So, nothing about the campaign, but a reminder of what a great city it is to visit and what great food you can get there!
Continue reading “Rick Stein in Thessaloniki, tonight at 8pm on BBC4”Category: Battlefield Tours
Tours to places of significance in the campaign in northern Greece and FYROM organised by the SCS and others.
Salonika Battlefield Tours 2022
Some very good news from our Chair, Alan Wakefield:
“With COVID-19 travel restrictions being eased, there are three planned tours to the Salonika battlefields. If you have not visited the ground once trodden by the BSF I’d encourage you to go as there is nothing like walking the ground to help get a better understanding of the campaign and the experiences of the men and women who served in the Balkans during the First World War.”
Alan
April 10–14: Battle Honours – ‘Walking Salonika’
Led by Alan Wakefield, this tour covers Thessaloniki, the Kosturino battlefield, the Birdcage Line, the Struma Valley and the Doiran battlefield.
For details, please contact by phone, +44 (0)1438 989129 or by email, enquiries@battle-honours.co.uk
May 25–30: The Cultural Experience, ‘Salonika – War in the Birdcage’
Led by Alan Wakefield, this tour covers Thessaloniki, the Birdcage Line, the Struma Valley, Doiran and the Kosturino battlefields.
For details, please see here.
September 18–26: The SCS Battlefield Tour
Led by Alan Wakefield, it is planned that this tour will cover Thessaloniki, the Birdcage Line, the Struma Valley, the Doiran and Kosturino battlefields and the Kajmakcalan battlefield. The group will also attend the official ceremonies of Remembrance connected to the Salonika Campaign.
If you have any questions or would like further details, please contact SCS Chair, Alan Wakefield via email at aj.wakefield@talktalk.net
Salonika Campaign Society Battlefield Tour – September 2020
Sadly, the continuing uncertainty surrounding foreign travel, including the potential for sudden mandatory quarantine periods being imposed by the British Government at short notice on travellers returning to the UK, makes even the idea of running a Greece-only tour in September too complicated for the Society to contemplate. Therefore, it is with regret that I have to announce there will be no SCS battlefield tour this year. Instead, we plan to deliver the tour, with the itinerary already advertised, in September 2021.
Provisional dates for the tour are 19 – 27 September 2021
Continue reading “Salonika Campaign Society Battlefield Tour – September 2020”
Salonika Campaign Society Battlefield Tour – September 2020
It is with regret I have to announce that, due to uncertainties caused by COVID-19, the decision has been taken to reschedule the annual SCS Battlefield Tour, as advertised, to September 2021. The main reason for reaching this decision is the issue of the Greece – North Macedonia border. This border is currently closed, as are Greece’s borders with Albania and Turkey, due to those countries having higher rates of COVID-19. At present there are no dates projected for reopening the border and the potential exists for the border, if opened, to be closed again at short notice. Therefore, it is all but impossible to organise the cross-border leg of the tour with any certainty of it being possible to cross into North Macedonia or to guarantee the group would be able to return to Greece for homeward flights. In addition, with our usual ground handler and transport being based in North Macedonia the border situation causes major logistical problems. There are also different COVID-19 related administrative regulations in place in the two countries, which helps make a two-country tour overly complicated.
Therefore, the SCS is investigating the possibility of running a Greece only tour this coming September. However, given the close proximity to the Greece – North Macedonian border, visits to Kajmakcalan and Korona (Krastali) will not be included. The proposed tour would instead focus on the Birdcage Line, Struma Valley and parts of the Vardar sector of the front. Whilst a Greece only tour is viable, there are lots of COVID-19 related hoops to jump through from arrival in Greece onwards. These range from the need for each traveller to have a valid Passenger Locator Form to enter the country, through the possibility of members of the tour group being selected for a COVID-19 test and needing to quarantine for 14 days if found positive, to possible limitations on the number of people able to congregate in a group in a public space. These issues are being looked into at present by local SCS contacts and we hope to be in a position to make a final decision on the viability of this year’s tour by Sunday 2 August.
Alan Wakefield
Chairman, Salonika Campaign Society
NEWS : SCS Battlefield Tours in 2020
Salonika Campaign Society Battlefield Tour: 20-28 September 2020
The SCS Tour Team announces details of the Society’s September 2020 battlefield tour. This tour not only includes visits to key sites associated with the British Salonika Force but also takes the group to the key battlefield of Kajmakcalan, the mountain fought over by Serbian and Bulgarian forces between 12 and 30 September 1916. As usual, this September tour will coincide with the official ceremonies of commemoration in Greece. Continue reading “NEWS : SCS Battlefield Tours in 2020”
SCS Battlefields Tours in 2020
Next year there will be a single Society tour, running in September so as to coincide with the annual official commemorations. The reason for only running a single tour next year is due to the poor response to the spring
SCS tour run through Battle Honours last April. We hope to try running another tour with Battle Honours in 2021 but can only do so if it is supported by members.
SCS BATTLEFIELD TOUR : 23 September – 30 September 2019
The SCS Tour Team is pleased to announce details of the Society’s September 2019 battlefield tour. This tour includes visits to key sites associated with British Salonika Force operations between 1916 and 1918 as well as attendance at official ceremonies of commemoration in Greece. The group will also visit sites not previously on any previous tour itinerary. Continue reading “SCS BATTLEFIELD TOUR : 23 September – 30 September 2019”
SCS Salonika Battlefield Tour: 12-17 April 2019
There are still a few places available on the April battlefield tour. Run under the auspices of the well respected battlefield tours company, Battle Honours, the tour will as always be led by SCS Chairman, Alan Wakefield. The tour offers an in-depth study of the British part of the Salonika Front through a series of walks, visits to memorials, cemeteries and forgotten trench lines. Continue reading “SCS Salonika Battlefield Tour: 12-17 April 2019 “
SCS April Salonika Battlefield Tour: 12-17 April 2019
After our popular 2017 tour and the numerous military units we have led to this stunning battlefield, with the help of recognized authority on the Campaign and author of Under the Devil’s Eye, Alan Wakefield, Battle Honours are pleased to announce this small group walking tour in connection with the Salonika Campaign Society. Continue reading “SCS April Salonika Battlefield Tour: 12-17 April 2019 “
Have a good trip!
We wish the Salonika Campaign Society 2018 Victory Tour party – who should be arriving at Thessaloniki about now – a successful visit to northern Greece and FYROM over the next ten days.
Salonika Campaign Society, 1915-1918 