6th Form Geog Devon Field Trip

Wet and Windy Torcross!
At Slapton Sands, we drove along the main road situated on the bar. The rain was incessant and cold, not like the photo. We made our notes in the minibus! We looked at the sea defences and did a village survey of Torcross. Slapton Sands was used for the practice D-Day landings in 1944 because they were like the beaches in Normandy.
by Helena.

Dartmoor - what a good place to build a prison...

6th Form Geog Field Trip to Devon.
Dartmoor - a cold barren landscape - and yet Louise still insisted she'd be fine without a coat! Thank God she out one on - it was like the Arctic! Of course, this wasn't exactly helped by our Dartmoor Park Ranger's obsession with telling us the history of the old railway track (see the photo, guys) - apparently, he didn't realise it was a geography trip. Aaron being sent on a walk with the sole purpo

se of showing just how long the old horse trains were.... great fun, Aaron.... Nonetheless, we definitely learned to appreciate the warmth of the minibus - even with the gaping hole alongside the door.....
by Reece

Widdecombe in the Moor

Widdecombe in the Moor was a quaint village sheltering in a valley on Dartmoor. The weather was cold and windy. It had a church, a junior school, a pub, and a large car park, but the facilities were mainly gift shops and tea shops. Widdecombe used to be a farming village, but it is now catering mainly for tourists.

Oh, and it also has an annoying terrier dog near the car park that gets anxious and barks at you if you try to stare it out.....

by Louise

The Great Trago Mills

"So this is Buckfast Abbey?"

"No, this is Trago Mills - the West Country's version of Brent Cross".

It was like walking into a hypermarket that looked like a cross between a church and a gothic castle, with peacocks running around. Inside the megastore there were all sorts for sale - clothes, food, oh! and rifles...

by Chloe

6th Form Devon Field Trip

We had the best weather for our Dawlish Warren studies - the sun shone on us for most of the day! We had an interesting talk from one of the Dawlish Warren wardens who explained how the spit is maintained and about the bird habitats at the end of the spit. We carried out two investigations. The first was soil pH values, and we then used quadrats to investigate the sand dune vegetation. We then sketched the beach and carried out a gradient and pebble survey.

We are anxiously waiting for DEFRA and English Nature to see if they are going to advise whether the spit should be protected by groynes, sea wall, gabions, etc or whether they will not protect it anymore, whereupon, Dawlish Warren may cease to exist!

by Leanne

The world famous railway near Dawlish.

6th Form Geog Devon Field Trip

This is the world's most photographed stretch of railway line as it travels for several miles right next to the sea. I experienced the railway as I had to go from London to Newton Abbot to join the group. All the group first saw the railway line at Langstone Rock. While we were walking to Langstone Rock, very concentrated on our work, Mr Hones told us that the driver of the next train was the brother of Mr Jakszta (our Headteacher), and if we waved to him he would beep the train's horn. So around 10 minutes later, the inter-city train approached and we all waved furiously hoping his brother would beep his horn, and he did. All the group, including myself, thought that it was his brother; Aaron actually said that the driver looked like Mr Jakszta.

It was only at breakfast on the last day that Mr Hones told us that because the trains go past many holiday makers on the beach in the summer, drivers will beep their horns to anyone who waves to them!

by Stephen.

The little time we had for entertainment...

For our stay in the south of Devon, we stayed at the Crimdon Dene Hotel. Don't be fooled by its name - its a decent 2 star hotel. The owners John and Margaret greeted us upon arrival and showed us to our rooms. The food was really good as I'd chosen to have a fry-up every morning! During the week, most of us put on weight. For the entertainment, we went to the local bowling alley, and Mr Hones' team won twice. Our commiserations go to Miss Kenneally's team! Then we had a great game of Qasar. I had not been to Qasar for a while, but this was special, and yours truly won with thousands of points!

by Aaron.

6th Form Devon Field Trip

Langstone Rock is a headland made of Red Devonian Sandstone. The rock showed classic features such as a geo, a cave and an arch. There is also a breakwater at the end of the headland which has stopped Longshore Drift and created a wider beach.We climbed onto the top and enjoyed the view of Dawlish Warren, the Railway and Teignmouth.

by Julius.