4th Class had an amazing, and informative day on Friday! We left school nice and early on the morning of Friday 20th May.
We arrived at the pier in Cobh, and boarded the boat to Spike Island. As luck would have it, it was at that moment that the rain decided to pour!
We were very lucky however, as the boat had an indoor area that stopped us from being soaked
As we reached Spike Island, the clouds parted and the sun started shining.
On the island, we met our guide Rob, who was extremely polite, friendly, and knowledgable! He answered all of our questions.
Rob brought us to the main gate of the fort / prison. We then went through the room where prisoners would have been visited.
We had the whole island to ourselves, as no other tourists or school tours had booked at the same time. It was truly an amazing experience.
We stopped for a quick lunch break, and then got into small groups of 4, for some orienteering. We were given maps with points from around the island marked on them. We had to follow the maps to find the points, and then use the stamp on the corresponding box on our sheet. We were all so competitive! We had very far to run as the points were very spread out. It was great fun. The winning team were as fast as the wind, winning really cool medals, and Dojo Points!
We were then brought to the 'punishment block', where prisoners would have been locked in if they didn't follow the rules. The cells were tiny, and the beds didn't look too comfortable!
We finished our tour of Spike Island by visiting the 'Village' where the workers and residents of the island lived. It has been abandoned for a long time, but it was stunningly beautiful!
We boarded the boat back to Cobh, however, as the sun was shining, we could now sit outside! It was amazing! The girls even started singing!
Once we reached the mainland again, our next stop was Supermacs for lunch! So tasty!
Our last port of call was to visit the "Titanic Experience", which is a museum built in the original ticketing office from 1912. The people who boarded the Titanic would have passed through the very same doors that we did!
We learned all about the voyage, and were able to see 3rd class and 1st class cabins. I think we'd all prefer to travel in 1st class!!
At the beginning of the tour, the guide gives you a ticket, with the name of someone who travelled on the Titanic. At the end of the tour, you get to check if your person survived, or was lost. Miraculously, we were all saved.
We visited the gift shop for some souvenirs, and boarded the bus to return to school. It was such a wonderful day, and an enjoyable school tour!
