News From Waterfalls to Volcanoes: An Icelandic adventure for Godolphin Geography students 08.11.2024
Over the first week of October half term, 44 Geography students in Years 10 to the Upper Sixth embarked on an unforgettable trip to Iceland. The trip offered students hands-on experiences in one of the world’s most geologically fascinating landscapes, including volcanic formations, glaciers, and tectonic plate boundaries.
Frankie and May in the Upper Sixth shared their experiences of the trip below:
‘As we approached Iceland we were treated to views of lava fields, volcanic islands and snow-capped mountains from the aircraft window. Once we loaded up on the coach, we headed towards the capital city, travelling through the Reykjanes Peninsula (the area of ‘tourist volcanoes’ from the recent volcanic activity).
We quickly arrived in the city of Reykjavik, and visited the main sights of the Hallgrímskirkja Cathedral and The Sun Voyager Sculpture. In the absence of our guide Andre on the first day, our very own Mrs Lloyds stepped as a tour guide. Armed with knowledge from her seven previous trips to Iceland, we learnt all about the significance of these structures.
Our first official activity was the fantastic virtual ‘flyover’ of Iceland. This involved us being secured in rollercoaster-style seats and flying over some of Iceland’s most impressive landscapes. This virtual experience was complete with water spray from waterfall plunge pools and floral scents while soaring over summer flower blooms. The virtual experience was a huge success and set us up perfectly for our week of exploring the country.
The next day was flooded with activities (no pun intended!) as we spent the whole morning relaxing in the Sky Lagoon. Swimming in this hot, geothermal pool, followed by an incredible spa experience (including various saunas, stream rooms, a cold plunge, and a scrub that left our skin feeling never before experienced levels of softness) definitely left us wanting to come back to Iceland just to go again – even the teachers were able to relax!
After our relaxing morning, we headed to a fascinating lava tunnel, buried deep beneath a lava field. We walked about 1km into this 8km tunnel, travelling back in geological time by 5,200 years to when the lava was formed. In the depths of the tunnel, where our guide evoked images of horror films, the group was challenged to stay totally silent for a whopping 10 seconds as she turned off all the lights in the tunnel, leaving us in the pitch black. Miraculously, all 44 students managed this – quite rare Godolphin behaviour!
With a jam-packed schedule, our next day began with a visit to Seljalandsfoss, where we admired multiple different waterfalls, with the highlight being one inside a cave. You can imagine the queue for students to take pictures with the scenic backdrop kept us there for quite some time!
Later on the second day, we hiked onto Sólheimajökull, the glacier that lies over the famous Eyjafjallajökull volcano, which none of us (even Mrs Lloyds with her superior Iceland knowledge) could pronounce. This experience allowed us to see ice tunnels, moulins, and crevasses. It was really special for us to see a landscape we had learnt about in class, but never before seen.
On our penultimate day, we ferried over to Heimaey, a small volcanic island off the southern coast, which we had seen from the aeroplane on the flight over! We explored the Eldheimer museum, which taught us about the 1973 eruption of Eldfell. This eruption caused new land to be created on the island, and many to abandon their homes. We then enjoyed a volcano hike to the Eldfell crater, and had some free time exploring the island. How this time was used varied between students, with some enjoying hot chocolate and Scandinavian sweet treats, and others exploring a small wildlife sanctuary which housed beluga whales and puffins! The return ferry journey to the mainland was one of the highlights of the trip, with the group enjoying an outstanding sunset together out on the deck.
In denial that we had to fly back home the next morning, we made the most of our last full day together – enjoying more waterfalls, an Icelandic horse meet and greet, as well as an incredible visit to the Eurasia and North-American tectonic plate boundary at Þingvellir National Park. We don’t think we’ve ever seen Miss Graham so excited!
The final event of the trip was witnessing molten lava in a controlled environment, and the Geography teachers’ fascination rivalled our own! The journey home was definitely a low point, we were both sad that such a fantastic trip must come to an end and distraught by the thought of waking up at 3.00am.
The trip to Iceland has left us with many memories, funny moments and amazing experiences, which we will recall for many years to come. All of this couldn’t have been achieved without our teachers who gave up their half-term to accompany us. Thank you Miss Berwick, Dr Spurling, Mrs Lloyds and new honorary geographer, Mrs Moule. A special thanks to Miss Graham who organised and led the trip. We will all remember it for a long time to come!’