Last month, the Higher Geography class were very lucky once again and had the opportunity to go on another field trip. This time it was a daytrip to the beautiful Isle of Aaran. The aim was to learn more about rivers and carry out a few field studies in and around them, and of course, to admire the wonderful geographical scenery that the island has to offer. In this article, I’ll tell you all about my experiences with my Geography class on this fun day out.
It was an early start that day as we left Clydeview Academy at 8:00am to make it to Ardrossan in time for the early morning ferry. The day was very sunny; however, it was very, very cold – one of the coldest days so far this year. Fortunately, the large amount of walking we did later that day warmed us up. When we first arrived on the island, we had to get the bus so we could reach Glen Sannox, where we would be carrying out our river study. The bus trip allowed us to see more of the local sights as we drove by.
Upon reaching our start-point at Glen Sannox, we could already see the spectacular views that awaited us. We could see towering hills and steep cliffs at either side of us with a drop of snow on their peaks. They curved towards the ground at their bases, creating a scenic valley which surrounded us as we followed the path of the river. A few of us were wearing welly boots, which was definitely a good decision as the path could be quite muddy and even slippy due to the ice which had formed overnight.
As I mentioned earlier, our aim of the trip was to carry out a field study of the river we visited. There were many parts to this, including measuring the depth at various points along a specific point in the river. We also had to measure the width of the river and carry out an analysis of the smaller rocks which make up its base. The best part of all was when we got to use the rubber ducks which we brought with us as we would release them from a point in the river and time how long it would take them to reach a second specified point. We would then calculate the velocity of the duck, so it was sort of like a highly competitive new sport known as ‘Rubber Duck Racing’.
Overall, it was a very enjoyable day out and what we learned about Glen Sannox was very beneficial to our studies in Higher Geography. I hope that this trip will be able to go ahead again for the next generation of Higher Geographers so I’ll include a few top tips for any winter adventure to Glen Sannox:
Tips for a River Study at Glen Sannox:
- Wear Multiple Layers:
I think by now I’ve made it clear that it was freezing when we left school in the morning so plenty of layers is definitely a must. However, I would say bring layers that you can take off easily as it gets really warm when you’re hiking. - Wear Welly Boots
Even if you’re not going to be one of the people who are brave enough to stand in the river to carry out the research (it’s quite a shallow river, only the height of a welly), you should still wear your boots as the path can be very muddy. - Bring Lots of Snacks
As we spent most of the trip admiring the beautiful scenery, we didn’t have time to visit any shops before our hike so I would recommend bringing some snacks. You can also get something warm to eat on the ferry.
Good luck to any future Geographers going on an adventure to the Isle of Aaran or any other cool locations!
Article by Jack Ramsay, Head Boy
