France 2025- Day One
Day 1 – Leaving Braintree and Heading for Adventure!
It didn’t take long for the sweets to be opened, the travel nerves to settle and for home life to become a distant memory. Many games of Uno, Dobble and Top Trumps were on the go, and even a murder mystery puzzle book. Surrounded by friends, the excitement quickly took over. Within what felt like the blink of an eye, Essex was behind us… and we’ve honestly never seen someone so thrilled about the Dartford Crossing. One particular child absolutely LOVES it – it’s possible they thought it was a theme park ride.
As well as the sweets being opened, lunches were also started rather early in one young man’s case, and we had to keep an eye that he had actually left himself some food for beyond 9.30am.
One young lady sitting downstairs didn’t stop talking from 6.45am until we eventually persuaded her into her bedroom tonight…fuelled by baguettes, sausage rolls and a lot of flapjack that she constantly and generously offered to the staff.
We have to say we are particularly impressed, parents, by the matching socks and t shirt/hoodies… this is of a far higher standard than previous years. One young man even had coordination between his trainers and suitcase - that’s quite something.
The comedy moments began rolling in pretty much immediately:
“Look, look! It’s our boat!” (It wasn’t. We were still very much on the M25 crossing the Thames)
“Is that the Eiffel Tower?” (Sadly no… just a set of electricity pylons.)
“There’s a dog driving that car!” (Again, no… just a lady with a particularly fluffy hairstyle.)
For some of our children, this is their very first trip abroad. This became sweetly obvious during one conversation:
“I’ve never been to a different country before… except Great Yarmouth.”
The Ferry Journey – Picnics, Seagulls and KFC Dreams
The ferry crossing was over in a flash! Huge credit to you, parents. The level of food prep was something to behold. Some children appeared to be packing for a week-long cruise rather than a short hop across the Channel. (There’s at least one child here who could comfortably feed an entire passenger manifest)
As we arrived in France, the running commentary from the children continued:
(as we drove past the golden arches): “That’s lunch SORTED!!”
“They’ve got a KFC here! That’s so sick!”
“Whoa… these are nice houses. The grass is green and everything!”
Clearly, the wonders of Europe are already making an impression.
Rando Rail – Legs Ache but Spirits Soar!
After a quick stop, we were off to tackle the Rando Rail… a 5km uphill pedal-powered rail adventure under the sunny French skies. The owners greeted us with big smiles… though that might have been because they knew we were starting with the uphill section! It was very hot, but thankfully we were under the trees for most of the activity, and the many extra bottles of water we brought with us came in handy.
There was singing - of sorts - from some of the carts, including the Macarena, The Lion Sleeps Tonight (strange choices, some would say), and a group of children in one cart shrieking, “I’ve got the power” to urge themselves onwards. One member of staff- new to the team this year - bribed his group of boys with large packs of Haribos, and another new team member had to encourage her team to pedal forwards, not backwards, which obviously is a game changer.
The journey back (all downhill, thankfully) was filled with squeals, laughter and pure joy. Turns out, Year 6 can scream louder going downhill than any rollercoaster queue at Thorpe Park.
Tired legs? Absolutely.
Hot, sweaty adults? Definitely.
Tired hearts? Not a chance.
First Meal… First Ice Cream… First Shower Emergency
Following our first ice creams, it was back on the coach for a short ride to our hotel. Luggage was quickly and efficiently unpacked (sort of neatly, by Year 6 standards) and before long we were at the campsite for yet more delicious food. We saw excellent manners at dinner tonight - children passing each other the water jugs, and pouring for others. Baskets of bread that were already on the table were untouched as nobody liked to dive in - we had to encourage them to do so! This might have been due to the large quantity of sweets and lunch that had been eaten all day - that said, many polished off a hearty spaghetti bolognaise, finished with a gorgeous French Tarte aux Pommes.
By 10pm, the children were tucked up in bed, ready for tomorrow’s adventures.
Showers were taken… mostly without drama. Though we did have to make a swift trip to one of the boys’ rooms to demonstrate how to turn the shower off. Life skill unlocked: “Lefty loosie, righty tighty.”
It has been a very hot day; tomorrow will be another warm one and the fun of day two awaits. First trip for some of the adults nice and early will be to the Intermarche, to stock up on water, new refillable water bottles for anyone who broke theirs on day one, and anything else
One Small Request…
Every year, the children absolutely love hearing your comments, messages and well-wishes from home. Please do send them in! We’ll read them out and make sure your child hears your lovely (and probably slightly embarrassing…please) words.