On Monday 20th July 8 members of Saint Aidan’s staff travelled to London with 42 excited students for a trip of a lifetime. Mrs Rossall has been running this trip for over 10 years and each year it gets better and better.
Day 1
We arrived in London by lunch time and took our first journey on the underground to drop our bags at our accommodation, the Youth Hostel at Saint Paul’s. There was no time to dawdle as we had a booking at The London Eye, this was the first time this attraction had been added to the trip and it did not disappoint. We walked over the Millennium Bridge and along South Bank taking in the sights, sounds and smells of the River Thames, for some it was their first visit to London. As the wheel turned we had a birds eye view of all of the major tourist attractions of our capital city, even those in the party who were a little nervous soon forgot how far up we were.
It was the height of the heatwave, so after the London Eye we had an ice cream stop before walking over Westminster Bridge on our way to Westminster Abbey. The sights were amazing with the newly renovated Big Ben welcoming us over the bridge next to the splendid Houses of Parliament. We were booked in for a tour of Westminster Abbey, followed by evensong, another first for this trip. We saw the tomb of the unknown warrior and took time to remember those who had sacrificed their lives for us in conflict. The building was splendid, it was a real privilege to be in such a wonderful place. Our tour guides were very knowledgeable making our visit one to remember, some of our students were invited to light a candle in memory of a loved one, a really special moment. After our tour we stayed in The Abbey to partake in Evensong, after such a busy day this was the perfect time to reflect, think of others and pray for a safe and happy trip.
Dinner was booked at Las Iguanas on the Southbank, we were so ready for a sit down and a good nourishing meal. After dinner it was another walk back to the Youth Hostel to check in a settle down for the night.
Day 2
After a good night’s sleep and a filling breakfast we got ourselves ready to start our first full day, it promised to fun filled and very exciting. Our first stop was Borough Market, a historic, bustling food destination that has served as a vibrant trading hub for fresh produce and artisanal street food for over a thousand years. The foods were so tempting and many students experienced foods they had never had before or were thrilled that they found their favourite foods.
Our next stop was The Tower of London for a very special private talk by one of The Tower’s Yeoman Warders. Mrs Balch was able to arrange a special talk with Simon Towe who after serving in the army became a ‘Beefeater’ and has now worked at The Tower for a number of years. We were privileged to be able to go into ‘The Keys’ where Simon told us all about life at The Tower and allowed the students to ask questions.
After an amazing time exploring The Tower, seeing The Crown Jewels, The White Tower, The Ceremony of the Word and the filming of the next series of ‘Inside the Tower of London’ it was time for us to catch an Uber Boat to Greenwich. On our way to Greenwich park, we called in at the market where students were able to purchase souvenirs and soak up the atmosphere of a traditional London market hall. We arrived at the park for our bi-annual game of rounders in a London park, it really wouldn’t be ‘The London Trip’ if we didn’t do that! We had great fun with staff and students joining in together. Mrs Palin got her science geek on and took a group of students to see The Meridian line before we walked back past the Cutty Sark to have dinner at Zizzi.
Day 3 & 4
As this trip is so popular we had to split up on these days as Harry Potter Studios could not accommodate us all at once; all students experienced a day at Harry Potter Studios, a walking food tour and the option of visiting the V&A or The Natural History Museum, with both groups meeting later in the day for the evening’s activities.
The Harry Potter Studio Tour was truly magical, as soon as we walked through the doors, we felt as though we had stepped into the wizarding world. We explored the Great Hall, saw the detailed sets used in the films, and admired the incredible costumes and props. Our favourite part was walking down Diagon Alley and seeing Hogwarts Castle model up close. Some of us even tried a cup of Butterbeer! It was an unforgettable day filled with wonder, excitement, and movie magic.
Whilst students were having a wizarding time at Harry Potter studios the other group had a relaxing start to the day before beginning their walking food tour around the historical area of Bermondsey. Our tour took us through London’s old docklands and underneath the iconic Tower Bridge. We experienced a talk about London’s past, at one point the world’s busiest trading hub, we saw many of the old warehouses that were once used to act as a conduit to either import or export all the goods to or from around the world. Since then, due to the increased size of the ships, the ports and warehouses of London have moved further out and all the old warehouses and factories have now been transformed into swanky apartments that will cost a pretty penny or two. Upon entering the Rope Walk, we came upon our first location called ‘Comptoir Gourmond.’ The owner is French and is named ‘Sebastien Wind.’ The artisan bakers were baking all their delicious goods at the back of the bakery whilst we were welcomed into the front of the shop to begin our hands on bakery experience. Comptoir Gourmand is a bakery which can be found underneath the railway arches in Bermondsey. They have a passion for baking and also for doughnuts and brioche buns, they have created the world’s first brionut; A cross between a doughnut and brioche bun. Students were taught how to fill and decorate their own brionut before eating it with freshly prepared fruit juices. They were amazing!
After a wonderfully sweet start we walked up to Bermondsey high street where we peered into the bay window of a very exciting Italian restaurant called ‘Flour & Grape.’ This huge kitchen window falls right onto the street enabling us to watch the chefs make the fresh pasta before having the oportunity to taste pasta that had only been made a few hours before. The pasta was the most amazing pasta we had ever tasted sparking our taste buds into overdrive.
Once we had devoured our pasta, we made our way to Borough Market, where our next stop was ‘Porteña’ meaning ‘a woman from the port city’ tucked-away is an Argentinian empanaderia where we were able to choose from a selection of freshly baked empanadas. We really didn’t think we could eat any more but we found a tiny space for our final stop at the world-famous chocolatier – Alain Ducasse. He has the most Michelin stars in the world, with Gordon Ramsay following right behind. This chocolatier can be found in the newest part of Borough Market, called Borough Yards. We were given samples of chocolates and truffles to try and one of the managers talked to us a little about the process, story and incredible products.
Before meeting the wizards for evening activities the foodies hot footed across London to experience their choice of museum, whether that be the V&A for the artists amongs us or the Natural History Museum for the scientists. A great time was had by all.
Evening activities
We couldn’t have a school trip without a quiz night, so Wednesday was that night. Students got them selves into teams in anticipation for Mr Morgans famous quiz night. Eyes were down and everyone was focussed on trivia, history, geography and the long anticipated photo round. There was a prize for everyone, not just the winning team.
Thursday evening was saved for ‘Theatre Night’, when initially organising the trip, Mrs Rossall managed to bag tickets for the new west end show ‘Paddington’, we were so excited. This new musical written by Tom Fletcher of McFly is a heartwarming and entertaining show it had catchy songs, colourful sets and plenty of humour. We loved it, some students have even voted it as their new favourite musical, high praise indeed!
Time for home
And just like that it was our last day, we were absolutely shattered so it was a good job that the staff were taken over by the characters from Toy Story. Unbelievable the staffs name plates on their doors changed to toy story characters over night and when they woke up, outfits were ready for a fun last day. Buzz and Woody were the first on duty getting the students up and ready for the off, Buzz did a great job of keeping everyone safe.
Our train wasn’t until the afternoon so after a quick visit to the steps of Saint Paul’s Cathedral, we walked to Covent Garden for a final bit of sightseeing and retail therapy. Was Covent Garden really ready for 8 mature adults in full Toy Story costumes? We certainly made and entrance as well as many childrens days, a day we will all remember.
Five long days, 42 worn out students, 8 shattered staff, 50 happy campers! London you were amazing again, all being well we will be back in two years.