Iceland Trip - September 2013
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Humanities students embark on trip to Iceland...
Having arrived in Iceland we headed to the Blue Lagoon; a geothermically heated outdoor natural pool. With air temperatures around the 3-4’C mark, the water is at least 38’C and can get into the mid-40s. After what was a good two hour swim we headed to our hotel in Reykjavik, before visiting Reykjavik Zoo. Albeit more of a farm with the type of animals on display, we did see some reindeer!! After the zoo, a quick bus ride took us to the centre of Reykavik and to Hallgrímskirkja, a church with brilliant architecture that stands tall over the city. We went to the top of the church tower and could see great views over Reykjavik and beyond including the many different coloured houses of the city.
The second day saw us visit the south of Iceland, and the impressive features along the way. We stopped off at Skógafoss, a 63 metre high waterfall where there was a brilliant rainbow. We then drove past Eyjafjallajökull, the volcano which had closed western European airspace four years ago. Before heading back we reached Vik, a small fishing port and spent time on the black pebble beaches watching the incredibly strong waves. We could also see an arch that joins the coastline; this is big enough for a large sail boat to go through. On route home we stopped off at another waterfall, Seljalandsfoss, this time being able go behind the waterfall – a chance for us to get soaked!!
In the evening we headed down to the harbour in Reykjavik to try and see the Northern Lights. Sadly though they were very faint and we could only make out the odd green swirl.
Our last day of sightseeing saw us head towards Þingvellir national park. This is where the first Icelandic Parliaments met over a thousand years ago. It is also the sight of the joining between the Eurasian tectonic plate and the North American tectonic plate which causes the volcanoes that Iceland is so famous for. We then visited Gulfoss, a huge waterfall with incredible spray. And lastly we saw the geysers, where every 3 to 9 minutes, pools of geothermically heated water erupt and spray the water up to 40 metres in the air.
It was a fantastic trip, the pupils getting to see things and experience things they that never witnessed or done before.
Article by Mr Asher
Teacher of Geography
Feedback received after the trip:
"Please would you pass on our thanks and appreciation to the members of staff who took the students to Iceland, our son had a fantastic time and thoroughly enjoyed himself, I am sure I speak for all the other parents as well, once again thank you very much." Parents of Year 11 Student