On Thursday the 14th of April, twenty students and three teachers left Dublin very exited yet tired due to the extremely early flight. The trip itself was three days and consisted of an action-packed itinerary.
We arrived at our hotel after a short tube journey to drop off our bags. The hotel itself was within walking distance of the Natural History Museum and the Science Museum which were our first two visits that morning. We split into groups and visited the maze of rooms in both museums, spending about an hour in each. I personally preferred the Natural History Museum
as there were lots of full scale models of various animals which I had never seen before.
We then headed to what turned out to be one of my favourite parts of the whole trip, the London Dungeons. I think I was definitely anxious at the start as I wasn’t sure what to expect but gradually I began to enjoy it. The one hour visit was full of frights and scary pop-outs and there was certainly a lot of screaming and shrieking which just added to the whole experience.
We had a small break for lunch before it was time for the next attraction - the Fly Emirates Cable Car over the River Thames. It was a new addition to the TY trip of previous years as it had only recently opened. The views were amazing and I got some terrific photos of the O2 and Canary Wharf in the background. It was about 6pm when we finally had a proper meal which was definitely needed after such a long day. However, no sooner had we finished eating, when we set off to the "Jack the Ripper tour". Our guide was extremely funny and informative though sometimes gave us too much information about some of the gruesome murders!
The next morning we were again up at the crack of dawn to quickly have breakfast before setting out to the much anticipated Imperial War Museum. I think it was definitely one of the best laid out museums I have ever been too and certainly one of the most interesting. The museum had two very detailed exhibitions of World War I and the Holocaust. They were both equally fascinating. We spent about two hours there and I kind of wish we had stayed a little longer as I didn’t get to see everything I wanted to.
It was then off to HMS Belfast, one of the most famous British warships ever. We went on board and walked around for about an hour before crossing Tower Bridge to go to the Tower of London which I had been to once before. It was still just as enjoyable as this time I was with friends.
Our last visit of the day and undoubtedly the best experience of the whole trip, the Shard. It is such an incredibly designed building and I can’t believe we were 70 floors up. It was just such a shame that the weather wasn’t better as it was not possible to see very far due to all the rain and low clouds. Mind you, I did get some pretty good pictures. A quick pizza and I collapsed into bed exhausted.
Our third and final day began with a 20 minute speed boat ride on the River Thames which was called the Rib Experience. The journey took us under Tower Bridge and towards Canary Wharf. I think I was rather blown away by how fast we were going. So fast that all the water gushing into my face made it hard for me to see. It really was so much fun even though I got soaked.
In the afternoon we were allowed to go shopping along Oxford Street for a couple of hours before heading to the airport for our flight home.
All in all it was a truly memorable trip which I don’t think I will forget in a hurry. A huge thank you to Mr Mulholland, Ms Waters and Mr Jennings for organising everything so well and making it so brilliant.