uk

The UK's leading battlefield tour company providing well-established, carefully researched walking battlefield tours. Every tour is accompanied by at least one badged member of the Guild of Battlefield Guides (GBG), who will act as guide, host and organizer: lead guides and founders of Battle Honours are Clive Harris (GBG Badge no. 33) and Julian Whippy (GBG Badge no. 31). Photographer Mike St Maur Sheil is a key member of the team (GBG Badge no. 38).

Tours with Battle Honours feature:

• Scheduled walking tours of up to 16 persons to a wide range of locations on the battlefields on the 1914-1918 Western Front.
• Bespoke tours tailored to meet the requirements of groups of varying sizes from the military, schools, clubs or associations.
• Tours in association with The Western Front Association.

NO LONGER? Battlefield Breaks.com

ABTA No. 16850

Telephone: +44 (0)845 344 0342

Website: www.battlefield-breaks.com

The Battlefield Guide: Frank Toogood

Guild of Battlefield Guides (GBG) Badged Guide

Telephone: +44 (0)1916 45 1812

Website: www.thebattlefieldguide.com

Frank is Badged Guide no. 39 with the Guild of Battlefield Guides. He is a specialist in bespoke walking tours for small groups.

Bird Battlefield Tours

Telephone: +44 (0)20 8752 0956 or +44 (0)1243 789077

Website: www.birdbattlefieldtours.com

Clevelode Battlefield Tours

Telephone: 01684 311 257

Email: [email protected]

Website: clevelode-battletours.com

Retired Army Officer Major David Craig specializes in arranging bespoke family and group tours to the battlefields.

The Cultural Experience

ATOL Protected No. T10153; Travel Trust Association Member No. U6964

Address: The Cultural Experience, 8 Barnack Business Park, Blakey Road, Salisbury SP1 2LP

Telephone: (UK) 0345 475 1815; (International) +44 1722 340699

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.battlefieldtours.com

The Cultural Experience is a tour company highly recommended by its customers. All tours are led by expert guides, including leading historians, academics and retired officers.

The company specializes in history tours including a wide range of battlefield tours from 19th century to the modern day. WW1 tours include Haig on the Western Front, the Gallipoli campaign and the Western Front. Tours are accompanied by expert military historians. Bespoke tours can be arranged for individuals, a group of friends or members of a club or association.

Discovery Battlefield Tours

Associate Member of the Guild of Battlefield Guides (GBG); Serenity Travel Trusts (Package Travel, Package Holidays & Package Tour Regulations 1992)

Telephone: +44 (0)2380 986 523

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.discoverybattlefieldtours.com

Bespoke tours for 1-4 people to the battlefields of the Western Front and Normandy beaches specialising in guests wishing to follow in the footsteps of a relative. Tours are relaxed, friendly and informal. For more information on the type of tours we offer please visit the Discovery Battlefield Tours website.

Ecosse Battlefield Tours Ltd.

Travel Trust Association member

Telephone: 07584 859737

Fax: 013552 33555

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.ecossetours.co.uk

Ecosse Battlefield Tours is a Scottish based company who organise tailor made WW1 & WW2 tours for groups (20+) to the battlefields of France, Belgium, Normandy and Arnhem in the Netherlands. All coach tours start and finish in Scotland.

Eyewitness Tours

Telephone: +44 (0)1306 - 880 960

Website: www.eyewitnesstours.com

Galina Battlefield Tours

Official Tour Operators to the Normandy Veterans Association; Member of ABTA No. Y4466

Address: Galina International Battlefield Tours, 16 Bridge Street Row, Chester, CH1 1NQ

Telephone: 01244 340 777

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.wartours.com

Galina Battlefield Tours offer tours for large groups (17-49 persons), small groups (6-16 persons), individuals and couples (1-5 persons). Galina has been arranging tours for adult groups since 1989 including military personnel, Rotarians, corporate organizations, groups of friends, literary societies and the University of the Third Age. Tour itineraries can be set by Galina or can be tailored to suit the requirements of the size of your group, your travel dates, accommodation needs, travel preferences and the places you wish to visit. Self-drive tour itineraries are also available.

