Travelling Historian's Guide To France

This fascinating and practical guide to touring France brings to life the realities of Anglo-French history, from the Crusades and Hundred Year's War to the First and Second World Wars. It takes in the famous Road to Compostela from Le Puy to the Pyrenees, covers the campaign trails and battles of Crecy, Poitiers and Agincourt, and explores the historic provinces of Burgundy, Brittany, the Ile-de-France and the Loire Valley.... places renowned for the beauty and character of their landscapes, chateaux, food and wine. Insightful descriptions of events on the ground take the traveller across First World War battlefields, including the Somme and Verdun, and along D-Day beaches where the British, Canadian and American armies landed in 1944 and battled their way into Normandy, changing the shape of the Second World War. Complete with maps, practical information and a list of recommended books to read before you go, each of the 21 tours can be made by car (and some by bicycle) and includes a visit to a battlefield, museum, castle, memorial or some other relic of the ancient or recent past. History will be brought to life as the traveller follows the Black Prince's campaign from Bordeaux to the Loire and the battlefield of Poitiers; takes Henry V's route from Harfleur to Agincourt and then walks across the muddy fields from the first English position to the line from which Henry's archers finally engaged the French host; or tours the D-Day beaches with a grasp of the purpose of Operation Overlord. As well, these tours reveal places to which the average tourist might never go.Neillands, Robin is the author of 'Travelling Historian's Guide To France', published 2004 under ISBN 9781861056207 and ISBN 1861056206.