WW2 Extended Sights Tour 31 May – 6 June 2015
The Group at St Mere Eglise – another fab tour with a great bunch of guests
“Hi John & Jen, for me the tour was a perfect mix of motorcycling and WW2 history, with good food, comfortable hotels and fine company. The organisation was hard to fault. I thought that the choice of places visited was excellent. I doubt that I would have visited St Nazaire or Oradour without this tour. I’ve already recommended this tour to my friends and fellow members of the PEMC. Please keep up the great work!” Mike Cook, 1st tour, Harley Davidson Sportster 1200
“Hi John and Jen, many thanks for another superb trip, your tours always do exactly what you say they will do. Again, many thanks” Keith Bowen, 3rd tour, BMW F700 GS
Our first visit – the Grand Bunker at Ouistreham
“Bonjour John & Jen, I would like to thank you both for a wonderful time, as I said it was Brilliantly Good ( just for you John), and thank you so much for looking after me so well…the Tour was outstanding and I will wear my T Shirt with pride and help spread the gospel of BN Tours to all my mates at the British Legion and elsewhere. You are both Lovely Lovely people – too generous. I will hopefully see you again next year so get the tablets ready Jen! I wish you all the best and hope your Business keeps being a great success that you both deserve. Love “Horrible Horace”!” Mike “Horace” Barrett, 1st tour, Honda Goldwing
“Hi Jen and John, just wanted to say how much I enjoyed the tour. Well researched roads and hotels, well timed coffee/fuel stops and well chosen lunch stops. My thanks also to” Pancake and Dennis” our back markers. As always with BN Tours “satisfaction guaranteed”. You can be sure Parker, Pete (who couldn’t make it this time), and I will be back in 2016.” Chris Martin, 6th visit, Suzuki V-Strom 650
 Alan R is ready for battle! |
 Study the detail of Operation Overlord
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“Hi John and Jen, we just wanted to say how much we enjoyed the World War II tour. It is evident that you have both taken lots of time to research everything to make the tour run smoothly. All the fuel stops, coffee breaks, lunch stops and hotels have been carefully chosen, so all we had to do as rider and pillion was jump on the bike and enjoy the day! The hotels were a combination of traditional through to the modern 4*, so basically we got a good mix of everything. Every day we had places and sites to visit but it never felt as though we were being rushed. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and it was lovely to be able to share our experiences on the tour with a great group of people. We can understand why you gets so much repeat business – well done to you both, and we are looking forward to our next tour in July!” Martin (“Pancake!”) & Denise White (3rd tour as back-markers), Triumph Explorer
Operation Overlord
 “Yes Mi Lady?” !! |
 Loads to see inside the Bunker |
 Craig with the Range Finder |
 David J takes a look |
 Mike goes next |
 A briefing before our next visit at Pegasus Bridge |
“Many thanks for such a well-organised tour. Made it home OK after staying at the worst hotel ever on the way home…a complete contrast to the excellent hotels on the tour in France! Eyes glazed over a bit when I saw the tour photos and remembered there are still some nice people in this world! Once again – THANKS for everything, your competence was most welcome and re-assuring.” Tony Surridge, 1st tour, Kawasaki Z1000 XZ
The Group at Pegasus Bridge
 Hear the history from an English-speaking guide |
 See the original Pegasus Bridge |
 Hear why the Bridge was replaced |
 See an original Horsa Glider |
 Coffee at Pegasus Bridge |
 The bikes lined up at Arromanches |
 See the Gun Battery at Longues-sur-Mer |
 we then visit the American Cemetery |
 Drinks before dinner at Bayeux |
 Dinner is included our first night at Bayeux |
 Bikes lined up outside our Hotel |
 Day two – our first visit is the German Cemetery |
 Chris N at the German Cemetery |
 Ready for the off! |
 Eddie in the lead |
 Our back-markers Martin & Denise |
 Next we visit La Pointe du Hoc |
 Eddie & Chris N hide in a Bunker |
 Tristan & Alan R on the cliff the US Rangers scaled |
 Paul “Parker” & Alan D |
 “Does my hair look OK?” |
 St Mere Eglise where parachutist John Steele landed |
 Ice creams after lunch |
 Inside the Airborne Museum |
 David J & Martin |
 “Horace” checks out the badges |
 The fuselage experience inside “Neptune” |
 Imagine being a parachutist |
 Denise gets ready to jump! |
 As does Horace |
 See an original C-47 airplane |
 The C-47 airplane also towed a Horsa Glider |
Airborne Museum at Sainte Mere Eglise
 Drinks on the terrace at Bayeux |
 More drinks… |
 David J tries snails !
