The Western Front Expedition | London to Paris on foot, Autumn 2014

World War I : 1914–1918

"The war to end all wars"

700 miles in 57 stages. 5 September–31 October 2014.

A walk from London to Paris via the battlefields of The Western Front.

If you would like to take part in one or more stages,
RSVP to westernfront@englishcountrywalks.com.

ItineraryLondon to Paris, 1127km/700mi^

Week Dates Theme Route Distance
1 Fri 5 Sep – Thu 11 Sep London and the Thames Defences London – Rochester 111km/69mi
2 Fri 12 Sep – Fri 19 Sep The Kent Coast Rochester – Dover 132km/82mi
3 Sat 20 Sep – Sat 27 Sep In Flanders Fields Dover – Ypres 147km/91mi
4 Sun 28 Sep – Sat 4 Oct Lille and the Mines of the North Ypres – Lens 137km/85mi
5 Sun 5 Oct – Fri 10 Oct Artois and the Somme Lens – Péronne 129km/80mi
6 Sat 11 Oct – Fri 17 Oct Operation Michael Péronne – Soissons 140km/87mi
7 Sat 18 Oct – Fri 24 Oct The Battles of the Aisne Soissons – Château-Thierry 169km/105mi
8 Sat 25 Oct – Fri 31 Oct The Marne and Île-de-France Château-Thierry – Paris 163km/102mi

Week 1: London and the Thames DefencesLondon to Rochester, 111km/69mi^

Stage Date Theme Start Finish Distance
1 Fri 5 Sep The Tomb of the Unknown Warrior Imperial War Museum Westminster Abbey 3.7km/2.3mi
2 Sat 6 Sep Monuments and Memorials Westminster Abbey Drury Lane 10.3km/6.4mi
3 Sun 7 Sep Death from Above: The Zeppelin Raids Drury Lane Greenwich 14.3km/8.9mi
4 Mon 8 Sep Woolwich Royal Arsenal Greenwich Abbey Wood 18.5km/11.5mi
5 Tue 9 Sep Lesnes Abbey and the Thames Reaches Abbey Wood Swanscombe 22.0km/13.7mi
6 Wed 10 Sep Afternoon at the Explosives Factory Swanscombe Cooling 21.0km/13.0mi
7 Thu 11 Sep The Wreck of UB-122 Cooling Rochester 21.5km/13.4mi

Week 2: The Kent CoastRochester to Dover, 132km/82mi^

Stage Date Theme Start Finish Distance
8 Fri 12 Sep HMNB Chatham: The Royal Navy Dockyard Rochester Upchurch 14.0km/8.7mi
9 Sat 13 Sep Sheppey and the Swale Upchurch Tonge 24.0km/14.9mi
10 Sun 14 Sep Faversham and the Battle of Graveney Marsh Tonge Seasalter 22.0km/13.7mi
11 Mon 15 Sep The Oyster Beds of Whitstable Seasalter Reculver 15.5km/9.6mi
12 Tue 16 Sep The Thirty-Nine Steps Reculver Broadstairs 20.0km/12.4mi
13 Wed 17 Sep Sandwich Bay and the Saxon Landings Broadstairs Deal 22.5km/14.0mi
14 Thu 18 Sep The White Cliffs of Dover Deal Dover 13.5km/8.4mi
15 Fri 19 Sep The Tranquil Bay: Prelude to War Dover Dover 0.0km/0.0mi

Week 3: In Flanders FieldsDover to Ypres, 147km/91mi^

Stage Date Theme Start Finish Distance
16 Sat 20 Sep A Seaside Citadel Dover Gravelines 13.6km/8.5mi
17 Sun 21 Sep Lowland Flanders: The River Aa Gravelines Watten 19.5km/12.1mi
18 Mon 22 Sep Birthplace of the Royal Air Force Watten Saint-Omer 18.7km/11.6mi
19 Tue 23 Sep The Hilltop Stronghold of Marshal Foch Saint-Omer Cassel 26.3km/16.3mi
20 Wed 24 Sep Through the Mountains of Flanders Cassel Bœschepe 23.1km/14.4mi
21 Thu 25 Sep The Ossuary of Kemmelberg Bœschepe Kemmel 25.2km/15.7mi
22 Fri 26 Sep The Ypres Salient Kemmel Ypres 20.3km/12.6mi
23 Sat 27 Sep Last Post at the Menin Gate Ypres Ypres 0.0km/0.0mi

