Staff Blog: Mrs McNabb – Snowdonia Trip

Written by Mrs McNabb, Geography teacher

Following in the formidable footsteps of Charles Darwin, Sir John Hunt and Sir Edmund Hillary the Shells year group ventured to Snowdonia during the Michaelmas term on a Geography fieldtrip. Not with the intention of scaling the mountain, much to Mr Brown’s disappointment, but to get to grips with the fascinating glacial geography that can be found in the area.

The coach journey through the U-shaped Nant Ffrancon valley was accompanied by Pleistocene facts about the last glaciation and clicking I-phones as the students perfected their scree slope and hanging valley selfies.

During the short hike up to the tarn lake Llyn Idwal the students learnt about the formation and features of the Nant Ffrancon valley, the ribbon lake of Llyn Ogwen and the formation of the Corrie Cwm Idwal. With sketch books in hand they created detailed labelled diagrams that brought a tear to Mrs Aldridge’s eye.

Lunching with the backdrop of Darwin’s boulders, erratics deposited by glacial movement, and some very persistent Welsh Cob ponies, the students were introduced to the geology of the area by Mr Hartley. The rocks in the area were formed around 450 million years ago under the sea bed which became clear to Charles Darwin as he identified marine fossils in his aforementioned boulders. 40 million years ago gigantic tectonic forces shifted, compressed and shaped the layers further and formed the creases and waves that were exposed be glacial erosion and can today be seen in the Idwal syncline.

With compasses brandished the Shells learnt how to study striations, glacial scratches in the bed rock, and work out the direction of glacial flow in the area. The students also reflected on the importance of the area to the different groups that utilise this unique landscape.

With tired legs and the singing voices of Tom Jones we returned to King’s in the coach putting together our haiku poems and trying to find that illusive yellow car to complete our final bus bingo category.

Dominic Egan (SHBRD)
Beautiful nature
The Welsh hills tower above
Glaciers formed this

Millions of years
Historical slate landscape
All was in the sea

Wales was submerged
Volcanic rock formed the land
The hills were built up

Plants grew everywhere
People made slate quarries too
The land was complete

Estella Lally (SHDUT)
A rich vast landscape,
Luxurious animals,
Interesting features.

Towering mountains,
Cute, nosy shetland ponies,
Big, Bold Errattics.

Cold Field sketching,
Geography never ending,
Meanders bending.

Big rocks all broken,
Geography talks are spoken,
It’s Alive Snowdon. 

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