I was an Activity Leader at the Chateau for the first few weeks and was given the amazing opportunity to visit many beautiful places in Northern France.

First of all I’d like to introduce Mont Saint-Michel.

The beautiful fantasy-esque island can be seen for miles. It was J. K Rowling’s inspiration for the crowded streets of Diagon Alley and the towering architecture and Abbey are truly breathtaking. Being the second most visited tourist destination in France, it’s worth a visit.

Seeing the island with 50 kids on the other hand is rather a different kettle of fish and this was my first tour guiding job of the season. Never having visited the island before, it was quite a challenge giving a guided tour to such a large group, and after two hours of exploration and finding several lost children, who appeared to have no idea that they needed to meet the group at the right time/place in able to go home, we were on our way again.

Goat’s Cheese Farm

This was probably my favourite trip of the entire summer. The little goat’s farm is hidden in the depths of the Mayenne countryside.

The students had the opportunity to feed and stroke the goats and then taste the cheese that was made there. After much complaining about the smell, many of them bought the cheese and even resolved to adopt some of the goats…

Chailland

The remote, yet picturesque village of Chailland is the nearest town to the Chateau where I was working. It has a church, post office, bank, café and a bakery – which are just never open when you want them to be which can be a disappointment after a 40 minute walk from the chateau…

Fougères

Home to the oldest medieval castle in Europe, the calm village of Fougères in Brittany is a magnetising tourist hotspot. The chateau was renowned for it’s size and its strong defence capabilities.