27/02/24 Tuesday
It was a dreary Tuesday morning, and the air was full of adrenaline and anticipation as cars turned up one by one at the vast pier in Port Ellen. The sound of trundling suitcases and animated children speaking enthusiastically; soon after the trailers were loaded to the brim with luggage the ferry set off on its course, sailing smoothly towards Kennercraig.
After the trouble-fr
ee boat trip and the long bus ride we arrived at the majestic Stirling Castle to meet our tour guide. The regal Queen Ellie May Chandler (a P6 from Port Ellen Primary School) lead us around assisted by our guide. The magnificent ancient structures towered around us in the courtyard, the immense sandstone structures looking down at us like skyscrapers.
Soon after Stirling castle and a swift trip back to the hostel we went to Hollywood Bowling. We split into teams of six and claimed our lanes; many students knocked all the pins down, many even got strikes! Adversaries met in bowling battles and many new friendships and rivalries.
28/02/24 Wednesday
On Wednesday we set off on the long journey to Edinburgh. The schools were ecstatic and excited to get to the activities; the first thing we did was a snappy trip around the National Museum of Scotland. We walked through history, exploring the ancient timelines, identifying prehistoric noises, smells, and objects, and even seeing how much we weighed compared to various dinosaurs! But sadly, our journey came to an end, and we moved on to the next educational attraction.
We took a rapid bus ride to our next stop, the fascinating Dynamic Earth! The schools were eager as we adventured through time learning how the world was formed, first we got a brief explanation of how mountains were formed with shifting plates and so on. Then we hopped into a time machine to witness the big bang and the beginning of our universe and the making of our then young galaxy. Then we went and witnessed earth being formed and felt the vibration of our planet as vague landscapes were formed. After that we saw glaciers and snowstorms shaping the fantastic views we have today.
After that we went around Edinburgh Zoo to see adorable Red Pandas, Meercats on patrol and sun bears basking on their playpark. Then we went to Tony Macaroni in the lower floor of the cinema and then travelled upstairs to settle into the cinema to watch the marvellous movie, Wonka.
29/02/24 Thursday
Today we travelled to Stirling play park, a happy enjoyable experience, but then we took a brisk trip into the heart of Stirling, to Stirling prison where everyone was scared out of their skin by the incredible actor who impersonated the ancient historical figures who were instrumental in the history of Stirling prison. Later that day we travelled to Bannockburn the place a key battle was fought in the wars of independence we acted out the battle in the way the historical figures would have and learnt about the hard ship the knights had to go through. Finally we visited the majestic Kelpies at night, a fitting end to a fabulous trip that will provide many happy memories.
Evie
