October half term saw 25 geographers from the Fifth Form and Upper College spend six days in Iceland on a field
trip, immersing themselves in Icelandic culture and witnessing first hand spectacular physical geography at work.
We based ourselves in the south-west corner of the island, but travelled far and wide thanks to our guide Lilja. The first morning we scaled the south-western slope of Eldfell, a volcano which last erupted in 1973.
Blustering gale-force winds did nothing to dampen the spirits and we made it to the top in time for toasted sandwiches (aptly named volcanic toasties).
Much of Hiemay was victim to the lava flows from the 1973 eruption, and we were lucky enough to explore sites destroyed by this lava flow, currently being excavated.
While most of the group stayed in the geothermal pool for longer than planned due to having far too much fun on the trampoline slide (much to the delight of the local Westmann Islanders), Mr Penny did manage to persuade Ross, Bruce, Blackburn, Weyers and Martin to join him on an evening hike up Heimaklettur.
Despite some severe ladders, they made it up and down in one piece with some stunning views taken in along the way.
The following morning we visited two majestic waterfalls, Seljalandsfoss and Skogafoss, before completing a glacier trek on the Solheimajokull ice sheet.
This truly was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, with the entire party donning crampons and ice-picks and spending two hours clambering over one of the most rapidly retreating icesheets in Iceland. On our way to our base in Laugarvatn that evening we stopped off at Gullfoss waterfall and the Geysir hot spring.
Unfortunately however, the latter succeeded in eluding many of the keen photographers in the group by refusing to erupt at the crucial moment. We spent the majority of day four at Thingvellir, the famous rift valley between the North American and Eurasian plates.
This was the founding place of Iceland’s parliament, but more importantly, it was the site of Mr Gasson’s and Mr Penny’s excellent outdoor geography lesson.
Then it was onto Reykjavik where many of the party decided a swim in the sea was in order to establish just who could withstand three degree sea water… This was swiftly followed by recovery in the nearest hot tub and a wonderful three-course meal in downtown Reykjavik.
The penultimate day was full of mixed activities: walking over delicate mosses to find a lava arch; lunch on a beach of black sand accessible only to those who crossed the lava field on foot; a (brief!) visit to the sulphurous mud springs, and an afternoon to explore the northern-most capital city in the world.
The final morning saw us arrive at the Blue Lagoon in time to be the first people in the world-renowned flooded lava fields, and we all took every opportunity to make the most of it (the silica mud face-masks were a particular highlight). A final pit-stop allowed us to explore the delights of Grindavik fishing village before jumping on the plane back to Heathrow.
You can read more about the trip, and enjoy many more photos, by visiting the blog at http://welcometocheltenhamcollegegeography.blogspot.com/ Miss Emily Hartley geography Departmen