Kindrogan Field Trip
On Monday the 10th of October, the whole of 2nd form piled into the coaches, ready to go to the Kindrogan Field Centre. We arrived and were split into two groups and given tours by two energetic teachers at the centre, Duncan and Tors. We were then shown to our rooms and were given time to unpack and explore. We had a yummy lunch of sandwiches and crisps. After lunch we split into our two groups and set off to climb Kindrogan Hill. We were all given equipment to research microclimates as we went up the hill. It was hard at first through the mud and steep slopes, but once our legs were numb it was great! The panoramic view from the top was breath-taking. On our way down we were given the task of building survival shelters out of wood and mud which could withstand the unpredictable Scottish weather. After climbing the hill, we had a delicious dinner made by the cooks of Kindrogan. We soon finished and were set on another task which we were to complete outside in the dark under the supervision of the teachers. We were given GPS’s and maps and had to find different animals. After this tiring activity we soon all got into bed and fell asleep in seconds!
The next day we all woke up nice and early wrapped up in warm clothes and water proofs and went to breakfast. Group B was in for a surprise as they had a new teacher called Richie. He loved Reggae music so we all got to listen to some while we were working hard at our Geography. However the biggest surprise was his huge dreadlocks which went all the way down to his ankles! Mr Dawson and Mr Hall were very jealous! Later on we set off out into the fields around Kindrogan to explore Meanders. As Mrs Hudson-Price says, ‘Meanders are Magical’. We spent a few hours testing a river for velocity, width and depth at several different spots. When we got back we discussed our collected data, drew graphs and put it on a laptop. Later that night we were split into 6 groups and were given a map. The task was to navigate along a path which snaked around Kindrogan with only a torch and a map. The full moon meant it was not very dark outside so it was only too easy to spot Mr Turner making funny noises pretending to be a wild deer in the bushes!
On the final day we had a lot of fun doing low ropes, crate stacking and doing the ‘leap of faith’. Sadly it all ended too fast and we were soon on our way back to Fettes after some great fun kicking around a football and rugby ball in the sun in front of the centre. A big thank you to Mrs Hudson-Price, Mr Hall, Mr Dawson, Miss Walker and Mr Turner for giving up their time to take us and thank you to the Kindrogan staff for having us and making our time at the Field Centre so enjoyable.