Week 4: Lille and the Mines of the NorthYpres to Lens, 137km/85mi^

Stage Date Theme Start Finish Distance
24 Sun 28 Sep Polygon Wood and the Battle of Gheluvelt Ypres Wervik 22.1km/13.7mi
25 Mon 29 Sep Museum of the Resistance Wervik Bondues 22.6km/14.0mi
26 Tue 30 Sep The Juniper Distillery Bondues Lille 16.7km/10.4mi
27 Wed 1 Oct A Phoenix from the Ashes Lille Lille 0.0km/0.0mi
28 Thu 2 Oct Origins of the Magna Carta Lille Bouvines 22.8km/14.2mi
29 Fri 3 Oct The Forest of Phalempin Bouvines Mons-en-Pévèle 27.5km/17.1mi
30 Sat 4 Oct Coal, Canals, and the Louvre-Lens Mons-en-Pévèle Lens 25.5km/15.8mi

Week 5: Artois and the SommeLens to Péronne, 129km/80mi^

Stage Date Theme Start Finish Distance
31 Sun 5 Oct Vimy Ridge and the Battle of Lorette Lens Ablain-Saint-Nazaire 17.7km/11.0mi
32 Mon 6 Oct Valley of the Scarpe Ablain-Saint-Nazaire Arras 21.0km/13.0mi
33 Tue 7 Oct The Tunnel Companies Arras Arras 0.0km/0.0mi
34 Wed 8 Oct The Farmlands of Artois Arras Bapaume 27.3km/17.0mi
35 Thu 9 Oct The Schwaben Redoubt Bapaume Albert 28.6km/17.8mi
36 Fri 10 Oct The Battle of the Somme Albert Péronne 34.5km/21.4mi

Week 6: Operation MichaelPéronne to Soissons, 140km/87mi^

Stage Date Theme Start Finish Distance
37 Sat 11 Oct The Prison of Jeanne d'Arc Péronne Beaurevoir 33.1km/20.6mi
38 Sun 12 Oct On the Hindenburg Line Beaurevoir Saint-Quentin 26.4km/16.4mi
39 Mon 13 Oct Capital of the Viromandui Saint-Quentin Saint-Quentin 0.0km/0.0mi
40 Tue 14 Oct Into the Valley of the Oise Saint-Quentin La Fère 34.2km/21.3mi
41 Wed 15 Oct The Forest of Saint-Gobain La Fère Coucy-le-Château-Auffrique 24.2km/15.0mi
42 Thu 16 Oct Brunhilda's Way Coucy-le-Château-Auffrique Soissons 22.3km/13.9mi
43 Fri 17 Oct The City of Saint Crispin Soissons Soissons 0.0km/0.0mi

Week 7: The Battles of the AisneSoissons to Château-Thierry, 169km/105mi^

Stage Date Theme Start Finish Distance
44 Sat 18 Oct Safe in the Labyrinth Soissons Vailly-sur-Aisne 29.4km/18.3mi
45 Sun 19 Oct The Cave of the Dragon Vailly-sur-Aisne Craonnelle 25.6km/15.9mi
46 Mon 20 Oct Stormtroopers and Flamethrowers Craonnelle Fismes 32.0km/19.9mi
47 Tue 21 Oct The Forests of Picardy Fismes Fère-en-Tardenois 26.1km/16.2mi
48 Wed 22 Oct Headwaters of the Ourcq Fère-en-Tardenois Neuilly-Saint-Front 28.9km/18.0mi
49 Thu 23 Oct The Forgotten Soldier of Torcy Neuilly-Saint-Front Château-Thierry 26.7km/16.6mi
50 Fri 24 Oct General Pershing's Army Château-Thierry Château-Thierry 0.0km/0.0mi

Week 8: The Marne and Île-de-FranceChâteau-Thierry to Paris, 163km/102mi^

Stage Date Theme Start Finish Distance
51 Sat 25 Oct The Schlieffen Plan Crumbles Château-Thierry Charly-sur-Marne 15.5km/9.6mi
52 Sun 26 Oct The Grindstone Capital Charly-sur-Marne La Ferté-sous-Jouarre 27.5km/17.1mi
53 Mon 27 Oct Miracle on the Marne La Ferté-sous-Jouarre Meaux 33.3km/20.7mi
54 Tue 28 Oct Brie and Braille Meaux Thorigny-sur-Marne 26.8km/16.7mi
55 Wed 29 Oct The Aqueduct Route Thorigny-sur-Marne Champs-sur-Marne 27.2km/16.9mi
56 Thu 30 Oct Bois de Vincennes: The Eastern Gates Champs-sur-Marne Charenton-le-Pont 18.5km/11.5mi
57 Fri 31 Oct Rendezvous at The Eternal Flame Charenton-le-Pont The Arc de Triomphe 13.8km/8.6mi

For more information, RSVP to westernfront@englishcountrywalks.com

Concept, design and content © David Wenk 2007-2014.