The next day we were told to be up by 7:45 as breakfast was at 8:00.
Then we left for the Underground City of Naours. We met up with a guide who spoke (almost) flawless English. We entered a cold, dark, narrow corridor that did not warn you of the gargantuan network of rooms ahead of us. There were three chapels, two of which were HUGE. The guide told us about different types of traps which the French used against lone bands of attackers. Then the group who did not go to the city first went on ‘le petit train’ and saw a windmill. This windmill was used as a secret lookout to tell the villagers to get underground. When we got back to the coach we enjoyed some Blackadder, which was played almost constantly for the rest of the trip.
Our next visit was to the châteaux of Rambures. I would say this was my favourite parts in the trip. We were split into 2 groups. My group was to go in second. While we waited we were told in full by Mr. Clark the background history of the Hundred Years War; his Henderson’s class (obviously) knew the most. When we entered (much to the dismay of Mr. Clark) we were led across a dry moat across a drawbridge and into a relatively small open-air antechamber. We were shown a prison (converted to a kitchen). We were told why the walls were made of brick, not stone. We saw the King’s resting place in the fortress and we were informed about the history of coats of arms and how they symbolised your position or assets as a baron or knight. One of the highlights of the chateau was when Ed Nutting had to (try) to carry a knight’s chest-armour; he managed to do it for the time the guide was talking. A knight’s armour was so heavy if he fell off his horse he would not be able to stand up.
After this, we travelled to St.Valery sur Somme, the port from which William the Conqueror left for England. We went to a beach there and started throwing stones at the beach (for some unknown reason). Dion fell into the sea. When we reached our meeting point in the town we were given 10 Euros each and were told to spilt into groups of 3 to buy our dinner. After this we went back to the hotel and went to sleep; it was a long day!
The next day we woke up at the same time (more or less) and went to Crecy. My group was the first to go to a tall tower-like structure where Edward would have stood in Crecy. Dr. Sloan told us about Crecy and how the English longbow men, (I mean Welsh) won the battle. When we left the tower, Mr. Clark took various pictures of us as dead French or triumphant English. After this we set off for Agincourt where there was a good information centre and a museum. A particularly interesting thing about this museum was that there was a sack with a rope that was used to show whether you could properly pull the string of a longbow. We left the top floor of the museum and went to a room where the battle was laid out. Then we entered a dark room where there was some dodgy projection as there was a statue (meant to be Henry V) with a projection so off-centre he had 2 noses! We continued on to a room with more projections that gave a detailed explanation of the battle. We proceeded on to a room with a video about Agincourt which, annoyingly, kept on repeating the lines ‘Agincourt, 1415’. We then left the information centre and went to the battlefield (even though we didn’t get off); we were told by a French guide the position of the armies and their camps.
Then we left for Calais and the only difference between this and the way to Calais was this was much louder as every one was exited. I suggest anyone that gets to go on this trip should go as it is great fun and Dr. Sloan would be happy.
I would like to thank him and all of the teachers for running this trip and helping us to finish the year on a high.
Pranav Subhedar, 7J
