Cultural exchanges of a sporting nature were in order when Llanbradach Youth and Junior Football Club recently visited Lannion in Britanny, France.
Caerphilly has been twinned with Lannion for since 1991 and through this association, Llanbradach has been twinned with Ploubezre.
For the past 15 years the village has enjoyed a footballing rivalry with junior players from the village heading out to Lannion and French players coming to Llanbradach in alternate years.
This year was the turn of Llanbradach Youth and Junior Football Club to head across the channel taking an under 16s team and an under 15s.
Club President Kenny Ball said: “We were asked 15 years ago to take a football team out there and we started with a minibus.
“This year we took 52 seater bus 42 players and ten adults.
“The boys don’t know what they’re getting into and it’s something new for them. For boys that age, they often go on holiday to Spain and stay in a hotel. This trip, they stay and live with a family for four days and experience a different culture.”
This year, along with the football and cultural exchange, there was a special trip made by the football club to the grave of a sailor believed to have been from the Caerphilly area and buried in nearby Servel Cemetery.