24 June 2016

Despite the coach arriving one and a half hours late, we made it to the ferry on time to set sail for Normandy on a ferry called Mont Saint Michel. An early morning start next day saw us heading firstly for a quick walk round Pegasus Bridge and then to a supermarket to stock up on sweets and fizzies. Why are French supermarkets s much more interesting? The main event for that day was the Goat Farm – as ever, a popular visit. Goats were stroked, combed and fed and one or two brave boys tried milking a goat and drinking the milk! Tuesday is traditionally Tat Central Day (ie Mont Saint Michel) where combs that look like flick knives were this year’s fashion items. Then comes Alligator Bay where many animals are on view and there are crawl spaces to look like you’re in the cage too! Wednesday saw a slight change of itinerary with an impromptu visit to a chocolate factory – with samples!  Festyland – a theme park with some horrendous looking rides was next. Thursday brought in some educational elements with a moving film at the 360 degree cinema showing the events of the Allied Landing in Normandy. This was followed by a visit to the museum where we learned about the Mulberry Harbour devised by Winston Churchill and, of course inevitably, a trip around the local town to buy more tat – um, I mean souvenirs! Our last day was a busy one, starting with boys learning how to unmake their beds! First stop was a visit to a market, followed by an audio guided tour along the Bayeux tapestry with a visit to the cathedral afterwards. Before setting off to catch the ferry there was time to stop off at the British War Cemetery and, our final visit in Normandy, a quick look round the bomb craters and the German bunkers in the ‘Gold’ landing area. Thirty exhausted boys were returned to their parents on Friday night but I would like to thank them and my colleagues for making this a successful trip.

Lynne

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