The Gallipoli Association May 2024 Battlefield Tour

During 2024 the GA, in association with Battle Honours, will be running a battlefield tour along the same lines as last year. This will take the format of a 'Walking Gallipoli' (newbies to Gallipoli) and a 'Hidden Gallipoli' (designed for those who want to explore more of this amazingly preserved battlefield). 

To enquire or to reserve a space, please email: [email protected]

Cost:

• £1,725 with flights 
• £1,525 non-flight option   
  • Deposit £300.00
  • Single Supplement £150.00

Walks:

The tours offer a series of walks designed to cover not only the highlights of the campaign, but also some of the more obscure actions, events and sometimes more remote parts of Gallipoli. The tours are conducted at a relaxed pace and with scope to visit spots not offered on other tour itineraries. We feel the tours offers the most comprehensive tour available to Gallipoli, as part of a like-minded intimate group to reach seldom visited spots via mule tracks, dried up gullies and quiet beaches. The distances are not excessive, our average day involves around 6 miles over undulating ground but at a pace to suit the needs of the group, if you have any concerns, please feel free to give us a call.

Accommodation:

We will stay in a charming Canakkale boutique hotel with well-equipped rooms: A/C, TV, en-suite bathrooms and bar facilities. Bed and Breakfast basis, with packed or cafe lunches included. Evening meals are not included.  

‘Walking Gallipoli’ Tour Itinerary

5 May 2024: Flights from London to Istanbul; transfer to Gallipoli.

6 May 2024: Helles – Starting at W Beach, Cape Helles. We see the cemeteries of Lancashire Landing and V Beach. Crossing the fields around Hunter-Weston Hill we arrive at the magnificent Helles memorial to the missing. We then visit Sedd el Bahr where the substantial Turkish defences awaited the men assaulting from the famous River Clyde. In the afternoon we visit the isolated grave of Lt-Col Doughty-Wylie VC we walk goes “up the line” along the weather-beaten Gully Ravine to Pink Farm allowing us to visit spots that once housed over-burdened Field Ambulances and countless billets in its shelter, alongside wells sunk by the Engineers to quench the parched thirst of the troops.

7 May 2024: Anzac – A boat trip around the Anzac Cove is undertaken before we land and walk from the stunning Beach Cemetery to the high ground of Lone Pine. Here the AIF stormed ashore and scrambled past the “Sphinx” to breach the Turkish lines. After an optional climb to Plugges Plateau, we ascend Boltons Ridge via Shell Green, where the briefest of cricket matches was played under fire ending at the Lone Pine Memorial with its breath-taking views over the Aegean. In the afternoon we cling to the cliffs above the beaches, we chart the frontline held by Anzac troops. Intimate burial spots at Parade Ground Cemetery and Johnston’s Jolly join preserved trenches and memorials named after courageous and colourful Australian characters. We finish at the tragic site of the attack by the Australian Light Horse on The Nek.

8 May 2024: North Anzac - A beautiful walk in the remote area of North Anzac. Leaving Embarkation Cemetery, we follow the path of Monash’s brigade through the notorious Taylor’s Gap and into Agyhl Dere. From there we ascend onto Damakjelik Spur, passing Australia Valley, before ending the day studying the actions of Hill 60. In the afternoon we have a spectacular walk from the heights of Chunuk Bair to the beaches below. Focusing on Kiwi forces and New Army troops we follow their battle along the Rhododendron Ridge. This walk is on steep, mountainous terrain along a winding trail and is not for the faint hearted but enormously rewarding. We end the day with an optional dip in the Aegean Sea so do not forget your trunks.

9 May 2024: Suvla - Starting at Nibrunesi Points we follow the initial landings of the new Army Troops as they assaulted up Lala Baba and approached the Salt Lakes and beyond. We then explore Scimitar Hill and Green Hill as we look at the last great attack of the Gallipoli Campaign. In the afternoon after a stop at Chocolate and Green Hills, we spend the afternoon looking at the ill-fated Suvla landings in August 1915. Our walk begins on the beach before passing Hill 10 and following in the footsteps of the 5th Norfolk’s and uncover the true story behind the vanishing battalion.

10 May 2024: Return to London via Istanbul.

‘Hidden Gallipoli’ Tour Itinerary

5 May 2024: Flights from London to Istanbul; transfer to Gallipoli.

6 May 2024: 'Helles and the French Landings' across the ground from the French national cemetery through their battlefields, this is a walk exploring the often overlooked French front, complex terrain and hidden trenches, dugouts reveal themselves as we hear about the vicious fighting in this sector. Then we spend the afternoon walking across the Royal Naval Division and 52nd Lowland Division areas from May to December 1915. Along dried up Nullahs and Wadis we visit a number of locations so well known to the men of the campaign including Romano's Well, Skew Bridge, Piccadilly Circus and relate the ground to a number of anecdotes from contemporary memoirs of the campaign. A stop at a local winery completes our day.    

7 May 2024: 'Anzac and Beyond' begins at The Nek and follows the Anzac Ridge, passing the Mesudiye Gun positions, uncovered trenches on Baby 700 and a number of Turkish memorials and cemeteries before descending down to the Apex and isolated Farm position with its remote Cemetery. We then climb onto Chunuk Bair to study the New Zealand assault and subsequent Turkish counter attack over this key position. In the afternoon we return to the ground dominated by Battleship Hill, we explore the furthest limit of Anzac exploitation on to the Third Ridge, an intriguing area of the battlefield that affords a tantalising glimpse across the Dardanelles       

8 May 2024: Today we visit Kum Kale and the landings of the French forces on the Asian side of the Dardenelles, from their original landing spot we will also visit the sites of a number of Royal Naval/Marine landing parties prior to the 18th March attempt to force the Dardanelles. The day is completed with visits to a number of Ottoman coastal forts and batteries before checking into the Troia Tuscan hotel, set in its own grounds with far reaching views over the entrance to the Dardanelles, this was once the location for a British Hospital during the Crimean War.  

9 May 2024: Tenedos Visit - This offers the unique chance to visit the island of Tenedos, this island played a key role in the Dardanelles Campaign, providing a scene for conferences held by both Admiral De Roebeck and Admiral Carden. With spectacular views of the Peninsula and Rabbit Island, it served as a vital supply base, aerodrome, and there is the castle and hospital site where a Mrs Doughty-Wylie once frequented. It is also on this small island where Captain Samson, Royal Naval Air Service, one flew reconnaissance and bombing raids over the Peninsula.

10 May 2024: Return to London via Istanbul.

To enquire or to reserve a space, please email: [email protected]

Photograph: A wrecked 'Horse' Lighter on W Beach, Lancashire Landing.

Photograph: A 'Gully Ravine' hero - Second Lieutenant A V Smith VC, the last Victoria Cross to be won on the Peninsula. 

Photograph: Anzac 

Photograph: Walking Gully Ravine

Photograph: Gallipoli Association and Battle Honours group walking via Shell Green to Lone Pine.

Come and join us, members, families, friends and the general public are all welcome. Book soon!