Manor House made their first visit to Iceland over the May Bank Holiday weekend this year. It was an exciting and action packed trip. A party of 13 students with Ms Lafferty and Mrs Ward were based in Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland for the three nights of the tour.
We arrived at Keflavik International Airport where our coach and guide brought us to the unique geothermal spa called the Blue Lagoon, situated in the youngest lava field in West Iceland. Here we relaxed in the hot waters and enjoyed the wonderful surroundings.
From there we toured the Reykjanes Peninsula where we saw fissures, lava fields and geothermal activity in the steamy area called Seltun.
The Golden Circle Tour on day two visited some of Iceland’s most stunning sights. Strokkur Geysir shoots a column of water up to 30 metres into the air every 4-8 minutes. Gullfoss Waterfall plunges 32 metres into the canyon below. Thingvellir National Park is where the American and Eurasian tectonic plates are pulling apart as seen by the many fissures present. The visit ended with a tour of Fridheimar Farm where tomatoes are cultivated using geothermal energy. The farm also has stables which house the famous Icelandic Pony.
The journey to Solheimajokull Glacier on day 3 was made in spectacular conditions in a snow storm before we descended into the valley and onto the outlet glacier. Our experienced mountain guide taught us how to use basic glacier equipment for the tour. We explored ice sculptures, ridges and deep crevasses on the walk and learnt about the effects of global warming on this area. On the way back to Reykjavik we passed by Eyjafjallajokull Volcano whose ash cloud caused so much disruption to European air travel in 2010. We also visited the magnificent waterfalls of Skogafoss and Seljalandsfoss.
We departed early the following morning for Keflavik Airport with lots of great memories from this trip.
(Report by Ms Lafferty)