Tour 102 / Operation Belgian Beer: Beer and WW2 in Antwerp Province

Wednesday 14 September – Monday 19 September 2022

This is a brilliant brand new and unique Tour and explores Antwerp province with regard to beer and the WW2 bridgeheads so vital to the prosecution of the war in September 1944. This is a five night, six day tour staying at the Hotel Corbie in the centre of the town of Geel - the eye of the storm which was the Battle of Geel fought in and around this Flemish town between 8-23rd September 1944 and was one of the largest and bloodiest battles during the Liberation of Belgium.

Your tour guide, Siobhan McGinn, is a specialist in Belgium and beer in the First World War but she has been inspired to design this Tour by one of Podge Tours regular travellers whose father was in the 15th (Scottish) Division in the Second World War and who took part in the Battle of Geel. He was wounded in September 1944 and returned to England. With access to published Battalion war diaries we can follow his actions. We also have unique access to photos, his dog-tags and personal army papers and family reminiscences which we can use to follow what happened to him, and other allied forces who were here in September 1944.

1944 Liberation Memorial, Meerhout - Spartan which we will visit

The 1944 Liberation Memorial, Meerhout, which we will visit.

We are based in Chelmsford Essex and we use Eurotunnel from Folkestone to get to and from Belgium in our UK hired coach. Most of our Travellers join the Tour at our main pick up point outside The Woolpack Pub, 23 Mildmay Road, Chelmsford CM2 0DN and most come from other parts of the UK, and some from further afield, especially USA. Lots of our Travellers stay the night before a Tour (and often the night of our return) at Chelmsford Travelodge only a few minutes walk from The Woolpack or at the Premier Inn near the Railway Station, about a 10 minute walk to the pick up point at The Woolpack. We all usually pop in to The Woolpack the night before departure for a meet, greet and a few beers with Siobhan who is your Tour Manager, Tour Guide and drinking pal for the duration.

Our Galloways luxury coach (49 seater coach with toilet) starts from Suffolk and on the way to Chelmsford picks up at the following if required:

Ipswich, Crown Street, IP1 3HS (opp. NCP Car Park)

Colchester, Southway, CO2 7BA (pull-in adjacent to Chapel Street South)

Chelmsford, The Woolpack, 23 Mildmay Road, CM2 0DN

Dartford, BP Garage (formerly Esso) 474 Princes Road, DA1 1YT. On the return leg we drop off at Dartford Railway Station DA1 1DR

Swanley, Unit 4, Moreton Industrial Estate, London Road, BR8 8DE

Maidstone Services J8, M20 Kent, ME17 1SS

Ashford (Eureka Leisure Park) Premier Inn, Eureka Leisure Park, Rutherford Rd, Ashford TN25 4BN

Stop 24 Services, J11, M20, Kent, CT21 4BL

Stationsplein, Adinkerke, Belgium

The detailed timed itinerary for this Tour is set out below. If you would like to join us please send Siobhan an email or call her on +44 (0) 7722 724 558 for details on how to secure a place and pay the full amount now due for this Tour, or if you have any questions about this Tour.

Detailed Tour Itinerary

Day 1 - Wednesday 14 September 2022

06.15hr Coach pick up at The Woolpack, 23 Mildmay Road, Chelmsford, Essex CM2 0DN.

07.50hr Coach pick up at Premier Inn Ashford Eureka Leisure Park, Rutherford Road, Ashford, Kent, TN25 4BN.

08.10hr Arrive Folkestone Eurotunnel.

09.20hr Eurotunnel Train crossing from Folkestone.

11.00hr Arrive Calais.

12.45hr Arrive at our first stop in glorious Belgium which is the Canada & Poland Second World War Museum, Adegem, East Flanders. This is a large museum* in beautiful grounds and has a café (and 13 beers) where we will have lunch and time to have an explore. Our tickets include three visits – The Canada War Museum, the Poland War Museum and the Gardens.

15.15hr Leave the Canada & Poland Second World War Museum in Adegem.

