The group of 54 visited Holland, Germany and Belgium as part of a nine day trip.

Ottery’s scouts and explorers have enjoyed a ‘trip of a lifetime’ to Europe, taking in the sights of Holland, Belgium and Germany.

Accompanied by adult volunteers, the group of 54 travelled from Ottery to Scoutcentrum Kruithuis for nine days.

The action-packed programme included cycling to Kinderdijk to visit 19 working windmills and enjoying day trips to Amsterdam, Europe’s largest indoor water park, and Moviepark in Germany.

The youngsters also met fellow scouts from France and went indoor go-karting and windsurfing.

The group visited the Passchendaele museum ahead of the battle’s 100 year anniversary, before travelling to the Tyne Cot commonwealth cemetery - the largest World War One cemetery in the world.

Before their trip, Ottery Heritage Society gave a presentation about the five soldiers from the town and its surrounding areas that died in the battle.

Explorer leader Jeff Abbott said: “It was a very sobering visit for the young people. Many of the explorer scouts who were 16 and 17 could have been fighting at the battle and, when they saw the ages of some of the fallen soldiers, many had some quiet moments to contemplate how fortunate they are nowadays.”

The group also visited the German cemetery at Zonnebeke.