Day 5: Today we changed the itinerary and went to Heimaey Island instead!

The final day of this fantastic trip has proved to be just as good as the last three.  Today we caught the ferry across to Heimaey island, which some of you(!) may remember from when it erupted in 1973.  Mr Dalton studied it as a case study in 1985 for his A levels (the same year Miss Jackson started in reception class!).

Anyway, the weather once again proved to be absolutely glorious and sunny, albeit with a biting wind. This wind managed to unsettle a few stomachs on the 35 minute crossing, but the views of the now 41 year old lava were enough to distract seasick tummies!

Our guide David walked us straight up to the top of the volcano, where the rocks are still unbelievably warm to touch and they are still steaming.  The views across to the mainland were stunning and Eyjafjallajökull volcano looked very majestic. On the other side of the island, we could see Surtsey, which erupted in 1963. 

We then practically stumbled upon a new museum that has opened with remnants of the houses that were covered in the encroaching lava.  The questions that this day has generated have been insightful and it has been great watching the pupils piece together the story of this incredible island's volcanic dramas.

Now at our final stop, the group is tired from their adventure, but the excitement and energy still palpable. We have an early start tomorrow morning but everything is on track for our arrival back in Barney at 1.30pm

 Taking in the view at the top of the volcano.

 Hands down a vent at the top of the volcano where it was like a warm oven

 Stunning panoramic scenes at the summit of the volcano.  A perfect group shot opportunity.

 A very happy geography teacher with a hand in the warm volcanic vent.

 Obligatory group shot

 The long haul up.....

 Taking in the scenery around the island.

 Can you spot Eyafjallajokull in the background?

 The walk up was hard with the ash giving way under foot like sand on a beach. 

 Another warm vent at the top of the volcano

 Feeling on top of the world!

 The view from the top and looking down into Heimaey, where the population stands at 5000.

 Imagine watching the lava flowing towards your house and not knowing whether it would stop!

 Boys at the top

 All the girls at the top.

 Remnants of a crushed house that now sit in the back garden of a new house, with public access for people like us. 

 One of the excavated houses in the new museum, which has caused some controversy on Heimaey.

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Eating lunch in the museum, with a pretty spectacular scenery in the background

 By this stage the pupils could work out where all of the lava was and how close it got to some of the houses and also that they were standing on houses that had been totally destroyed. 

 Listening to the guide David explaining the formation of the tuff rocks across the harbour. 

 Hot chocolate time!

 Sailing away from the Westmann Isles.......

 Taking time out after the steep climb up to the top of the volcano

Day 5: Tom Tyrrell-Edwards

We all had an early start to the day, waking up and having breakfast by 7.30am. First of all we set off on a ferry which lasted about 35 minutes, from Iceland to Heimaey Island. A member from our school dropped a plastic bag and Rohan K was determined to catch it while the wind was blowing a gale. While Rohan was running after the bag the rest of the group were cheering him on, after about 5 minutes he managed to stop the bag. David led the crew to the volcano, the wind was ridiculous all while we were walking around the town. It took us about 30 minutes to walk all the way to the tip of the volcano, which was very tiring. The path up the volcano in some places was very steep. At the top of the volcano we all took plenty of selfies, the views of the town were spectacular, we noticed that there were some parts of the town were covered in ash and pumice. There were streets which had building missing under the ash, the numbers on the houses would go 13,11,9 and then stop. We saw building which had been destroyed and the only remains were the iron in the building. We walked though the town via a shop which sold hot chocolate (yum yum). For some reason the teachers trusted us to meet the at the harbour at 5pm. We got on the ship and headed straight back for Iceland there were a couple of people with green faces but the spirit stayed high, when we got back to the port we got back on the bus. During the journey we blasted the songs out loud and arrived at the hotel at 8.30pm where we had dinner and happily went to bed.

Mr Dalton's trip summary.

For us all this has been a memorable experience. It has been a journey by air, coach, duck boat, foot and crampons. It has also been an amazing journey through a very special country with unique landscapes and a fascinating history. It has been a pleasure spending this time with 22 pupils; all of whom have been keen to learn and get as much as possible from their time in Iceland. Speaking on behalf of Miss Jackson, Mr Alderson and David Kelley, our guide, I would like to thank the pupils for being such good travelling companions.

DWD

Day 5: Sarah Ryan

Today was an amazing day. We woke up too early for everyone's liking (7:30) and then headed off on the bus to the Westman Islands. The ferry journey was very rough and most people felt ill but otherwise the crossing was quite short. When we got to the island we hiked up to Heimaey. Heimaey is an active volcano which erupted in 1973 and covered a third of the town in lava. Causing the main source of money, fishing, lots of damage. When we got to the top there was an amazing panoramic view of the islands and also the mainland. Some of the crater was still warm to the touch, it was truly spectacular. After we came down the steep slopes we went to an interesting museum about what happened in 1973. Inside there were excavations of some of the houses that were covered in the lava along with all the items inside, some of which still intact. It was here we spent a couple of hours going around the museum with an audio description of what happened, watching a documentary and eating lunch. After the museum visit all the teachers treated us to a hot chocolate and we were allowed to wander around the town before the ferry back to the mainland. When we got back to the bus we set off on our Icelandic twenty minute journey. This was in fact two and a half hours long which was spent singing and sleeping. When we got to the hotel we had our meal and then said our thanks to our guide Dave and the teachers and all headed off to get a good night's sleep before the ridiculously early start in the morning.

