Fourth Form Residential Trip to Cranedale

Year 8 pupil Arabella tells us about the recent trip to Cranedale in Yorkshire:

When we first arrived, we started our journey in Cranedale with food and an activity. Some of us had to dissect owl pellets (vomit) and the rest of us went on a night walk. After travelling down to North Yorkshire on Monday and settling in, Tuesday was a busy day. Contrary to popular thought, it was very hot and we were all excited to go down to the coast and see the beach. The views were stunning and we did a coastal study, highlighting the impacts of erosion and weathering. It was all very interesting, and after this, we were allowed to explore the caves. 

On the way back to the centre, we stopped at the ice cream shop, and this could have been the best part of the day! After a delicious dinner, we did whichever activity we didn’t do yesterday. The next day, we also explored the coast, and looked at coastal life- this meant rock pooling time! There were a few screams of excitement when we found crabs, even though half of them were dead! As we drove back to the centre, we visited Skipsea, an area greatly affected by erosion and is almost falling into the sea!

It was Evie’s birthday, so when we got back to Cranedale, there was cake waiting for us! We played a game related to food chains. Most of us were herbivores, who could be ‘eaten’ by small carnivores, small carnivores by top carnivores, and then we had a ‘disease’ and a ‘natural disaster’. Obviously, the teachers were ‘humans’! 

On our last day of activities at Cranedale, we headed into Dalby forest, a national park, to do some river work. We studied width, depth, etc. and after we fished for river creatures. Some groups caught fish, in particular bullhead fish which was also very exciting. At the end of the day, we sketched olive mayfly nymphs to analyse them. The next day, we got on the bus and after a few hours arrived at Godstowe. 

Cranedale was incredibly enjoyable. From rock pooling on the shores of the North Sea to exploring the rivers of Dalby forest, it was full of excitement and surprises. From learning about food webs to examining olive mayfly nymphs, it was interesting. There were surprise stops at the ice cream shop, competitive games based on the natural world, and table football tournaments. All the fourths would leap at the chance to go back, and our only regret would be not staying longer. The staff were so encouraging and made the learning so much fun! Thank you to all the teachers who allowed us to go!