27 U S A ( To l l - f r e e ) 1- 877- 381- 2 9 14 E m a i l inf o@the culturalexperience.com Early Periods force. Later we travel to Amiens where we inspect the iconography of the Cathedral, built during the war and well known to the combatants on both sides. Continue to Rouen where we check in to our hotel for two nights. Day 3 – Rouen. Today we spend a full day in Rouen, the location of the main French shipyards during the war, which was besieged by Henry V in 1418/19. It was here that Joan of Arc was tried for heresy and burned at the stake in 1431. We will visit the modern church which was erected as a memorial, the Joan of Arc interpretation centre and the nearby wonderful Gothic cathedral, which houses the tomb of the heart of Richard the Lionheart. Day 4 – Orleans. We take a long scenic drive to Orleans, a city besieged by the English and Burgundians in 1428/29 and supposedly relieved by Joan of Arc, hence one of her many soubriquets ‘The Maid of Orleans’. Check in to our hotel in Beaugency for two nights. Day 5 – The Loire Valley and Patay. We visit the Abbaye de Fleury, originally founded in 640 and well known to both sides in the war, and the Chateau de Sully, a typical fortified keep built in the late 1300s to defend the crossingoftheRiverLoire.Wewillalsoinspect the location of the Battle of Patay, 14 June 1429, one of the few battles that the English, including a contingent led by Sir John Fastolf (the inspiration for Shakespeare’s Falstaff) lost, not as claimed by the French because of Joan of Arc, but because of the English commander’s over-confidence. Day 6 - Poitiers. An early start sees us head toPoitiers,whereJoanofArc’sclaimtodivine guidance was examined, and tour Poitiers Cathedral with its 12th Century stained glass windows and modern memorial to Joan. We examinetheBattleofPoitierswheretenyears after Crécy, on 19 September 1356, the Black Prince, son of Edward III, campaigning from English Bordeaux to Calais, was attacked by a French army south of Poitiers. The French had learned something from Crécy and they attacked dismounted, but to no avail. Once more the professional English archers turn the French advance into a rout, taking the French king prisoner. Check in to our hotel for one night. Day 7 – Bordeaux and Castillon. This morning we take the TGV to Bordeaux, capital of English Aquitaine and examine the Battle of Castillon, the last major battle of the war, where French developments in artillery defeated the English who had just recaptured Bordeaux. Check in to our hotel in Bordeaux for one night. Day 8 – Return. Return flight from Bordeaux to London. "This holiday was to be a holiday of a lifetime and the architecture was overwhelming and spectacular". The Battle of Crecy Amiens