TRIPS
ICELAND As I write this article with Storm Ciaran battering the glass I am minded to the power of nature and there is nowhere else on earth where it is so visceral as Iceland. With COVID well and truly behind us the School could once again embark on overseas trips, so Iceland was the first port of call for the Geography Department and those pupils cool enough to join us.
Our trip kicked off with a dip in the secret lagoon where the pupils experienced geothermal heated pools, with the air temperature around freezing the dash from the changing rooms to the pool was quicker than usual, the challenges soon arrived as the pupils jumped out and tried to walk around the lagoon as slowly as possibly before dipping into the warm waters as soon as they could. Iceland’s geology and unique processes hass resulted in more than its fair share of epic waterfalls. The visit to Gullfoss and its icy pathway was only beaten by Skógafoss (pictured) as it reared majestically from the valley floor, shivers of excitement were sent through the coach as many pupils identified it from the series Game of Thrones.
Once we had checked in at Heathrow, we then played the ‘spot the school trips to Iceland’ game; there were a few!
The visit to one of the largest geothermal power stations in the world was fascinating especially when we were treated to the newly opened carbon capture plant built along side. Zero emissions eat your heart out! During the penultimate night in the hotel a huge shout went up that people were seeing the Northern Lights. What followed was one of the finest natural light shows for some time. Many of us headed to the roof while others rapidly dressed and headed out to the bay in front of the hotel, as a rare showing of greens, blues and purples swirled and danced above the city with even local traffic stopping to observe the natural show.
The trip was clearly focussed on the famous physical Geography of Iceland where it can be seen round every corner, however, our stay was in Hotel Cabin right in the centre of Reykjavik, so the pupils’ ability to experience one of the most unique and safest capital cities in the world was not wasted. Iceland is located on what we call a constructive plate boundary where the earth is ripped apart by roiling masses of magma pushing the Eurasian plate and North American plates apart leaving magma pouring through at the gaps resulting in volcanoes, fissures and hot springs and processes like eruptions, earthquakes and warm rivers.
One of the most dangerous parts of the trip was to Reynisfjara or the Black Basalt Beach, the freak waves that can arrive uninterrupted from Southern Ocean were almost as dangerous as the pupils trying to pronounce Reynisfjara! The slowly cooled igneous rocks of the cliffs formed very similar formations found at the Giants Causeway in Northern Ireland and made for an unmissable photo opportunity.
Mr N Hill, Geography Teacher and Head of CCF
LAWRENTIAN 2023
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