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Edinburgh 2018 Day 4
Sat 16 Jun 2018Up early, a quick breakfast and then it was time to pack the coach. A last minute room inspection revealed a sock, wallet and facecloth, but on the whole the kids were really well organised.
It was a short drive to Blair Drummond. When we arrived the coach drove through the safari park and we were able to see a wide variety of wild animals. A highlight was when we were in the lion enclosure and they keepers released what appeared to be a new lioness into the area. The pride who were lying quite peacefully on the grass instantly got to their feet and we witnessed a a rather feisty confrontation. Following this we entered the monkey enclosure and one cheeky little monkey scaled the front of our coach attempting to rip off the wing mirror as he took to the roof. Eventually we were able to move on and park the coach.
We headed straight for the zip line and the kids loved taking turns to zoom over the lake below. This was followed by a turn in the paddle boats. Afterwards we all squeezed onto a large motor boat and headed out to Chimp Island.
The children were keen to see the sea lion show and they were not disappointed. Two sea lions entertained us with a fascinating display. Some of our pupils could learn a thing or two about following instructions from the two sea lion pups.
After lunch we spent some time in the fantastic play park then it was back on the bus and off to spend some money in the shopping centre at Brae Head. After 2 hours of shopping the children returned with lots of interesting and thoughtful gifts.
Our coach journey to the ferry became something of a musical extravaganza as we were entertained in a singalong version of The Greatest Showman. Once on board the boat we headed for the restaurant and then got to watch Portugal v Spain.
Everyone was in good spirits and several have commented on this being the highlight of their P7 year.
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Edinburgh 2018 Day 3
Fri 15 Jun 2018Another beautiful night of uninterrupted sleep. These kiddies are great between the hours of 10:30pm and 7:00am! After breakfast some of the children asked to go to LIDL. It was just across the road from the hotel so we took a group who quickly raided the donut and chocolate cookie baskets.
At 9:00am we set off for Dynamic Earth. Once again the children were really excited. On arrival we were greeted by the staff who split us into two groups. The boys set off first taking the “time machine” to discover some of the history of our world. The girls group quickly caught up and together we enjoyed the ice berg, 3D biome ride and the Rainforest show. Finally, we explored the museum shop adding to the plethora of pencils, rubbers, stretchy men and furry toys we have been collecting on the trip.
As we left we passed by the front of the Scottish Parliament and witnessed a small demonstration in response to the walk out in Parliament yesterday.
We drove on to Butterfly and Insect World and had a picnic on the grassy area outside. Then with our two guides, Kev and Anya we went into the Tropical zone. The children were amazed with the range of creatures which included, small birds, fish, butterflies, turtles, tortoises, snails and rows upon rows of cocoons. After we had spent a significant amount of time wandering the paths we were called into the Demonstration area where we got to hold a millipede, royal python and a tarantula. We also got to see scorpions, cockroaches, a few lizards and lots of exotic snakes.
The children thoroughly enjoyed the experience and several conquered their fears and held all three creatures. Despite the weather warnings the day turned out to be very pleasant so most of the kids bought an ice cream in the shop afterwards.
Back at the hotel we had time for a shower and dinner before a short trip to the local cinema to see Jurassic World. This turned out to be a very popular choice of movie. We received several compliments about our pupils’ manners and behaviour.
The movie finished at 10:00pm so when we returned to the hotel we did not have much time to pack for tomorrow and tidy up the bedrooms a bit.
Everyone is fast asleep now, but they all went to bed very excited about Blair Drummond and shopping…oh yes and coming home too.
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Edinburgh 2018 Day 2
Wed 13 Jun 20186:50am – Mr H woke to complete and utter silence…if only every school trip went like this. It actually took the staff 20 minutes to wake a very sleepy looking bunch and convince them that it was actually time for breakfast.
