It is not until you visit the cemeteries, trenches and memorials do you fully appreciate the true history of the First World War. As most families in the UK had relatives either killed or wounded, this surely makes the Battlefields Guided Tours a must for every School visiting Le Château.
Our expert Guides concentrate on the Battlefields of the Somme and Ypres, and will work in association with History Teachers to provide a tailor-made tour to maximise the pupils experience whilst in France.
Our Château is based in the Somme, where in 1916 sixty thousand British Soldiers, half of the attacking force, and every man a volunteer, were lost on the first day of the battle alone.
Further afield we travel to Ypres or 'Wipers' as it was known to the troops, which was a beautifully preserved medieval town in 1914, and remained in British hands but by 1918 was totally obliterated.
The few square miles to the east, the Ypres Salient, became a lunar landscape of craters and the village of Passchendaele, became a byword for horror. In 1917 the British Army inched forward for an agonising three miles and 35 died for every muddy metre gained.
On our guided tours to the Somme you will visit such famous sites as the Newfoundland Park, British and German trenches at Beaumont Hamel, the Thiepval Memorial to the missing and the enormous Lochnagar Crater.
At Ypres, now rebuilt to its original splendour, you will see the Tyne Cot British Cemetery (the largest in the world), Langemark German Cemetery, Hill 62/Sanctuary Wood, preserved British trenches and the Menin Gate Memorial to the missing.
Party Leaders can produce their own tailor-made programme to suit the objectives of the school trip. Mix and match the various options of the Guided Battlefields Tours, excursions and activities.
| 5 Day Sample Programme | |||||
| Time of Day | am | pm | Evening | ||
| Activity Session | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Monday | Travel to Le Château to arrive for evening meal | Château Olympics | |||
| Tuesday | Full day itinerary to the Ypres Battlefields | Quiz Night | |||
| Wednesday | Full day trip to Paris, Parc Asterix or Disney | ||||
| Thursday | Full day itinerary to the Somme Battlefields | BBQ/Disco | |||
| Friday | Zip Wire* | Fencing* | Depart for School after lunch | ||
*Optional extra