Chris Culpin builds on recent articles by Andrew Wrenn and Mike Murray with numerous practical ideas for good quality site visits at Key Stage 3 and GCSE. But this article offers much more than practical tips. Chris Culpin sets out a rationale for the centrality of site visits in the history curriculum, including arguments that can be used to explain to senior managers in schools why site visits are no mere option or luxury. He also presents a robust and uncompromising critique of those departments who simply take pupils out for light relief, or who devise low-level and rather pointless activities for pupils on site. Instead, the site-visit's success is dependent on devising a genuine puzzle. This puzzle, in the form of an enquiry question, must be both historically worthwhile and highly motivating for the pupils. Vague preparation is not enough. The lessons preceding the visit must prepare pupils very thoroughly for the enquiry that they will undertake, so that when pupils arrive at the site they are motivated, focused, informed, well-briefed and raring to go.