The lights of the north

On Tuesday night at exactly 11:32pm we got woken up to go and see one of the wonders of the modern world.  Tho the lights were dim the green glow was amazing, Ollie Cruddas managed to capture the lights in a fantastic photo as shown below

Day 2 round up

Due to technical difficulties the blog is a day behind so below are the activities we enjoyed yesterday (Day 2):
We woke up bright and early to a dark iceland; the sun doesn't rise here until about 09:15 in the morning. We boarded a coach and were treated to an informative tour of Reykjavik, highlights of the tour were the oldest icelandic tree and the first settlers house backgrounded by the bright morning sunrise.

After the tour we went to Perlan, a large water storage. From here were saw great views of the entirity of Reykjavik it was fun.
We drove for around 25 minutes to the biggest geothermal plant in the world let alone Iceland, Hellisheiði.  We saw both the high and low pressure turbine houses which generates around 65% of power for Reykjavik as well as a huge capacity of its hot water.

 

 

 

Next were the fabulous waterfalls, Seljalandsfoss and Skogafoss both at 60 metres in height.  At the first waterfall there was the opportunity to walk behind where the water falls.  We all braved the wind and went behind the water, it was by far a great experience standing behind this magnificent waterfall.  After driving round a big mountain we arrived at Skogafoss where there was a metal staircase going to the very top of the waterfall, we all climbed up and looked down onto where the waterfall met the ground below.  Here are some photos:

 

 



Day 1 round up

Day 1:
The flight from Heathrow was comfortable and the in flight service was good however some of the students found a better way to entertain themselves.

 

 

 

We arrived at Keflavik airport after a wondrous touch down, and as soon we left the terminal building we were hit with a bitter chill in the air as well as the pungent smell of sulphur, which can only be described as rotten eggs.  After a short coach transfer we arrived at the Blue Lagoon.

 

 

 

This was a huge pool heated naturally from the springs deep below the ground, the temperature difference between the air and the water was so immense that there were huge clouds of steam on the surface of the water; this meant that you could not see anything more than 5 metres away.  We spent an hour or so in the lagoon and after running from the outdoor pool into the building due to the bitter cold we got on the coach and went into Reykjavik. 

 

For the evening meal we went to a lovely restaurant and everyone had a lovely meal of Peri-Peri Chicken or a Burger.  All were extremely happy when it was announced that there was Ice-Cream for dessert.

 

 

Sorry again!

Once again we apologise for the lack of blogging so far, we have now managed to find a stable wifi and got Mr Pooles old laptop no less to work.

Blue Lagoon

After a lovely 3 hour flight we landed in keflavik. We quickly transferred to the Blue Lagoon, where we were met be a pungent smell of sulphur. We then went to a lovely restaurant where we all had Chicken or Burgers, finished off with some lovely ice-cream.

We do have pictures but at the moment we are having problems with our laptop which means we can't upload photos as we wish to.  Hopefully tonight at our next hotel we will be able to get into the laptop and will upload all the photos we can that everyone has taken. 

This morning we are going to see the city of Reykjavik and seeing some of the most fabulous waterfalls in the country.  As I said hopefully pictures will follow tonight.

All systems are go!

Getting ready to check-in everyone is present if only a bit late.

Bags are Packed!

All bags are packed and everyone is truly excited, tomorrow is the day.  Remember we are meeting by the Icelandair check-in-desk in Terminal 1 of Heathrow Airport, no later then 10:00am.  We are on flight number 451 and are due to take off at 13:00; we will be landing in Keflavik International Airport at around 16:00.  More updates shall follow tomorrow; see you in the morning!

Just 3 days to go!

Us students are getting very excited, tomorrow we organise our rooms and get given our hoodies!
The weather for Sunday looks cold, -7'c, but clear and all the Aurora forecasts point at a 50/50 chance of us seeing the Aurora Borealis! Here's what we hope to see.....

11 days to go!

Hi guys! I'm Ben McQuigg and I'm Thomas Gutteridge and we're in charge of amending this blog for your entertainment. We will be telling you about all the great activities and sites we will be enjoying along with updates from other students, including some hopefully top class photography from Miranda Clements. During the 5 days we're in Iceland we will be updating you as much as we can, so keep your eyes peeled on this blog!