For full details and to request a free quotation see the Galina International Battlefield Tours website.

Telephone: 01449 765861

Email: www.travel-galloway.com Contact form

Website: www.travel-galloway.com WW1 Centenary Tours

All-inclusive Continental coach holidays including a four-day tour package to the Ypres Salient and Somme battlefields.

Great Rail Journeys

See our page:

WW1 Battlefield Tours by Rail

Guided Battlefield Tours

Member of the Guild of Battlefield Guides (GBG); Member of the Association of Bonded Travel Organisors Trust (ABTOT)

Telephone: +44 (0)1633 - 258 207

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.guidedbattlefieldtours.co.uk

A well-established, family-based battlefield tour company run by Susan and Steve Cocks. Tours are limited to a maximum of 32 people and travellers are assured of a high quality, well-researched tour. Visit the website for information about tours, dates and prices.

Holts Tours Battlefields and History

Telephone: +44 (0)1306 873 571

Website: www.holts.co.uk

With almost 40 years’ experience in operating Battlefield and History tours and more than 25 years in running School Travel, Holts Tours prides itself in being the specialist in educational travel and the leading history and battlefields tours company. Our school battlefields, history and education tours are carefully designed to fit in with the school curriculum and are tailor-made to suit your group needs and budget. Call or visit the website for a brochure.

In the Footsteps

Supporter & Member of the Guild of Battlefield Guides (GBG); Member of the European Tour Operator Association (ETOA) and Recommended and rated Excellent on Trip Advisor

Telephone: +44 (0)1989 - 565 599

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.inthefootsteps.com

In the Footsteps Battlefield Tours provide expert guided tours for individuals, couples and groups. We specialise in providing tours for those wanting to Follow in the Footsteps of their ancestors or a particular unit, as well as the more general tour of the battlefields. Our expert guides can cover tours of Pre 20th Century Wars, the First World War and Second World War.

Kimber Battlefield Tours

Telephone: +44 (0)592 - 642 466

Website: www.kimberbattlefieldtours.co.uk

Guides Paul Trickett and Phil Adams are members of the Guild of Battlefield Guides. Paul and Phil both served in the Royal Marines.

Leger Holidays Guided Battlefield Tours

ABTA No. V43582; ATOL No. 3880

Telephone: +44 (0)1709 385 624

Website: www.visitbattlefields.co.uk

Leger Holidays are the leading provider of escorted Battlefield tours and offer the widest range of tours visiting sites from WW1, WW2 and other significant wars, including Waterloo, the American Civil War and the Boer and Zulu Wars of South Africa. What’s more, each tour is led by a Specialist Battlefield Guide whose knowledge and expertise help bring history alive, giving you the ultimate battlefield tour experience. Call or visit the website to request a brochure.

Mercat Tours International Ltd.

Complies with EC Directive on Package Holidays; Member of the Travel Trust Association

Address: Mercat Tours International Ltd., 28 Blair Street, Edinburgh EH1 1QR

Telephone: +44 (0)131 225 5445

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.mercattoursinternational.com

Mercat Tours International has been leading independent adult group tours and school tours to the battlefields of the Great War since 1996. Our accredited guides bring the stories of WWI to life focusing on the experience of soldiers on the Front Line and the pals battalions. Established by an ex principal history teacher, Mercat Tours International now operates tours to D-Day Landings in Normandy, Berlin and Poland in addition to the battlefields of WW1. Visit the website for more information, dates, prices and availability.

Mr Scott's Tours

Guild of Battlefield Guides (GBG) Badged Guides; Member ETOA (European Tourism Association)

Telephone: +44 (0)1420 475567

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.mrscottstours.com

Mr Scott’s Tours offers a warm welcome, providing friendly, flexible and relaxed tours for small to large groups such as regimental associations, livery companies, business groups or families or friends. Mike Scott has thirty years experience of guiding battlefield tours. Mike and the team of guides operate tours throughout the UK, Europe and the world. The experienced guides are accredited as Badged Guides with the Guild of Battlefield Guides (GBG). Visit the website to find out more or email your enquiry to discuss a tour.

