On the 13th of May 2025, Year 5 set off on a trip to Normandy, the highlight of the year! Only, 5:30 AM felt a bit early to get to school! We said our final farewells to our parents and drove to Dover, where we got on the ferry. Then we drove for a long, long time. And by a long, long time, I mean more than 4 hours! However, it was worth the journey to see the green fields and bright hues of the picturesque, peaceful Norman countryside!
We arrived at our hotel in Soignolles and it was such a fancy place! It was so fancy that there was even a robot that mowed the grass! There were big courts where we could play basketball, football and netball; there was even a field with 2 horses!
Our first destination with Mark (the coach driver) and Albert (the coach, named after Mark’s dog) was the cheese factory. Cheese is the heart of Normandy, and we got to learn the process of making the cheese, take a peek into the factory and the machinery and we even got to taste some cheeses (the cheese factory was smelly though , if you were wondering!) That afternoon, we went to a very special castle called Château de Falaise (Falaise is a town on cliffs) where we got to learn about the very rich history of the English king and Norman duke, William the Conqueror, and his eventful domination of England.
One of the key highlights in the castle was going up a long, spiral staircase to the very top of the castle – some counted the steps from the very bottom of the castle, and there were at least 45 on the spiral staircase! Once we got to the top, we were so high up you could practically see the whole of Normandy! The next morning, we continued our historical experience as we took the coach to the famous Bayeux Tapestry, displaying the events of the well-known Battle of Hasting! We got our very own audio guide that took us along the path of the Normans, through fights and captures to interesting storylines and subtle yet fascinating details. Afterwards, we went to the place everyone was looking forward to – the chocolate factory! However, as well as buying lots and lots of treats, (I hope none of us have too bad of a sweet tooth!) we learnt the hard work of making the chocolate out of cocoa beans and shipping it to the factory, then being meticulously designed into the delicious chocolate!
Written by Jumana,
Categories: Educational Visit Prep
