The annual CHS Iceland trip was back for 2022! Y12 Geography student, Imogen Hirst recaps on the highlights in her Iceland blog:
Iceland – Land of Fire, Ice, Water (and Storms!)
We were all so excited to board our flight from Manchester on 21st February, to spend five days in Iceland – a once in a lifetime experience!
However, after passing through security in Reykjavik, it became clear that our itinerary had changed due to a storm hitting Iceland that night. The roads were shut, so we set off for an emergency night’s stay in the Viking Hotel. After a bumpy coach ride through the storm, we arrived safely and enjoyed some delicious homemade Icelandic food.
With another change to our plans the next day, we went swimming at Laugardalslaug pool in Reykjavik – there was a water slide which even the teachers went down a few times! We spent the rest of the afternoon in Reykjavik town, exploring the local shops and tourist destinations, stopping at Sólfar and Hallgrímskirkja. The next day we visited the Lava Centre, and learnt about the volcanic processes that formed Iceland, and viewed Eyjafjallajökull from the platform above the centre. At Seljalandsfoss, we found the spectacular hidden waterfall by walking through a cave, over icy rocks (hoping nobody would fall into the water!). We had some fun in the snow, and went on a guided walk to hear about how the Sólheimajökull glacier was formed. We were kitted out with crampons, harnesses and ice picks, which we were allowed to use to break some of the ice (sucking on it for refreshment). We also saw the sad truth of how climate change has caused the glaciers to retreat, even just in the past decade. The next stop was Skógafoss Waterfall to climb the hundreds of stairs and see the breath taking view from the top – then on to Black Sand Beach, to explore the landforms on the coastline.
On our last day we took part in the Golden Circle tour, driving to Gulfoss Waterfall: one of the most impressive in Europe. We arrived at the Great Geysir, all hoping to get the perfect photo of the eruption. It was a slippery walk back to the coach where spotted beautiful, friendly Icelandic horses. We went on next to the relaxing Fontana Spa, with geothermal pools and an ice cold lake – it was magnificent and we wanted to stay there forever. Our final visit was to Thingvellir National Park which is the only place in the world where the Mid-Atlantic Ridge is visible above sea level. This location is known as ‘the bridge between two continents’ as it lies on major plate boundaries- the Eurasian and North American along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
On behalf of all the students, thank you to Mr Douglas, Mrs Brown, Miss Halpin, Mrs Morgan and Mr Power. We enjoyed every second of the trip!