 Denise is not too sure… |
 As does Craig
 Not a happy face Martin ! |
 Time to visit the Bayeux Tapestry |
 Get in before the crowds arrive ! |
 The next day Jen’s in the lead |
 David C on his Honda NT700 VA |
 Alan R on his Honda NC 750 |
 David J on his Triumph Bonneville Scrambler |
 Alan D on his Triumph Bonneville Scrambler |
 Keith on his BMW F800 GS |
 Steve on his BMW 1200 GS Adventurer |
 Always a morning briefing |
The Group at the U-boat pens at St Nazaire
 We visit the Espadon submarine |
 David C on board the submarine |
 David J on board |
 Denise with “Parker” |
 Martin with Alan R |
 Torpedo bay |
We re-group before arriving at La Rochelle
 Big Wheel outside our hotel |
 The harbour at La Rochelle |
 Explore the ramparts around the town |
 Plenty of restaurants in the back streets |
 La Rochelle harbour by night |
 La Rochelle by night |
 Fields of poppies the next day |
 Lovely tree-lined roads |
 At coffee Steve buys a camera ! |
 Pretty village stops |
 Craig on his Triumph Tiger Sport |
 Tony on his Kawasaki Z1000 SX |
 Stunning lunch stops |
 “Horace” on his Honda Goldwing |
 Chris N on his BMW 1200 GS |
 Chris M – V-Strom 650 & Parker – Bonneville |
 We visit the martyr village Oradour sur Glane |
 Oradour left standing as in 1944 |
 The women & children were burned in the Church |
 A total of 642 were massacred |
In Memory of those who were killed
Oradour sur Glane
 Ice creams all round |
 Coconut mat for £1 or 50p with a hole !! |
 Eddie on his BMW 1600 GT Sport |
 Tristan on his Kawasaki ZZR 1200 |
 Eddie braves the hotel swimming pool |
 And so does Jen |
 Seen outside our Hotel |
 Drinks before dinner |
 Parker, Tony & Keith |
 Chris M, Alan D & Mike |
 Horace, Alan R, Tristan, Chris N, Eddie & Steve |
 Craig, Denise, Martin & David J |
 Dinner at our hotel |
 Parker & Keith – dressed for dinner ! |
 Coffee break in 34C temperatures |
 Mike on his Harley Davidson Sportster 1200 |
We visit the Saumur Tank Museum
 Tony |
 Craig |
 Denise takes aim at “Pancake” !! |
 Chris N next to a Tiger 1 |
 Kettenkrad half-tracked motorcycle |
 Car that folds away into a suitcase !! |
 Eddie on his new bike – an ACMA TAP |
 Keith by a Sherman M4 |
 French Pluton Nuclear Missile Carrier |
 Steve by an AMX 30 EBD Mine Clearer |
 Major Eddie with Gunner Alan by their Chieftain |
 Steve wishes he hadn’t climbed in ! |
 Eddie in the kids play area ! |
 Parker in charge ! |
 Chris M & Parker |
 The new BN European Tours Support Vehicle ! |
 Our final Hotel at Le Mans |
 Bike parking |
 Drinks before dinner |
 Warm enough outside |
 Our Last Supper in a local restaurant |
 David J offers some words of thanks |
 Breakfast area in the Hotel |
 Our final morning briefing |
Our final visit – the Memorial at Montormel overlooking the Falaise Gap
We finish the Tour with a pic-nic at Montormel before returning to catch the ferry at Caen. Thanks to a great bunch of guests for making this a really enjoyable tour, good weather & good riding too. We hope to see many of you again in the future. John & Jen.