16.30hr Arrive at the Fortcafé 'De Batterie' in Puurs-Sint-Amands. This is a brilliant café/bar right inside the concrete edifice which is the historical Liezele Fort. Surely must get the award for the Best Fort Conversion into a Café bar. The café bar is located in the former engine room, where the electrical power for the fort was generated to provide electricity for the lighting, telephony and operation of the gun turrets. This Fort is the best preserved of the ring forts which surround Antwerp and was built in 1914 and is covered by a thick layer of earth and concrete. Fort Liezele withstood the ravages of two world wars. Today it is a historical gem located amid a natural preserve. It is closed for renovations and is due to open in Autumn 2022, so if its not open by the time of our Tour, we will have to satisfy ourselves with the lovely café bar. The bar counter is built on old packing cases. They have a choice of 55 bottled offerings including some lambic beers. They have an additional five on tap, and their pils is the nice Bel Pils from Duvel Moortgat, as the brewery is a stone’s throw away.

17.45hr Leave Fortcafé 'De Batterie' in Puurs-Sint-Amands.

18.45hr Arrive at our Hotel in Geel, Hotel Corbie. Our hotel is centrally located on the main square where in fact much fighting took place in September 1944 between the Germans and Allied forces, when the town changed hands several times. Travellers have the evening free to explore the cafes, bars and restaurants armed with Podge’s Geel Bar Guide and Map*. Geel, centre of the Battle of Geel September 1944 and our base at Hotel Corbie

Geel, centre of the Battle of Geel September 1944 and our base at Hotel Corbie.

Day 2 - Thursday 15 September 2022

10.00hr After a leisurely breakfast* we leave the hotel for a day following the Battle of Geel fought between 8 and 23 September 1944. We begin, where the British forces did, south of Geel at the first key crossing of the Albert Canal.

10.15hr We start at the bridge at Geel-Stelen, south of Geel. On 8 September 1944 the German side of the Canal was Kampfgruppe Dreyer of the 85th Infantry Division about to be reinforced with two Luftwaffe Regiments. The 50th (Northumbrian) Division took three hours to cross the Albert Canal and later that evening a bridgehead was established. The Germans counterattacked repeatedly but by the morning of the 9 September British armoured cars were able to cross over once a Bailey bridge had been constructed allowing Sherman tanks to cross by evening. These men then moved north and reached Geel, pushed the Germans out and were counterattacked and pushed back. They withdrew from the Geel bridgehead on 12 September and were relieved by the 15th (Scottish) Division, who retook Geel for the last time on 13 September. The 50th Division were part of the infamous XXX Corps involved a few days later in Operation Market Garden.

10.45hr Leave the bridge at Geel-Stelen.

10.50hr Arrive at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery in Stelen. The churchyard contains 34 Commonwealth burials of the Second World War. All the men buried in Stelen Churchyard died between 9-11 September 1944, during the fighting to establish a bridgehead across the Albert Canal and there is a memorial to the 50th (Northumbrian) Division here.

11.20hr Leave the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery in Stelen.

11.35hr We drive north, following the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and pay a visit to St Dympna Church to see the grave of local war heroine, "Fientje Geernckx". Siobhan will tell us about what she did to aid allied efforts here.

12.20hr Arrive at Geel Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery. Most of the casualties here are from the 15th (Scottish) Division and the 50th (Northumbrian) Division of the BEF who died in September 1944. We will also have a look at a little monument, all in Flemish, to honour Avro Lancaster Mk III JA691 61 Squadron RAF which was shot down near here in 1944.

13.00hr Leave Geel CWGC.

13.10hr Arrive for our lunch stop at the Bruegelhut, just outside Geel which is a lovely wooden pentagonal hut restaurant café in the countryside in a watery dyke area with lovely views. They have a selection of beers to accompany our group meal here and they offer classic Flemish food, so expect Flemish Stew and frites!

15.10hr Leave the Bruegelhut.

15.20hr Arrive at the village of Meerhout to visit a WW2 Liberation Memorial in commemoration of the liberation from German occupation of this town by the 2nd Battalion Gordon Highlanders on 13 September 1944. This memorial is not the more usual stone one, but is an actual military vehicle. It is a British armoured infantry vehicle FV103 Spartan. The town of Meerhout had requested an actual WW2 vehicle, a Bren Gun Carrier, from the Royal Museum of the Army and Military History in Brussels, but had to make do with a more modern version of this vehicle which dates to the 1970s. I have an ulterior motive in coming to Meerhout in the late afternoon which is to call in at the:

15.45hr Magazijn Café Bar, on the main square of the town. This is a lovely historical listed building is a former wine warehouse which went under the name of the Gouden Leeuw (Golden Lion), still proudly painted on the front of the building. They have a great beer list of nine choices on tap and over 80 bottled offerings. Look out for some from local brew firm Hoppug (yes, the logo features a pug).