Day 5: Matthew Price

Today we took a trip on a ferry to Heimaey which took about half an hour which we spent playing cards and looking at the view from the boat. Once we arrived at the island we set off up to the top of the volcano. The view from the top was amazing which made the tough walk worth it.
After spending some time admiring the view we walked back down the volcano and visited a museum on the excavated buildings of the island caused by the destruction of the volcano. We had lunch at the museum and watched a movie on how they stopped the lava from destroying more houses and more importantly the harbour which was the islands main source of income. 
Lastly we looked around the town seeing some of the houses that still stand after the eruption and also some parts of the houses that couldn't be saved.

Day 5: Claudia Barkes

Today we were stood in a crater of an active volcano. It was an amazing experience, when you felt the ground there was warm pumice that covered the volcano. We travelled on the ferry (not my favourite way of transport), it took around thirty five minutes which I spent on the deck with the wind blowing in my face, it was really cold. We went to a really interesting museum which had an exhibition of the events that happened 41 years ago, the eruption that nearly caused the island to lose all its main income, fishing.  After the museum the teachers were really kind to us all and bought us a hot chocolate each. We then had a short stroll around the town and shortly boarded the the ferry, we then had quite a long journey on the bus to the hotel. Dave said it was an Icelandic 20 minutes which in England can go from 10 minutes to 3 and a half hours! 
We settled down in the hotel and tried to get a good night's sleep before the early start in the morning. 

Day 5: Jackson Thomas

Today we went to the Westmann Isles and looked at a church sent by the Norwegians and then went up an active volcano called Eldfell and felt the heat as the vents from the lava heated the rocks. We then went down the volcano and looked at how the lava flow covered a lot of the houses on some of the streets. Then we went to a cafe and had hot chocolate after which returning to the Icelandic mainland and residing in a hotel for the night.

Day 4: Enoch Lee

We all had an early start today having breakfast and setting of for a nice lagoon at 8:30. Soon we arrived at the lagoon to find a boat on 4 wheels waiting us. We all piled in wearing our life jackets and entered the iceberg infested water. During our journey we tried some ice that had been on the massive melting glacier for about 100 years. Later that day we went for a long walk in the biggest national park in Europe which was trying but very enjoyable. Overall we had a very fun action packed day.

Day 4: Emily Warren

Today was a very interesting day we went and saw a part of a bridge that had been broken off when the river flooded because of an erupting volcano which caused the glacier to melt in 1996. 

Then we went to a glacier lagoon where we got on a boat and went around the lagoon seeing icebergs and glaciers all around, it was amazing. Also we got to eat some ice which was 1000 years old!

Shortly after that we went to the beach which was quite different to beaches most of us are used to! On the beach there were icebergs which had been washed up onto shore and been left there to die (ie, they will eventually either melt or get washed out to sea!). We saw a French women making her music video and got into a spot of bother for walking too close to her video filming. We then hurried to our next experience. This next one was a long walk along rivers. The views were extraordinary, we finished the walk after 3 1/2 hours which was great fun as the views were amazing. 

After that we had a short trip to a place where we watched a short video on the glaciers of Iceland, then we returned back to the hotel after a long but very interesting day.

Day 4: Henry Thompson

Today we went to the ice lagoon, where we saw some icebergs. We then had a ride on the boat that took us on to the lagoon and it was very cold. We tasted some of the ice that was about 1000 years old.

After that we went to the beach which had some washed up ice on the beach. The beach was like nothing I had ever seen before. On the beach there was a grumpy French film crew for a music video and they got annoyed with us for getting in the way.

Then we went to look at another glacier and the lagoon but this one wasn't as big.

Finally we went to the national park where we had a walk up the small mountain where there lots of waterfalls. At the top of the mountain it was very very windy and it was hard to stand up. Near the top was my favorite waterfall it was made out of the same type of rock as the giant cause way and the stones had a similar hexagonal shape. We went back to the bus and went on a long journey to the hotel.

Day 4: Tom Harris

Today we left Hotel Laki at 8:30 and breakfast was very nice.  It was a huge buffet with lots of different food. First of all we set off on a boat to sail round an ice lagoon where we ate ice that had been on the melting glacier for 1000 years. 

In the lagoon that we visited two James Bond films had been filmed there. Next we went straight to the beach, there we watched a French group who were filming a music video next to an iceberg. After that we had lunch on the bus that we made earlier at breakfast and when to the biggest national park in Europe for a walk. Straight after that we watched a quick film in the information centre about a volcano that erupted in 1996. Overall we had a fantastic and exciting day.

Day 4: Sophie Hopkins

Today was such a beautiful yet tiring day. We woke up nice and early (which was very hard) and drove for ages, straight towards Öræfajökull which was amazing. It was absolutely gorgeous, everyone took plenty of photos and enjoyed the marvelous view. We then went to Jökulsárlón on a boat trip which was so tipsy but fun. The glaciers were huge, blue, white and black. We then went on a very exhausting and long walk at the national park, Vatnajökull. Once again, it was very pretty and we all enjoyed it sososo much. After the 3 and a half hour walk, we ended the day with a long bus journey back to the hotel to enjoy a delicious dinner and have a well earned rest.

Day 4: Stop three; Vatnajokull National Park

Leaving the ice lagoons behind, we drove along to have a look at the National Park visitor centre and then we took a walk up to Svartifoss (black waterfall).  By the time we were at the top, we could look out across the outwash plains to the sea and compare the distance with a drive from Barney to Darlington!  At that point, the scale of the glaciers was starting to hit home.....

Day 4 photos: Stop two, the beach at Jokalsarlon where the icebergs float out into the sea and then a second ice lagoon called Fjallsarlon

This stop always proves to be a favourite with the pupils; running along a black sandy beach with huge chunks of glacial ice and a foreboding fast flowing estuary that wouldn't be much fun to fall in.

 Gymnastics on ice!

 Chilling out on the ice....

 Fjallsarlon ice lagoon,which is along from the Jokulsarlon ice lagoon.