On 18 October 2018, 44 students and 5 staff travelled to Sorrento in the Bay of Naples for a 5 day trip exploring areas including Herculaneum, Pompeii, the Amalfi coast, Scala, Ravello and Capri.

Very early in the morning on 18 October 2018, 44 students and 5 staff travelled to Sorrento in the Bay of Naples from Stansted airport. Despite the early start both students and staff were in good spirits and looking forward to the 5 days ahead.

First stop as soon as we arrived in Italy was Herculaneum. This town suffered the same fate as Pompeii, although it was buried much deeper under 20 metres of ash. Here students explored the remains of the town in the bright sunshine and 28^oC. After this it was into the centre of Sorrento where students took the opportunity to explore, shop and sample some ice cream.

Friday saw us up bright and early to another day of bright sunshine and high temperatures. After applying sun screen it was time to head off and explore the Amalfi coast. This included visits to Amalfi, Scala and Ravello. After driving along the stunning coastal road and stopping for photo opportunities, we arrived in Amalfi. Here students went into the medieval Roman Catholic cathedral in the Piazza del Duomo and then had free time to explore the local area. After leaving, we continued further along the coast road to Scala where we stopped at a local pottery shop selling hand made goods and enjoyed giant pizzas at a local restaurant. Ravello is a beautiful town set 365 metres above sea level and has both amazing coastal views alongside terraced mountain sides covered with vines. The evening saw one of the student’s highlights of the trip – when they soaked Mr Harrington in the Mediterranean.

Day three, we were disappointed to find that the path to the top of Vesuvius was still closed due a landslide, instead we headed into Naples for the Naples underground tour when students explored the old underground water storage tanks which had been hollowed out from the rock under the city. These have long since been drained and the empty caverns were used during the war for people to shelter from the bombings. In the afternoon we headed to Pompeii, one of the highlights of the trip. Here the students explored both inside and outside of the city walls all with a view of Vesuvius in the background and students gained an understanding of what it would be like to have lived in the city and saw the devastating impact that volcanic eruptions can have. They also considered the impact that a future eruption could have on Naples sitting in the shadow of the giant stratovolcano.

In the evening, we headed to a local ice cream shop where students were treated to and enjoyed some well-deserved ice creams.

Our final full day in Italy saw us off to Capri. After a short bus ride and a ferry trip we reached the nearby island. We took a laser boat ride around the island where we saw the stunning coastline to include raised beaches, explored bays and caves and even travelled through what is known as ‘lovers arch’. Once back on dry land students had some time to explore and get lunch before heading up to the area on the island that boasts a high concentration of designer shops and come stunning views of the island. That evening it was back to the ice cream shop and then out onto the hotel terrace for some quiz rounds.

After all the fun and excitement and during a huge thunderstorm it was time the next morning to head to the airport for the flight home.

The staff would like to thank all of the students for their fantastic behaviour and for making this another memorable and enjoyable trip for all. We hope to see some of you on another of our trips in the future.

Ms K Wilcox
Trip Leader/Head of Geography

Full photo gallery to follow.