Newmarket Holidays: Battlefield Tours

ABTA No. V787X, J159X; Partner to the Royal British Legion in the Remembrance Travel Programme for Commemorative Tours

Telephone: 0330 160 7703 (standard charges apply)

Website: www.newmarketholidays.co.uk Battlefields of World War One

Founded in 1983, Newmarket Holidays is part of the Newmarket Group. It is one of the largest independently owned tour operators in the United Kingdom. To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the First World War Newmarket Holidays is offering four day guided coach tours to the battlefields of World War One in northern France and Belgian Flanders. Tours take place between May and October 2015. For more information about tour details, hotels, departure dates and customer reviews visit the website.

On The Go Tours

ABTA No. W4479; ATOL No. 6109; AITO No. 5096; AITO 4 Sustainable Tourism Stars; Travel Compensation Fund Participant

Telephone: +44 (0)207 371 1113

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.onthegotours.com

On The Go Tours offers a range of battlefield tours to a number of worldwide destinations including The Boer & Zulu Wars in South Africa, The Burma Railway (combined with the Burmese Water Festival), The Siege of Leningrad, The Borneo Death March and Ranau Track and The Vietnam War. First World War destinations include tours featuring ANZAC forces on the First World War battlefields of the Western Front and Gallipoli. For details of battlefield tours see the website page at:

Website: www.onthegotours.com Battlefield Tours

Telephone: +44 (0)7970 - 065 852

Website: www.pillow.co.uk

Rail Holidays & Battlefield Tours

Remembrance travel.

Badged Guide No. 12 and Supporter of the Guild of Battlefield Guides (GBG)

Telephone: 020 3207 2321

Website: www.remembrancetravel.org.uk

Remembrance Travel (formerly Poppy Travel) is a subsidy of The Royal British Legion, working with tour operator Newmarket Travel. The “Journeys of Remembrance” tour programme offers battlefield tours to many destinations. Tours are led by experienced military historians who combine the historical information with the personal pilgrimages for travellers wishing to visit particular places of action and commemoration.

Reveille Tours

Telephone: +44 (0) 1304 240820

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.reveillebattlefieldtours.co.uk

Reverend Canon Bruce Hawkins, guide to the battlefields for over 25 years, specialises in taking small groups of people to visit the major battlefields of the First and Second World Wars. Tour guests travel in groups up to eight people in an air-conditioned, executive minibus. Accommodation is arranged as appropriate for the tour in guest houses, hotels or historic mansions. Bruce will be pleased to discuss a bespoke tour for groups of friends or families wishing to visit places of personal interest.

Rifleman Tours

Rifleman Tours is in association with Avanti Travel Insurance of Avanti Insurance Limited, registered in England No. 03882026

Telephone: +44 (0)1908 617264

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.riflemantours.co.uk

Run by a husband and wife team Rifleman Tours is a battlefield tour company based in the UK, specializing in small group tours of between 12 and 18 people to the WW1 battlefields of France and Belgium. Prices include executive coach travel and good quality accommodation. Tours are suitable for first time visitors and those with more specialist knowledge alike.

Rifleman Tours offer a number of tours scheduled during the year. Visitors wishing to pay their respects to a grave or visit a particular place of action during a tour can be accommodated (advance notice is required). Bespoke tours can also be planned around a group wanting to study a particular theme or visit special places of action.

Shearings Holidays: Battlefield Tours

Winner British Travel Awards 2012; ABTA No. V6468; Member of the Bonded Coach Holiday Group of the Confederation Of Passenger Transport UK Ltd.

Telephone: 0844 824 6351

Website: www.shearings.com Battlefields

Shearings is the UK's number one coach holiday tour operator and has been organizing tours for over 100 years. To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the First World War Shearings is offering high quality guided coach tours and river cruises to the WW1 battlefields of the Western Front in France and Belgium. Shearings also offers WW2 tours and cruises.

Groups of all sizes - students, cadets, military personnel, associations - are very welcome to make enquiries at 01942 823 447.

For more detailed information visit the Shearings website or call to discuss your enquiry.

Skylark Battlefield Tours

Telephone: +44 (0)1354 696 779

Website: www.skylarkbattlefieldtours.co.uk

NO LONGER? Spirit of History

Telephone: +44 (0)1883 744 342

Website: www.spiritofhistory.co.uk

A battlefield tour company offering travel in small groups.

