BUDMOUTH College students travelled to Iceland for a geography and geology field trip, writes Shannon Healy of Budmouth College.

The team kicked off the trip with a stop at The Blue Lagoon, a steaming hot geothermal pool set in a picturesque lava mountain background, before heading to a hotel in the capital city Reykjavìk.

The next day consisted of heading out to a few of the many waterfalls that are scattered around the country and even getting to walk behind one, before strapping metal spikes to their feet and walking up one of the largest glaciers in Iceland.

Tarryn Gill from Year 12 said: “The glacial walk was incredible and a once in a lifetime opportunity. It was a unique trip and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is interested.”

The next day students experienced a power cut and candlelight breakfast as the winds reached 110mph outside.

After driving through a 20km long lava field, winds once again built up causing some of the coach windows to smash and the coach to momentarily go up on two wheels.

The team sheltered in a nearby National Park tourist centre.

Sebastian Webster from Year 13 said that “Iceland was an awe inspiring country to visit. Being able to experience such extreme weather, from blindingly white blizzards through to hurricane force winds, was something that will stick with me for a long time to come.”

However, the day’s events were soon forgotten as in the evening the students got a glimpse of the ‘breath-taking spectacle’ that is the Northern Lights.

Fay Hawkins and Tom Coombs, both from Year 11, described the phenomenon as ‘amazing’ and a ‘must see’.

Fay added that she felt that it was a ‘once in a lifetime’ experience.

Kieran Llewellyn from Year 12 said he felt ‘lucky’ to have seen the natural phenomenon.

The following two days’ activities included visiting hot springs in Hveragerði ‘the Flower Town’ created in the 2008 earthquake, experiencing a 6.6 magnitude earthquake in a simulator and visiting a Caldera crater named Kerid which was caused by a magma chamber emptying and collapsing in on itself.

Afterwards the group followed the tourist route known as the ‘Golden Circle’ which included Gullfoss – a stunning waterfall – and a live geyser (coincidentally named Geysir) before ending with the Mid Atlantic Rift - a deep trench of water in Iceland caused by the Eurasian and North American plates pulling apart.