16.50hr Leave the Magazijn in Meerhout.

17.20hr Arrive at our brewery visit for the day which is the lovely Brouwerij & Grand café Remise 56 in Koersel. This enterprise began in 2016 in a historic building which was the former depot for the steam trams and road buses in Koersel. 'Remise' is a another term for a depot in French. The number 56 refers to the house number! The building dates to 1907 and actually housed the steam locomotives and passenger carriages of the tram line from Diest to Koersel. In 1954 trams were replaced by a bus service, also kept here until 2001 when the buses too left. The building remained vacant until brew master and local man Patrick Haselaars took the place over and converted it to a brewery and modern/industrial-style Grand Café. Patrick had dreamed of having his own brewery for years and has worked for La Chouffe and Duvel Moortgat. Remise 56 is apparently the first and only brewery of its kind that runs entirely on green energy and 100% of the brewery energy consumption is green, generated from wind or solar power. It has a lovely industrial/modern café tasting room where Siobhan will get us all a beer* and we can have a bit of a rest. Remise 56 currently produce three beers. The Remise Triple is an 8.5% abv blonde which is unfiltered and unpasteurized. The Remise Double at 7.0%abv is dark with a caramel and coffee touch, also unfiltered and unpasteurized. They brew an unfiltered, naturally cloudy 5.6%abv 56 Superpils which they describe as ‘a lager as a lager is meant to be’.

18.50hr Leave Remise 56 Brewery & Grand Café in Koersel.

19.30hr Arrive back at our Hotel in Geel. Brewery Tap Remise 56, Beringen

Brewery Tap Remise 56, Beringen - we'll go for a beer tasting.

Day 3 - Friday 16 September 2022

10.00hr After a leisurely breakfast* we leave the hotel by coach.

Today we continue to follow the BEF and the Battle of Geel, northwards.

10.15hr Arrive at Ten Aard. During the night of 13 September the Germans, fearing encirclement, pulled back behind the Maas-Scheldt Canal in the village of Ten Aard. We will first have a look at the Belgian War Memorial in the village centre. We walk the short distance to the Maas-Schelde canal to see the 15th (Scottish) Divisional Memorial near to the bridge. What is interesting about this little stone memorial is that it is all in Flemish, clearly put here by the Flemish people rather than an ‘official’ Divisional memorial, as is more usual, in both world wars.

11.15hr Leave the village of Ten Aard.

11.30hr Arrive at Kasterlee Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery. We continue north to this beautiful place planted with pines and rhododendrons. There are 100 graves here, only three are unknown, very different to some of the First World War Cemeteries in Flanders. The men here were killed in the fierce fighting associated with the crossing of the Maas-Schelde Canal during the first three weeks of September 1944. The regiments represented by the largest numbers are The Royal Scots, The King's Own Scottish Borderers and The Royal Scots Fusiliers.

12.30hr Leave Kasterlee Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery.

12.45hr Next we make a stop at an interesting two-part memorial which each mark the spot of both a downed USA Douglas C-47 and a separate monument a few miles on for the glider it had in tow.

13.15hr Leave the Douglas to go a few miles north and follow the short onward route of its glider plane.

13.30hr Arrive at the Corsendonk Priory at Oud-Turnhout. Here we will have a look at the monument to USA Waco CG-4 troop transport glider. The glider managed to cut loose from the Douglas and made an emergency landing at Corsendonk Priory in Oud-Turnhout. On board the Waco were five men from the 101st Airborne Division. They were hidden from the enemy by the inhabitants of Corsendonk. This monument, outside the Priory Corsendonk Hotel was unveiled in September 2017, by the municipality of Oud-Turnhout. We will have lunch at the lovely Corsendonks Hof Restaurant, right opposite where the Waco glider made the emergency landing. The Priory of Corsendonk in Oud-Turnhout was in operation from 1398 to 1784. It was rebuilt in 1968 as a hotel. Corsendonk beer was launched in 1982, on the 125th anniversary of the Oud-Turnhout municipality and is now brewed by du Bocq brewery in Wallonia. Here you will get the opportunity to try one or two of their beers, with lunch. They offer the full range of Corsendonk beers amongst their 20 beer choices.

16.00hr Leave the Corsendonks Hof Restaurant in Oud-Turnhout, to make our way to our last (brewery) stop of the day in the town of Turnhout.

