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The Battlefields Trip was without a doubt one of the most memorable trips I have been on. It was unquestionably great as it had a fun side to it as well as an educational side. The trip wasn’t restricted so during the visit to certain towns, cemeteries and museums, we had complete control as to where we wanted to go.

At the start of journey we went on a ferry which was a great way to travel as it gave us a break from the coach! On the ferry I was with my friends and we looked at the spectacular views of the sea which, surprisingly, didn’t get me sea sick which was a bonus!  After we arrived in France we made our way to Belgium, this was where we went to an open town which had beautiful shops and exquisite pathways that led to something new and exciting around each corner. After the shopping and sightseeing we had lunch as a group which was a peaceful moment to refresh ourselves so we could prepare for the museum.

In the museum we got handed a poppy bracelet and made our way inside. I thought the museum was amazing as it included lots of information and had many videos that were continuously playing which gave us an insight of key features in the World War. This is where it got very emotional as the information included accounts of people that had lived through the War and the names of people who had died.

After walking through the museum we made our way back to the coach and stopped off where a memorial was held every day at 8pm to represent the people who died for us in the War. It was amazing, the instruments in harmony and people taking poppy’s into a place which was surrounded with a grand stone wall with names carved into it. These were the people who died, there were names surrounding the public, everywhere you went you would see names. This was a memorable time as it was a moment of silence for the soldiers.

After this wonderful time we made our way to a cemetery which showed the soldiers who fought for us, we walked around to see the graves. The part which made me most upset  was that not all of the soldiers were identified, which means they are not recognised and all of us as a society won’t ever know who stood by our side and fought for the country and for the people,  the future generations to come.

The next place we went to was the trenches which were long narrow ditches used to hide away the soldiers and set traps for the enemy to come and fall into. When I walked through the tunnels and the mud it was a tight squeeze and was smelly and it was not nice conditions to walk through. This made me think of how hard it would have been for all of those soldiers who had to be in the trenches all the time.

After a long night we made our way to our hostel which was very cosy, lucky for us we all got to stay near each other which was a great time to socialise and watch the football. We had dinner and after a long day I went to bed with my roommate which was great. At that moment in time I was so happy to be there in Belgium but also struck by the information I had found out about the War. The best part is I had another day full of more great opportunities and I couldn’t wait to see what would be there waiting for me tomorrow.

By Sento Kabba 9SP