Chateau du Broutel 2014

Chateau du Broutel
13-16 Juin 2014

As you know some of our children went on an exciting adventure to Chateau du Broutel in France. The fun of the trip started the moment we got on the coach (4:30am), as we travelled down to Dover. When we boarded the ferry we couldn't wait to get on deck where we left the White Cliffs as we sailed to France.

On arrival at the Chateau, we bundled out of the coach and were greeted with a warm welcome by the helpful instructors. We ran to our rooms then had the grand tour of the grounds. After our evening meal we did our first activity - scavenger hunt. It was filled with riddles and mayhem.

On our first night we got our torches out and had a light party. We chatted to our friends as we drifted to sleep.

The following morning, we were excited to wake up in France. After breakfast we went on a walk into Rue, the local town. Full of stories and facts we learnt about the history of the Chateau and the town. Our favourite story was about six french men who managed to escape the Nazis using spoons to dig through the wall.

We were then given the opportunity to go to the market. Where we bought lots of wonderful things: Eiffel Towers, caps, sweets, nail varnish and loom bands.

After lunch we spent the afternoon in the lake rafting and kayaking. We had a wonderful time getting wet. Mr Catterall was unable to stand up on his kayak for more than 3 seconds and fell in in many times. We built fantastic rafts that floated first time.

That evening after dinner, we went on an evening walk. Lots of games were played including: Wink Murder, Splat, Smile If You Love Me and Ouch. It was such a giggle, we laughed so much. The laughs carried on into the evening as we dressed up in our rooms doing our very own fashion show.

On the Sunday we spent the day in the woods doing some amazing activities. We abseiled down a tower; built towers using crates; conquered the obstacle course and learnt how to shoot arrows. It was such a fantastic experience - using team work, facing our fear and learning new skills. Mrs Carr abseiled showing great courage and Mrs Hitchen joined in with the archery.

That night, everyone dressed up smartly for the disco. Perfume was sprayed, nails painted and dresses worn. Even the boys were well turned out. The disco was fab. We danced the night away and celebrated Tom's birthday and ate cake. We went to bed tired and happy.

In the morning we were sad it was our last day but were determined to still have fun. After packing our cases, the instructors played Chateau sports with us. Beach volleyball was our favourite. After lunch we boarded the coach and waved a fond farewell to the Chateau.

Au revoir Chateau du Broutel.

Click on the photographs below to view the France photo galleries!

Friday 13th June - 4am start!