Germany - Dambusters, Escape from Colditz

Nine days of Second World War history by motorcycle, and one night that no other tour can offer. This guided run from Folkestone through Belgium and Germany includes sleeping inside Colditz Castle itself, riding up to park in the parade ground.

The route builds to it. Spa comes first, with wartime tank and artillery remains in the Ardennes and the Spa-Francorchamps circuit nearby, then the Eifel National Park and Ordensburg Vogelsang lead to the Mohne Dam, the one the Dambusters actually breached in Operation Chastise in 1943. Standing on it is a different thing from reading about it.

Colditz gets two days. The castle held Allied officers considered too difficult to keep anywhere else, and it is now a youth hostel with ensuite rooms, so the group stays in the building. A guided tour covers the escape tunnels, the Escape Museum and a replica of the glider the prisoners built in secret in the attic. Nuremberg follows with the Zeppelinfeld rally grounds and the courtroom of the trials, then Berchtesgaden and the Eagle’s Nest, with an optional run into Austria to Burg Hohenwerfen, which played the castle in Where Eagles Dare. The German Alpine Road and the B500 close the trip.

Moto Travel Dude include the return Eurotunnel crossing for rider and bike, the night inside Colditz, the local castle guide, every hotel with secure parking, all breakfasts, and the routes and information pack. Fuel, insurance, breakdown cover and most meals are separate. For riders with an interest in the period, the itinerary reads like a list of places you assumed you would never actually stand in.