4 minute read
Geography Field Trip to Arran
The trip began by us all meeting at school ready to start our lengthy trip to Ardrossan Harbour. After the coach and ferry trip we finally arrived in Lochranza where we were to stay for a week. Unsurprisingly, the first job was to find Wi-Fi, signal and the means of watching Love Island! Luckily, the common room in Lochranza’s Field Work centre had Wi-Fi and a TV with ITV2, however the only problem we faced now was trying to get everyone to be quiet and to only talk during the breaks!
After a restful night and a refuel at breakfast (which failed to meet Billy’s mass gaining standards) the work began. We trooped behind our guides Franny, Sam and Douglas to the saltmarsh where we examined species and began the rock skimming competition, lead by Gordon Bates himself. After a delightful lunch we trekked into the hills where we looked at infiltration rates and got attacked by midges. This was followed by a hearty pasta dinner and to many people’s disbelief a lesson on data in the evening. Thankfully it finished in time for the Love Island viewing at 9pm.
Day 3 was action packed with a morning of longshore drift and afternoon of beaches. A sweaty bus ride lead us to a walk along the coast and consequently an explore in the King’s Cave. Here, a small member of the group squeezed themselves into a rather small crevis and was unable to get out again. Swiftly, the fellow geographers managed to remove the individual as Douglas called for us to move on. We carried on our journey with a walk along the scenic coastline to the well renowned locally famous alien stone piles (Machrie Standing Stones). We were then faced with a stone stacking competition where Callum, Cameron and Charlie were victorious, winning a Mars bar each. The day concluded with a well deserved food top up at Blackwaterfoot’s Co-Op.
Day 4 began bright and early and we were all offered the opportunity to go for a morning ‘jog’ with Mrs Tooby-Smith, which surprisingly most of us declined. After breakfast we then took a tour around Arran’s four villages; Blackwaterfoot, Lamlash, Brodick and Lochranza. Starting the day in Brodick we attempted to interview locals, however most of the group ended up in the Co-Op once again replenishing their food supplies. This process then continued in all four villages as food was clearly the priority! Organising our results back at the centre then made us set for our final day at work as we knew exactly what was left to complete our fieldwork.
Thursday was focussed purely on individual NEA’s. This therefore meant that the group was divided into human and physical; the human geographers revisited the villages where they pleaded with locals to answer their questionnaires. Whereas the physical geographers departed to the beach/salt marsh/hills where some soil sampling and smearing took place. The day concluded with a round or two of golf and yet again more classroom work!
The final full day in Arran was left in the geographers’ hands as we were allowed to ‘chill’. Here, many took the opportunity to soak up the beautiful surroundings, play golf, or to go for a walk to The Whinn or whisky distillery (where samples sadly weren’t allowed for pupils). Friday was also the day of a young individual’s 17th birthday; Ben Hall. In celebration, a birthday tune was sung and a delicious slice of cake was offered – which Billy, Archie and Cameron clearly wanted seconds of!
Bright and early on Saturday morning the coach from Arran departed to Brodick Ferry Terminal where we were to begin our return to sunny York. Overall, the trip was a success and Mr Bowden managed to capture many of the fine moments on camera; all found on @STPGeography1 twitter page.
We would like to say a big thankyou to Mrs Tooby-Smith, Mr Bowden and Mr Bates for all their help in organising such a memorable and enjoyable trip.
Ed Morrison and Bea Barker