17.20hr We arrive in Turnhout for a brewery tour* and beer tasting* at the excellent Het Nest Brouwerij. Their beers are themed around playing cards, as Turnhout is a world centre for playing card production. Their brews include:

HertenHeer (King of Hearts) a blonde at 4,8%abv.

PokerFace – a wheat beer of 5,5%abv.

KoekeDam (Queen of Diamonds) a saison-style beer of 6,5% abv.

SchuppenAas (Ace of Spades). Blonde, with Brettanomyces Yeast- 6,5%abv.

SchuppenBoer (Jack of Spades) a Tripel-style at 8,0%abv.

Schuppenboer (Jack of Spades) whisky barrel aged at 8,0%abv.

KlevereTien (Ten of Spades) a black beer, spicy with a touch of liquorice and star anise, caramel and dark fruit. 10,0%abv.

19.00hr Leave Het Nest in the playing-card-production capital, Turnhout.

19.30hr Arrive back in Geel for a big rest or a big night out. We can drop people off at the brilliant Kelderke Cafe near the rail Station in Geel. They have a whopping 200+ beer choices, with Tripels as the house speciality. And they are open tonight until 03.00hrs. It’s an 11 minute walk down a straight road to the hotel! Second World War Bailey Bridge at Mol

Second World War Bailey Bridge at Mol.

Day 4 - Saturday 17 September 2022

10.00hr After a leisurely breakfast* we leave the hotel by coach.

10.15hr Arrive at the Van Baelen Prik & Tik Beer shop and warehouse in Geel. This is an opportunity to take some of your favourite Belgian beers home (having regard to the new inbound UK controls). They have a choice of over 800 Belgian and foreign beers and have an attached café next door for those who don’t want to buy beers, so you can have a rest and a beer or two there. The road the beer warehouse is on is the one along which the BEF in this area took in the next phase of the Battle of Geel, which we will continue following today.

11.30hr Leave Van Baelen Prik & Tik Beer shop and warehouse in Geel.

11.45hr Arrive at the Three Man 6th Battalion King’s Own Scottish Borderers Memorial at Blokstraat/Retibaan. We then cross the bridge over the canal on foot to have a refreshment stop at Café Sas 7. There are nine cafes along this canal all called SAS and numbered 1 to 9. Sas means ‘lock’ in Flemish.

12.45hr Leave Sas 7.

13.15hr Arrive at Mol to see a rare survivor, an original Bailey Bridge from the Second World War. Siobhan will tell us about the action here and about the invention of the Bailey Bridge and will show us the foundations of the original bridge it replaced. Amazing it is still standing and used after almost 80 years. Many have been replaced, but this Meccano bridge still stands.

We will stop here for lunch at a boat-restaurant moored in the canal, the Kleppende Klipper which is a boat restaurant where we will have lunch and a beer. You’ll see a lot of Postel beer hereabouts as we are close to the Postel Abbey, so you might like to try one here.

16.30hr Leave Mol to follow the BEF east to Joes’s Bridge at Lommel.

17.00hr Arrive at Joe’s Bridge in Lommel. This is a bridge which is still named after Lieutenant-Colonel John Ormsby Evelyn Vandeleur, commander 3rd Battalion Irish Guards, for his part here in leading the breakout of XXX corps in Operation Market-Garden. Known as ‘Joe’ from his initials, Vandeleur was one of the military consultants for the production of the film A Bridge Too Far (1977) and Michael Caine played Vandeleur. He died in Maidenhead in 1988 and is buried in Brookwood Cemetery. His grave is marked by a simple headstone inscribed only "J.O.E. V 1903 – 1988. Once an Irish Guardsman". The bridge here today is a modern replacement, but still bears his name on modern maps. We’ll have a look at the bridge and the nearby memorial and Liberation Route Boulder Marker.

17.45hr Leave Joe’s Bridge.

18.15hr Arrive at our last stop of the day (yes, it is a brewery) at the beautiful castle brewery De Dool Ter Dolen in Houthalen-Helchteren. Here we will relax in this most picturesque place, and hopefully sit outside in the huge courtyard if the weather is nice. Siobhan will get everyone a beer here*.

19.30hr Leave Brouwerij De Dool in Houthalen-Helchteren.

20.15hr Arrive back at Hotel Corbie, Geel. De Dool, Houthalen-Helchteren where we'll stop for a Ter Dolen beer...or two

De Dool, Houthalen-Helchteren where we'll stop for a Ter Dolen beer...or two.

Day 5 - Sunday 18 September 2022

10.00hr After a leisurely breakfast* we leave the hotel by coach.