Spirit of Remembrance

Fully licensed and bonded tour specialists in ANZAC, British, Canadian, American and tailor-made tours. Badged guides & members of the Guild of Battlefield Guides (GBG).

Telephone: 01634 233785

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.spiritofremembrance.com

Fully licensed battlefield tour company and travel agency led by a highly experienced team in travel and tourism combined with expert ex-Service guides with many years of experience in battlefield guiding. WW1 tours are just some of the destinations available for booking. Spirit of Remembrance not only offers travellers to the battlefields the means to visit all the major sites, but also provides a variety of tailor-made opportunities for travellers to personalize a tour, whether wishing to travel as a group or an individual.

Visit the Spirit of Remembrance website to read in detail about the many and varied tour and learning opportunities available, including:

• Platinum tailor-made tours
• Day tours: ANZAC, Canadian and Waterloo
• 2 - 8 day inclusive tours
• Tailor-made tours for individuals and groups of all sizes.
• Theme tours such as photography, painting and poetry.
• “Who were they? Tours” : Personal tours helping you to trace your military ancestor, discover their story and build a tour around their story.

Take Us Touring

Telephone: +44 (0)1989 565599

Email: [email protected]

Website: takeustouring.com

Specialising in private group tours to the battlefields for groups of 10 or more.

Dr. Thomson's Tours

Badged Guide with the Guild of Battlefield Guides (GBG)

Telephone: +44 (0)1227 - 455 922

Website: www.drttours.co.uk

Tours can be arranged by Dr Andrew Thomson for individuals, large or small groups, couples, corporate organizations, clubs and conferences. Dr Thomson is Badged Guide No. 14 with the Guild of Battlefield Guides.

Williamsomme Tours

Member of the Guild of Battlefield Guides

Telephone: +44 (0)7848 976 142

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.williamsommetours.co.uk

Williamsomme Tours is a small, highly rated company offering bespoke tours of the Western Front for groups of 4-6, between March and November each year.

Mike Williamson has been operating the company since 2008. Since March 2015 he has been joined by Giles Guthrie. Giles is a former museum curator and a member of the Guild of Battlefield Guides. Giles will research family members' roles in the Great War (free of charge) and tours will be arranged accordingly and will include visits to many of the major sites.

The guided tours are all-inclusive (included is travel, B&B, restaurant meals, picnics, refreshments and museum entrance fees). Guests are accommodated in a beautiful 5-bedroom Somme farmhouse around 30 minutes' drive from Amiens. Visit the website for further details of tours and photos of the accommodation.

Related Topics

Visiting the ww1 western front battlefields.

Advice and useful information about travelling, accommodation and tourist information for visitors to the Western Front battlefields:

Visiting WW1 Western Front Battlefields

Battlefields of the Western Front

Pages on the battlefields by area including comprehensive listings and locations of military cemeteries, main memorials, battle remains, museums and accommodation:

International Guild of Battlefield Guides

The International Guild of Battlefield Guides is for guides with a specialism in battlefield history, providing an organization where guides can meet one another, share information and approaches to the subject. Members of the Guild can take part in an accreditation programme to become a “Badged Guide”. Visit:

Website: www.gbg-international.com

Somme Battlefields' Partner, France

The Somme Battlefields' Partner is a new network for visitors to the Somme, where local professionals involved in tourism and the history of this battlefield area have come together. The Somme Battlefields' Partner website is at:

Website: www.somme-battlefields.com

Battlefield Tours

Battlefield Tours & Travel

Battlefield Tour Companies and Guides based in Belgium and France

Cycling Routes & Tours on the WW1 Battlefields

Walking the WW1 Battlefields

Self-drive Itineraries & Tours of the WW1 Battlefields

Motorcycling Tours on the WW1 Battlefields

Battlefield Tours by Rail

WW1 Battlefield Tour Companies for Students & School Groups

• Western Front Battlefields
• Battlefield Visits
• Memorials & Monuments
• Museums & Archive Collections
• Tracing Family History
• Researching Military History
• Education Resources
• Experience of the Great War
• Remembrance
• Organizations
• The Poppy Umbrella
• Tours from UK
• Tours start in Belgium/France
• Cycling Tours
• Walking Tours
• Self-Drive Tours
• Motorcycle Tours
• Tours by Rail
• Tours for Schools & Students
• Guild of Battlefield Guides
• Travel Maps
• Accommodation

