Glaciers, Geysers and Geo-thermal Pools!

From Monday 15^th to Friday 19^th October, 43 of our keen Geographers ventured to see the best of the Icelandic sights during half term, captivating students with gigantic glaciers, explosive geysers and enticing geo-thermal pools.

At the beginning of the week students enjoyed experiencing physical aspects of Geography first-hand as they went to see the visible parts of the North Atlantic ridge, where they saw explosion craters along the rifts of the land and learnt about coastal erosion. Students were impressed to see a major rift where two tectonic plates, Europe and America, are dividing, and here everyone decided they should form a Leighton Park link between the continents, making a spectacular photo souvenir!

Due to the harbour for the ferry trip to Vestmannaeyjar being cancelled, Thursday’s trip to the spa got pushed forward and students enjoyed relaxing in naturally heated pools and hot tubs after a long day of sight-seeing. A trip to the historical seat of the first parliament in the world was followed after a visit to one of the ten best waterfalls in the world, Gullfoss, and a walk beside its gorge. By this point the rain had cleared and the sun was shining and everyone witnessed spectacular rainbows. Students were stunned by incredible geyser explosions, especially from the infamous 1000-year-old geyser, ‘Strokkur’, located beside the Hvita River. To end the day students brushed up on their volcano knowledge as they explored an interactive Lava Museum.

Excitement and adventure continued towards the end of the trip, as students got to walk on a glacier, complete with crampons and ice axes, and learnt about the rapid reduction of them due to the effects of global warming.

After waking up to rain and freezing wind for their final day, everyone was pleased the day’s activities were underground caving in lava tunnels and a tour of Reykjavik which was a fantastic day to round off truly memorable trip.

See more photos from the trip in the Flickr gallery below!