10.45hr Arrive at Lier to visit an unusual downed Lancaster site on Acaciaplein.

11.15hr Leave Lier.

11.45hr Arrive at Willebroek on the Rupel, a tributary of the mighty River Schelde to pay a visit to a Sherman Firefly Tank situated in Klein-Willebroek which is a monument to the British 11th Armoured Division and Belgian Robert Vekemans. We will also see at this location the ‘widow’ or remains of the very bridge which the British used. It is now known as the “Weduwe Van Enschodtbrug” or widow bridge because the original was demolished in 1946, but a small part was left as a memorial.

12.00hr Visit Café Sacchettis at Sasplein in Willebroek for short refreshment stop – they have a nice list of beers including some locally brewed ones.

13.00hr Leave Café Sachettis in Willebroek.

13.40hr Leave Willebroek.

14.00hr Arrive at Arrive at Brewery Café & Restaurant Het Anker in Mechelen. This is a brilliant place right in the brewery of the historical religious town of Mechelen. The brewery offer a great food menu and you can try all their excellent beers on tap and in bottles here. My fav, the blonde Maneblusser (Moon Extinguisher). Connoisseurs choice – their Gouden Carolus Whisky Infused. We’ll rest up here with a meal and a beer or two.

16.15hr Leave Het Anker in Mechelen.

16.45hr Arrive at De Koninck Brewery Tap in the City of Antwerp. Here we can enjoy a freshly tapped Bolleke De Koninck or one of this great brewery’s other beers in their new brewery tap.

18.15hr Leave De Koninck Brewery Tap.

19.00hr Arrive back at Hotel Corbie, Geel.

A Sherman Firefly Tank Memorial, Willebroek - we'll visit this site.

Day 6 - Monday 19 September 2022

10.00hr After breakfast* check out of hotel. Coach leaves for our last day.

11.30hr Arrive at the Ohio Bridge in Eine for a look at this odd war memorial with an even odder construction history. This bridge and its four Bison statues are a memorial to the US 37th Division at the site where American troops crossed the Scheldt in the First World War in 1918, in what became known as the Battle of the Lys & Escaut (Schelde) (20 October – 11 November 1918). Siobhan will tell us all about it and why the bison are facing the wrong way, when we get there.

12.15hr We pop into Eine for a refreshment stop at a local cafe for a local beer from Cnudde Brouwerij, who brew Cnudde Bruin or Bizon beer (Kriek – Cherry), referencing the nearby Ohiobrug, and their lovely brewery glasses feature an Ohio bison, in full rushing attack mode.

13.30hr Leave Eine.

14.35hr Arrive at our last stop Circus 157 in the Heuvelland, West Flanders. This is a café-restaurant where we will have our meal. Circus 157 was the code name for the air raid on Lille on 5 May 1942. Around half past three in the afternoon a dogfight broke out over the Heuvelland area, here, between British Spitfires and German Focke-Wulfs. Five planes are shot down during the dogfight. Pilot Karel Pavlik crashed his Spitfire into the flank of the Kemmelberg Hill along the Lettingstraat on the Loker-Dranouter border. Pavlík’s plane was forced several meters deep into the clay and attempts by the Germans to free him failed. It was not until July 1946 that a British recovery crew was able to recover and identify him. This café has named itself after that historic event. Here we can have something to eat and a choice from their extensive beer menu.

17.00hr Leave Circus 157 in Dranouter.

18.15hr Arrive Calais.

19.50hr Leave Calais on Eurotunnel train crossing.

19.25hr Arrive Folkestone.

20.00hr Coach drop off Premier Inn Ashford Eureka Leisure Park, Rutherford Road, Ashford, Kent, TN25 4BN.

21.20hr Coach drop off Junction of Lady Lane & Mildmay Road, Chelmsford CM2 0EA.

21.30hr Coach drop off Travelodge Hotel, 128-136 Parkway, Chelmsford CM2 7GY.

21.40hr Coach drop off Premier Inn Victoria Road, Chelmsford CM1 1NY.

Tour Price is £935 per person sharing a twin or double room

Single Supplement: £265

We regret that we need to charge a single supplement for travellers who require their own hotel room. This is because increasingly hotel room prices are quoted with very little difference between single person or two person occupancy. If you are travelling alone and want to share a room with another traveller please contact Siobhan as we are regularly able to pair up travellers in twin rooms to avoid the need for payment of the Single Supplement.