Valkenburg Tour - October 2000

From October 13th to October 19th 43 pupils and staff visited Valkenburg, in Holland, for the "Halloween in Holland" tour.

This was the fourth visit to Valkenburg with many of the pupils involved returning for a second or third time to the fairytale town with it's toboggan run, town caves and candle making.

The patriotic pupils

On the 13th. of October, at 12:30am the pupils and staff left from the school car park for an overnight journey to Dover, where they caught the 12:30pm ferry to Calais. At 2:45pm (continental time) the party arrived in Calais where they proceeded to Valkenburg, arriving at 7:30pm and settling in to their rooms at the Hotel Dupuis in Valkenburg's Town Centre.

On the Saturday the party was treated to a Mini train tour of Valkenburg and then a chairlift ride, followed by a toboggan run. In the Afternoon there was a tour of the town caves, with spectacular carvings to be seen, this was followed by candlemaking, after this there was a visit to a replica coal mine, followed by Ten Pin Bowling in the evening.

On Sunday there was a full day visit to Germany with a visit to Burg Eltz Castle, winemaking in Boppard, a chairlift to a stunning view of the Rhine and a cruise on the Rhine, before returning to the hotel.

On Monday, the party visited Bobbejaanland theme park in Belgium, before returning to the hotel in the evening for a special 'fancy dress' Halloween Disco.

The staff get carried away

On Tuesday there was a visit to St. Petersburg caves with amazing artwork, then the party had Lunch in McDonalds in Maastrichte, before having freetime for shopping and a visit to mosaqua wave pool and a stop at the Vaals, where Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands all meet. In the evening there was a Disco and an alternative awards ceremony and the party spent their last night in the Hotel.

On Wednesday the pupils and staff left the Hotel Dupuis and Valkenburg and head for Bruges, in Belgium. Once there they visited Rooses Chocolate world to snap up some presents before experiencing a conducted sightseeing tour and canal cruise of Bruges. At 8pm the coach arrived in Calais, where the group had dinner before getting the 11pm ferry back to Dover. The party travelled overnight to Scotland where they arrived back in Greenfaulds High Car Park at 9am on Thursday 19th. October.

The 39 pupils were accompanied on the tour by 4 experienced staff.