French Trip 2023

The bleary-eyed children left Coalville bright and early on a Tuesday morning, travelled down to Dover, crossed the Channel via ferry and arrived at their château just in time for their evening meal. We are reliably informed that the coach was awash with ‘backseat karaoke’ for the majority of the journey!

On day two, the students visited La Cité de la Mer (The Ocean of the Future) in Cherbourg and had a fabulous time exploring the iconic maritime museum. They went inside a World War Two submarine, visited the aquarium and had a look around the Titanic exhibition.

As the evening drew nearer, the time had come to sample some traditional French cuisine; cuisses de grenouilles et escargots – or, to put it simply, frogs’ legs and snails.

The children, though, were pleasantly surprised; “just like chicken and garlic bread,” one student exclaimed!

The following day, the students visited the UNESCO World Heritage Site at Mont St. Michel where they enjoyed exploring the cobbled streets and tasted some authentic French desserts at lunchtime. Next up, after lunch, was a journey to Chevrerie du Mesnil, a well-known goat’s cheese farm. The children had fun tasting the cheese and stroking the goats – some of which were only one or two weeks old. Mr Scrivens was also given the opportunity to name a baby goat, so duly named him ‘Barry.’

The rest of the day was spent relaxing back at the château, where staff and students enjoyed an evening meal of beef bourguignon, crème brûlée and crepes before the karaoke competition began!

Then, it was time for the journey home. A three-hour delay on the ferry resulted in the children arriving back at school a little later than planned. But that failed to dampen the mood as the students reflected on a fantastic few days away sampling elements of French history and culture.