Operation Market Garden and Arnhem

July 2025

Ride to the infamous bridge at Arnhem. This tour follows the route of advance to Arnhem from the Belgian border to Eindhoven and on to Arnhem, examining the attempt to end the war before winter in 1944. Crossing all of the famous bridges captured by the American Airborne divisions and the British XXX Corps, on the final day we have a good ride around the Arnhem drop zones and battlefield involved in the captivating and tragic story of this heroic failure. The Dutch cycling infrastructure is amazing and there is virtually no climbing!

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What you need to know...

Start Location
Eindhoven, Netherlands

Finish Location
Arnhem

Country/Region
Battlefields by Bike

Grading
Moderate

Shortest Day
35 miles

Longest Day
55 miles

Total Days
5

Total Miles
150

Departure Dates & Prices

Month	Dates	Tour Price	Single Supplement*	Bike Hire From	Enquire	Book
July 2025	19th to 24th July 2025	19/7/25 to 24/7/25	£1,295	£395		Check Availability	Book Now

*A single supplement is only payable if you would like a guaranteed room to yourself. If you are happy to share with another traveller of the same gender, no supplement is payable.

Day 2

We ride southeast, briefly into Belgium, to Geel to examine the immediate precurser to Market Garden and a battle often overlooked, before following a pretty canalside route to Joe's Bridge which was the start point for the Guards Armoured Division and their incursion towards Arnhem. The overall plan was to avoid German Siegfried Line defences and to then sweep south into the industrial Ruhr area, thus knocking out the enemy's ability to manufacture and replace lost equipment; and to force a German surrender before the winter of 1944 set in. They were to be aided by the 82nd and 101st US Airborne, and the 1st British Airbourne who would capture the forward bridges at Eindhoven, Nijmegen, and Arnhem and await relief and reinforcement from the ground forces. As we ride into The Netherlands we will see many places where Horrocks' XXX Corps men fought bravely and created a salient that would be exploited throughout the winter. About 58 miles. Overnight in Eindhoven again. (Meals included: breakfast. Dinner not included - free choice).

Day 3

Departing Eindhoven we soon cross the bridge at Son, one of the first objectives of the campaign. From here we continue north to the bridge at Grave and then to Nijmegen which was successfully captured by the US 101st Airborne who created a flanking manoeuvre by crossing the Waal river in small boats whilst under fire. From here it is a short ride across the 'island' to enter Arnhem across the John Frost Bridge on our way to our city centre hotel. About 55 miles.

Day 4

We start our tour of the Arnhem battlefield by heading to the northwest to the Drop Zone 'Y' on Ginkel Heath, which was the first one used by 4 Parachute Brigade on 18 September 1944. From here they would take the Amsterdamweg towards Arnhem but tragically be repulsed before they got there, being forced to set up defensive positions in Wolfheze and Oosterbeek, which is where we cycle to next, paying our respects at the Airbourne Cemetery at Oosterbeek where 1800 men lie. A visit to the Hartensteyn museum is highly recommended, where we also have lunch, before dropping down to the riverbank via the Oude Kirke and the site of VC actions. We then cross over the river at the same place that the troops were withdrawn when the situation became hopeless on the night of 25 September 1944, towards Driel, where the Polish Airbourne Brigade had landed to assist in relief and securing the south bank; many did not survive the landing however. Coming back into Arnhem we cross the famous bridge once more to bring our cycling to a close. About 35 miles. (Meals included: breakfast, dinner).