One cooked breakfast later and with half the kids showered we hit the road with our guide Neil. Unusually Neil joined us at the hotel as he lives quite close and so we actually gained about 45 minutes more listening to his stories and facts about the sights around us. This year we even got into Holyrood Park and took in the spectacular views of Edinburgh city. The children listened really carefully to the historical tales and lapped up the more modern facts too.
Eventually we arrived at the castle and Neil led the way. We saw the Great Hall and the dungeons, grabbed a bite of lunch and lined up to wait for the one o’clock gun. It was another bright day and although it was a bit windy everyone appears to have enjoyed the experience so far.
The highlight of the day came however when we arrived at Deep Sea World. The children enjoyed several turns on the automatic walkway through the aquarium and even got to see the divers cleaning the tank. The group divided in two and took it in turn to listen to a talk about animals competing for survival. This was followed by an opportunity to touch a living starfish, corn snake, stick insect and a bearded dragon. Some of the group got to see the seals being fed and everyone made short work of the pic and mix stand in the shop. The poor shop attendant seemed resigned to the fact that the children were going to try and get away with tubs that resembled the sweetie version of Everest.
Back at the hotel the other half of the group were sent to shower and after a short period of “relaxation and reflection” we headed down for dinner.
After another lovely meal it was time to ramp up the competition at the local bowling alley. Games were closely contested and almost everyone scored a strike or two even the teachers. A little time and a few left over pennies were blown on the arcade games before we headed back to Cladhan HQ for a well-earned rest.
The good weather broke this evening and we are expecting gale force winds tomorrow. Thankfully all activities are indoors so it won’t affect our day. Spare a thought for the schools we have met on the trip so far who are due to spend a full day in Blair Drummond tomorrow!
Night all! Check in with you again in the morning on ClassDojo.
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Edinburgh 2018 Day 1
Tue 12 Jun 2018It began at 5:15am as birdsong welcomed a state of the art Ulsterbus to the sleepy Ballymore Road. Soon a group of 38 excited travellers took their seats, waved farewell to some teary eyed parents before tucking into whatever sugary treats they'd managed to squirrel into their backpacks.
By 7:30am an increasingly noisy team found their way onto the Stenaline ferry bound for Scotland. Having settled into the entertainment lounge some took front row seats in the cinema to watch Jumanji, a few badgered their way to the shop and the rest gradually emerged from the bottom of their sweetie bags to find they were halfway across the Irish sea.
It was a fairly uneventful crossing. Most of the group wanted to get out on the deck and take in the views, sun and sea breeze. It really was very pleasant and we received more than one compliment from other passengers about our pupils' manners, conduct and general behaviour.
Once we arrived in Scotland we made our way to Glasgow passing Ibrox Stadium on the way. We ate lunch outside the Science Museum before taking our seats in the Imax cinema for a terrifically entertaining show entitled "Under the Sea - 3D". The shrieks and sea of hands reaching out to grasp 3D fish, crabs and snakes was confirmation of a very successful first activity.
We fought our way through the crowds in the gift shop making the most of our pocket money then headed for the Science exhibits. There are three floors of interactive displays and we were particularly impressed with how intent this group of pupils were on trying out each activity.
When we left at 4:30pm we faced a rather torturous journey out of Glasgow in the middle of rush hour traffic. The children entertained us with songs and chants and the usual journey specific questions, how much further? how long is it? are we nearly there yet? when will you tell us our rooms?
Five minutes before we arrived at the hotel Mr H finally released the exciting news and armed with room keys the children raced to change out of their uniform and into something a little trendier.
A delicious tea of burgers, chips, curry and rice (not all at once) was followed by ice-cream or caramel squares. Then we headed for the park to burn off a few calories and the last dregs of energy.
Unfortunately the dinner appeared to have reinvigorated the travelling hordes and despite time in the play park, a competitive game of rounders and football and several goes on a zip line the children seemed more energetic than ever as we headed back to the hotel for bed.
Perhaps it was the long day, heat and sugar overload, but a few went to bed rubbing their tummies. Cue the fizzy drink ban tomorrow! Anyway all asleep now so rest easy folks we will update you again tomorrow.
