Compte-rendu du voyage en France par Felix Dunlop

French trip review by Felix Dunlop

An absolutely stunning and exciting voyage to the green plains of Normandy, I can safely say that this year’s French trip was the best event I have experienced in Year 7. From the tapestry to the war memorial, from the cider farm to the orienteering, the trip was nothing short of an amazing experience.

On Monday morning, at 4:40 am, I waved goodbye to my farmer and began the 90-minute coach trip to Portsmouth. It wasn’t long before we got to the actual port, and after waiting for what felt like the duration of the coach ride, we made it on the ferry, where we would be staying in a premium lounge with good access to shops for the next 6 hours. After this ferry experience, we boarded the bus to arrivals and then boarded the coach to the chateau. The appearance was amazing — the condition was so marvelous you’d think the converted monastery was still functional. It was separated into a dining hall and the actual rooms, with a small grassy area outside for where we’d wait to board the coach (which was staying there as well). It was at this point that we began our stay at Les gîtes de la Grand'Ferme.

Immediately we were greeted by our delightful staff and were directed to our rooms. On the first day (our arrival), we unsurprisingly had dinner, then proceeding with the evening activities before bed. A typical day at the chateau would compose of: Breakfast, Activities (these would last the whole day), dinner, evening activity and bed. For most of the days we actually managed to play football as a result of our good behaviour on that week.  

Tuesday was one of the most exciting days. After a big breakfast, we boarded our coach and began a 2-hour drive to the market. There, we were provided with €14 to buy some food for our picnic. It was all fairly straightforward — but many also understandably bought some souvenirs with their own money (the most popular being a ball tied to a piece of string. You’d wear the wrist strap, throw the ball, it comes back to you, you catch it and repeat). After this, we went to another chateau for some activities. My group would play some aero ball followed by circus skills. After this, we went back for some dinner and the subsequent evening activity. Wednesday followed with a delightful trip to the D-Day beaches. There we were to buy souvenirs or explore the place. Some went into shops and brought some delicious fries. Others stole some of those delicious fries. After this, we went to a war museum and a cemetery where we took a photo in front of the huge memorial. Also, there were a model of a Wehrmacht tank and a model of a field artillery. The other event was the cider farm, where we saw how the apple juice and cider were made and even got to sample some juice. Despite being really refreshing, it’ll probably be the last we see of it, as the produce isn’t exported to the British Isles. the main event was the Bayeux Tapestry. 29 metres of beautiful reenactment of a classic tale, the Battle of Hastings. Made in Kent (despite the misleading name), this tapestry will probably be the last we’ll see of it until 2027, since it’ll be undergoing repairs. Thursday came before we knew it, and in the morning, however, we went to the goat’s farm, where we tried out some delicious cheese and tried out some milk directly from the udder! We also did some orienteering and fresh lessons in my group — very fun.

Friday, the last day of the trip, finally came. It was at this point we said goodbye to our beloved staff and headed to Caen. It was here where we saw the War Museum, a huge, beautiful museum detailing World War II in all its depth and how Caen and Normandy were involved in it. Outside, there was an array of flags (Germany, for some reason, having pride of place in the main cluster of flags), with the flags of France and the EU standing out  proudly. After this, we went back to the terminal where we missed our ferry by a few minutes. Brilliant. It was this that made us wait for about two hours before we could board. The returning ferry, which had a bar, free dinner and an arcade floor, was undoubtedly better, even if the lounge was undoubtedly worse. At passport control, we waiting for about half an hour before waiting another half an hour inside the port. We arrived back home at 1am, where we collected out luggage and brought our French trip to an end.

Overall, the quality of the trip was outstanding. The things we saw, the events we witnessed and the activities we did were beyond compare. I wish a very good trip for the future Year 7s embarking on their own trip to Normandy.