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Small group guided tour Blair Street Underground Vaults, Edinburgh

© Mercat Tours

Blair Street Underground Vaults, Edinburgh

Mercat Tours - Historic Underground

Get exclusive access to the Blair Street Underground Vaults – the largest system of underground caverns in Edinburgh. Built in the 18th century beneath South Bridge, we’re the only walking tour company with access.

Beneath the bustle of Edinburgh’s Old Town you’ll discover a dark, damp world unchanged since the 18th century. Your expert guide will lead you deep into the Blair Street Underground Vaults, and together you’ll explore their history – including how they became home to the city’s most destitute inhabitants.  

Want to see Edinburgh’s darkest secret? Descend into the vaults, exclusive to Mercat Tours.

It’s a story rooted in Edinburgh’s Georgian past – grand feats of engineering, the expansion of the city, and those who were left behind in its darker corners.

But why were the vaults built? And who used them? Save your questions for your Mercat tour guide, a masterful storyteller who will bring the history of the vaults to life – and talk you through some of the artefacts that have survived.

The walking tour takes 1 hour and 15 minutes, with time at the end in our Discovery Room – complete with 3D model and artefacts.

COVID-19 information

This business has confirmed that they have implemented, and will ensure ongoing compliance with, the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) Safe Travels protocols. The Safe Travels stamp is based on self-assessment and it is not a certification.

From £20 per adult

Departure days.

• W Wednesday

January — December

Contact details

• 44 (131) 2255445
• View tour details
• [email protected]

Key facilities

• Hearing Loop

Tour information

• Edinburgh & The Lothians
• Edinburgh - City Centre
• Small Group (1-16)
• Outdoor Activities
• Walking/Hiking

Covid 19 Facilities

• Advance booking essential
• COVID-19 measures in place
• COVID-19 refund and cancellation policy in place
• COVID-19 risk assessment completed
• COVID-19 staff training completed
• Capacity limit
• Contactless payment only
• Face mask essential (not provided)
• Face masks required for staff in public areas
• Hand sanitiser available to visitors & staff
• Online booking only

Tour prices

From £20 Per Adult £15 Per Child £18 Concession

Prices are subject to change depending on season

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Tour gallery

Tour company information

Mercat tours.

'History is a damn good story, what it needs is a damn good telling' Join In! Enjoy immersive storytelling experiences as you explore Edinburgh's Old Town. Stories Connect You'll have a deep connection with the people & places of the past and build remarkable memories of Scotland's ancient & beautiful capital. Good for You, Good for Everyone Choosing us, a local, independent family business and Living Wage employer, means you support an ethical team rooted in our local community since 1985

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Opening times

Daily 9am to 10pm

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150th Anniversary of Antietam.

America's Battlefields

• Battlefields & Heritage Sites »
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America’s battlefields and associated historic sites are living monuments — places of remembrance and reflection —and  visitation is on the rise . These places are windows into our history, the lessons of which help us shed light upon the way forward. Walk in the footsteps of those who forged our country. Honor our heroes. Explore our past. Envision our future.

Battlefields Everyone Should Visit

Visit: Gettysburg Battlefield, PA

Over the course of three long days in the summer of 1863, 165,000 men met at Gettysburg and fought one of the most dramatic battles in Americans history, engaging in a fierce struggle over what kind of country the United States should be. Today, visitors can walk in the footsteps of the brave soldiers who fought and died at such iconic places as Little Round Top, Devil’s Den, Cemetery Ridge, and Culp’s Hill. While you’re there, make sure to pay your respects at the Soldiers National Cemetery and visit the David Wills House, where Abraham Lincoln stayed the night before he delivered his Gettysburg Address. The Civil War Trust is proud to have saved more than 900 acres of hallowed ground at numerous key sites at and around Gettysburg, including the site of Lee's  Headquarters on Seminary Ridge.

