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At the start of the second week of the half term break, twenty two 4th and 5th year pupils set off for a geography field trip to
Iceland.
Having landed safely at
Keflavik airport the first visit took the pupils to The Blue Lagoon, which is a fantastic geothermal pool. The pool was literally ‘blue’ and the temperature of a warm bath. Mrs Thornborrow said “it was very atmospheric to be swimming outdoors on a cold winter’s evening with all the mist rising up from the water and the dramatic basaltic scenery.”
The following day pupils visited the Rift Valley that marks the place where the North American and Eurasian plates are pulling apart, which creates some spectacular scenery. They then headed to Gulfoss which is dramatic waterfall, made all the more impressive by the fact that the spray had frozen all around the waterfall to create a quite magical setting. Geysir and the site of super heated water spouting from the ground was the next site. Here a geyser shoots up every 5minutes or so – quite a sight. Then, to prove that this water really was hot, the pupils went to another village to boil eggs in the geothermally heated pools and had an interesting tour of a state of the art geothermal power plant.
On Wednesday the pupils set off along the south coast of
Iceland to see a number of other geographical features, most notably an enormous waterfall that was created as the landmass rose up following the last ice age. At this point they were able to see the end of the rainbow, quite literally! Following this, pupils visited a glacier, the snout and then more dramatically, they were towed by a snowgroomer up onto the glacier. Despite being incredibly cold, the weather was fantastic and perfect for an impromptu snowball fight. On the way to the second hotel the pupils visited a stunning black basalt beach where there were huge basaltic columns and text book arches and stacks as well as dramatic waves.
After an early rise the next morning the pupils headed back towards Reyjavik via Seljalandsfoss waterfall, where they were able to walk behind it and witness very close up the incredible force of water. Afterwards they went whale watching and were able to see Minke Whales, White Bottle Nose Dolphins and Harbour Porpoises. Mr Parry said “the dolphins were incredible, following the boat and surrounding us on several occasions.” The trip came to a close with a little souvenir shopping and a Ten Pin Bowling session.
Mr Parry and Mrs Thornborrow would like to thank the pupils for their good conduct, and excellent humour throughout the trip.
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