Our Trip To Glendalough
(By Emily Loughran  4E)

The morning of our school trip to Glendalough was filled with tired faces, and monstrously big bags.  As it was the day after getting our Junior Cert results, most of us had had a late night, and everyone was a walking zombie.  The chatter was a mix of results and stories of the night before, but it soon died out as we were all so exhausted.

Kitted with our wellies, tracksuits and big hoodies, we stumbled off the bus as we reached our destination.  It was a beautiful courtyard in the middle of acres and acres of woodland and grounds.  We were greeted by our teachers, and our mentors for the two days of activities.  We were broken into teams, ours being 'Baby Blue', and we headed straight out.  Our first activity was survival skills, up in the forest nearby.  Despite our tiredness, we were full of enthusiasm and made a fantastic shelter!  The day flew by, full of activities like shooting, horse riding, nature walk, archery, bike skills and mountain biking.  We had great instructors who were all so nice, and we nicknamed a few of them too.  Tired and hungry, we boarded the bus again slowly, and drove towards the hostel nearer to the lakes.  The lakes were so pretty, sun glimmering off the surface as the sun began to set.  We got to the hostel shortly, went and picked our rooms and sprinted for the top bunks.  Surprisingly we were able to make the beds!  The endless amount of sweets we brought were packed into the cupboard in our room, and were all eaten by the end of the night!

After dinner, we threw on as many layers as we had with us, packed our back packs, and went to meet with everyone outside the hostel.  We were excited because the night sounded fun in the dark, and it sounded really scary!  During the walk, everyone was messing and talking about the stories of hikers going missing in the area, and people kept jumping out at us from the trees.  Sometimes when you would shine the flashlight into the forest, you could see two eyes glowing from the distance!  As we got back, we were drained of energy, and we walked off to bed.  In our room, everyone was in high spirits, and we talked and ate before lights out.  Morning came way too fast as we were really feeling the effects of our lack of sleep.  Breakfast was good, but soon after, we had to collect up all our belongings and bags.

The second day involved the same activities, but in Knockree Hostel, which is near my riding stables.  The day was awesome, and we had a great laugh!  I was so glad we went on the trip because it was such a nice reward after our results, and eveyone was getting along and working together.  It was a fantastic trip,and I would love to go again!  Filled with lots of laughs and fun, it was unforgettable!

By Emily Loughran  4E