Visit: Vicksburg Battlefield, MS

Ulysses S. Grant is sometimes remembered as a blundering butcher. Those who study his audacious campaign against Vicksburg know better. Over the course of three months in the summer of 1863, Grant carried out one of the most brilliantly executed campaigns in the annals of military history, ultimately capturing the “Gibraltar of the South” and severing the Confederacy in two. Today, visitors to the Vicksburg National Military Park can walk the trenches and scenes of battle where Lincoln’s great general changed the course of the Civil War. Be sure to also visit the USS Cairo ironclad warship, recovered from a river bottom and on display. 

Visit: Fredericksburg Battlefield, VA

When President Abraham Lincoln learned of the Union defeat at Fredericksburg in December 1862, he responded, “If there is a place worse than hell, I’m in it.” Lincoln’s horror was understandable. At Fredericksburg Confederate General Robert E. Lee won one of his most decisive victories, inflicting massive casualties on the Union Army despite being heavily outnumbered. Almost a century and a half later, the Civil War Trust won a victory at Fredericksburg almost as decisive, successfully preserving more than 200 acres of hallowed ground at the Slaughter Pen Farm. Thanks to the efforts of the Trust, visitors can follow the Union’s attack on Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia from beginning to end.

Visit: Yorktown Battlefield, VA

On October 19, 1781 at Yorktown, Virginia, General George Washington shocked the world when he secured the surrender of British General Charles Lord Cornwallis . While the war that started at Lexington and Concord in 1775 would officially continue until the signing of the war-ending Treaty of Paris in 1783, the decisive victory of the Americans and their French allies at Yorktown ensured the success of the United States’ movement for independence. Today, visitors to Colonial National Park can see with their own eyes the site of Washington’s most decisive victory.

Visit: Lexington & Concord Battlefield, MA

Early on the morning of April 19, 1775 a shot rang out in Lexington, Massachusetts. While historians do not know who fired that shot, its significance cannot be over overstated. Not only did the shot fired at Lexington inaugurate a day of combat that would ultimately claim 122 lives, but it also ignited a war that forever changed the world, bringing into existence a nation dedicated to the proposition that all human beings are equal. Today, visitors to Minute Man National Historic Park can discover the story of the Battles of Lexington and Concord and walk in the footsteps of men who changed the world. 

Resources for Historic Sites and Tourism Entities

According to the National Park Service, more than 109 million people visited historic sites within the National Park System in 2018 – a powerful illustration of how significant heritage tourism can be for surrounding communities. The American Battlefield Trust strives to help promote the unique benefits of visiting historic sites and showcase how these exceptional resources can form pillars of local and regional tourism infrastructure.

In some cases, the Trust may be able to provide its historic and educational resources to battlefield parks, historic sites, museums and other relevant entities – such as regional tourism bodies – for use with appropriate copyright attribution and credit. This may include Trust-produced videos and Animated Maps, economic impact studies, battle maps, photographs and articles. Please inquire about your intended use and how the Trust can support your mission. Please let us know how the Trust can support your mission with its unique content. Email  Director of Communications, Mary Koik , to find out more

Featured Events & Sites to Visit

Traveling Exhibition at the McDuffie Museum

Minute Man National Historical Park

Traveling exhibition at the chennault aviation and military museum, traveling exhibition at the schmidt house, traveling exhibition at the old state house, fort dickerson park, featured virtual tours.

Antietam Virtual Tour

Bentonville Virtual Tour

Gettysburg Virtual Tour

Tools for visiting battlefields.

• Mobile Apps »
• Saved Land »

Explore the Wars

Road to Freedom

Gettysburg AR Experience

Cold Harbor Virtual Tour

Make Some History This Weekend in Saratoga

South Mountain Virtual Tour

[email protected]

Operation Market Garden Highlights Battlefield Tour

In this full-day Market Garden highlights battlefield tour, we are going to look at the locations where the operation was decided. This tour is a good option if you only have one day available and want to see as much of the area as you can. That also means that it is a “light version” so all location visits will be shorter and there is a lot of driving involved.

