As COVID border restrictions continue to lift and the cost of air and sea travel comes down, here’s a tour that some of y’all may be interested in: It’s the Battlefield Europe Tour, put on by Dorothy’s Speed Shop out of the UK. As the name implies, it takes you all over Europe to visit the scenes of such smashing battles as Hastings, Waterloo, Verdun, D-Day and Bastogne, but it also takes you to visit the home of the LeMans 24-hr World Endurance race (a month before the racing starts, alas… ).

A couple of years ago, we told you about the ongoing adventures of Nathan Millward with his new venture,Dorothy’s Speed Shop. If you read that piece, you might remember that “Dorothy” was actually the name of the Honda CT110 postie bike that Nathan did a rtw trip on, starting in Australia and finishing much later in Alaska, writing a couple of books about it. Dorothy’s Speed Shop is a combined rental/touring operation, where the “Speed” part of the name is a bit, errrrr, optimistic at times. And that’s all part of the fun!

The Battlefield Europe tour isn’t restricted to small-cc bikes like many of the tours out of the Speed Shop, and it is pavement-only. Most days only see 100 miles or so of riding, because you’re going to be clambering all over famous battlegrounds. Accommodations are all hotel-based, and breakfast is provided. The tour is guided by David Shaw and Steve Nash, who are both moto keeners and also military history enthusiasts.

In other words: You won’t be roughing it on the same level as some of the other tours that Millward puts together! But if you are keen on the military history of western Europe, it’s a good way to get into a tour at not too much cost (£1066). You’re providing your own bike, fuel or lunch/suppers, too.

This year’s Battlefield Europe tour runs May 7-13, and there are still some slots left. If you’re interested, check out theDorothy’s Speed Shop websitefor more details.