After picking you up we will drive to the drop and landing zones near Son en Breugel in the 101st Airborne sector where the tour begins with some footage and pictures of of the landing. Then we’ll be off to the Son bridge, the first objective of the 506th Parachute Infantry. From there we will head north generally following 30 corps’ route and our next stop will be the battle of Koevering, just south of Veghel. This is where the Germans cut the corridor and blocked it for over 40 hours, it proved to be a fatal blow to the operation.

We will then leave the 101st Airborne area and move north towards the 82nd Airborne sector and visit the Grave bridge the only bridge that was to be taken by a “coup-de-main” assault. After a visit to the Jonkerbosch GWGC Military Cemetery we will visit the location where the heroic crossing of the Waal river took place. This was done in broad daylight and the paratroopers rowed across the river in canvas boats under murderous German fire to secure a bridgehead and attack the nearby bridges from the north. We’ll then visit the Nijmegen road bridge which was captured in a combined assault with American paratroopers and British tanks and infantry.

Our final destination is the 1st Airborne sector in Arnhem where we will visit the road bridge. There we will talk about how the north end of the bridge was captured by John Frost and his men. We will discuss their defensive positions and the German attacks which lead to their eventual defeat.

Tour itinerary

101st Airborne sector:

• Son Drop & Landing Zones
• Koevering battle, where the Germans cut the road

82nd Airborne sector:

• Grave bridge
• Jonkerbosch CWGC Cemetery
• Waal crossing
• Nijmegen bridge

1st Airborne sector:

• Arnhem bridge

This tour is available in English and in Dutch.

We have a flat fee price for our tours:

• Price for a full day private tour for 1 to 4 persons including transportation is €450.
• For 5-8 persons I have to charge €620 to cover the rent of a large minivan.
• Lunch is not included in the price.
• For a group of more than 4 persons please visit my Groups page

Book this tour now

My name is Joris Nieuwint and I will be your tour guide! Please allow me to introduce myself and tell you a little bit about what I've been doing over the past years. For the past 10 years I've been living in Veghel, and before that, I've lived in Arnhem for almost two decades. Living so close to the battlefields meant that Operation Market Garden always had my interest and I've been studying the battles for all those years. Sharing what I've learned over the years has been my passion and becoming a tour guide was one of my dreams. Keeping the sacrifices of these men alive by telling their stories and showing the locations where it happened is my greatest passion.

Related Posts

Arnhem – Highlights (4 Hours) – Battlefield Tour

Battle for the Belgian Canals

XXX Corps Breakout Battlefield Tour

21st August 2017

We're recruiting for Battlefield Tour Guides

We're very excited to begin our recruitment campaign to find brilliant new guides to lead our WW1 Battlefield Tours.

A passion for history is an absolute must. Full training, with lots of perks, provided. Head over to our vacancy page to read the full details.

What our customers think

"a very interesting and moving experience leaving us all with much to think about and remember.".

The variety of the visits and the personal stories made it even more memorable. the supporting materials of appropriate videos, songs and information booklets made us realise that much thought and preparation and enthusiasm had gone into the planning and execution of our Battlefields experience. Thank you very much.

Mrs Shiela Allan, The WWI Battlefield Experience,

Awards we've won

Proudly the longest running Battlefield Tour operations in Canada - having escorted Canadian Veterans & their families for over 30 years

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The Battlefield Tours Collaborations

*CELEBRATING BATTLEFIELD COMMUNITY*

Livestreams  -  zoom calls  -  interviews  -  presentations  -  talks  -  webinars.

Photograph taken by Battlefield Tours Ops Sam Cowan on the road between Dieppe & Amiens [May 2019] 

Head Battlefield Tours Guide Glenn Edmonds

Small group tours with  a big story to share

With small group tours like these, there's a big story to tell.  The Battlefield Tours of Canada offers open talks, livestreams, zoom town halls, & encourages collaboration at every turn.

Strengthen your perspective, your connection to place, your connection to community, and perhaps, you'll see why the tours we take around the world, benefit.

If you're a travel agent, tour operator, or other organization click here to learn how you can collaborate with us

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Battlefield Tourism & Travel Agents (Wheelsup)

[email protected], 1-877-449-4652.