Previous Day Trips
Bath; | Bluewater Retail Park; | Brighton; | Cambridge; | Canterbury; | Cardiff; | Dover Castle; | Flagfen Bronze Age Centre; | Hever Castle;London; | London's Chinatown; | Norfolk Seal Watching; | Norwich; | Oxford; | Portsmouth Naval Dockyards; | Southend-on-sea;Stonehenge; | Stratford-Upon-Avon; | Thorpe Park; | Warwick Castle; | Windsor Castle;
Hever Castle
We headed into Kent, known as the Garden of England because of it numerous orchards and vineyards to visit the beautiful Hever Castle set in 125 acres of gardens.
The Castle dates back to 1270 and is famous as being the childhood home of Anne Boleyn, the intriguing second wife of Henry VIII and mother of Elizabeth I. At 2pm Henry VIII arrived to lord over the Jousting Tournament where knights fight for the prize of the Kings favour. A great summer day out!.
Flagfen and Cambridge
For the final trip of the semester international students visited Flag Fen Bronze Age Centre near Peterborough. This archaelogical site was fascinating. We discovered what life was like some 3500 years ago as we walked around the reconstructed Bronze Age village and the old ritual causeway
From here we drove to Cambridge. Everyone enjoyed punting on the River Cam before wandering around this historic town
'Beside the Seaside' in Brighton
For decades Londoners have spent a a fun day at the seaside in Brighton and we followed in that tradition!
Among Brighton's major attractions is the Royal Pavillion (entrance fee applies), the spectacular seaside palace which looks like it's been transported from India!
Other sights include the famous 'lanes' which offer great shopping, boutiques and quaint cafes. No visit to Brighton is complete without a walk along the promenade, a fish 'n' chip supper and a visit to the famous Brighton Pier.
Windsor Castle
Our group of adventurers left early for the Royal town of Windsor. Students enjoyed looking around the massive castle and the historic town. Some of us walked down to Eton with its College dating back to 1440. We were blessed by gorgeous sunshine despite the grey, dull start to the day.
Mysterious Stonehenge and Bath
In the heart of the Wiltshire countryside lies the ancient and mysterious site of Stonehenge. This amazing structure is thought to date from 3100BC and was thought to have taken over 30 million hours of labour to complete. We walked around the site taking in the views from the various angles to get an idea of the history of the place. Next stop, the old historic Roman town of Bath. Home to Britain’s only hot springs the town was founded and favoured by the Romans and subsequent inhabitants for the soothing and healing powers of the spa.
Thorpe Park
We spent an exciting day at Thorpe Park, a theme park offering a number of extreme rides and roller coasters for the adrenalin junkies! There are 25 rides including 5 roller-coasters and 3 water rides! The bus was packed on the way back with all the soft toys won!
Historic Canterbury and Dover Castle
We headed south to the famous the White Cliffs of Dover to visit the 12th century Dover Castle. We toured the Secret Wartime Tunnels to see what went on during there during the Battle of Britain and afterwards explored the Castle. Next stop was the historic town of Canterbury, seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury, and an important market town famous for the setting of Chaucer’s famous Canterbury Tales.
Celebrating the Chinese New Year
Having been collected from the airport the day before, our new students' first taste of London was of Chinatown and its vibrant and colourful Chinese New Year celebrations. Everyone enjoyed the massive Trafalgar Square event which included traditional Chinese dragon and lion dances and a line up of visiting Chinese performers from China.
Southend-on-sea and Bluewater Retail Park
We made our way to the popular seaside resort of Southend-on-Sea. Long the favourite weekend getaway for East Londoners, the town boasts the longest pier in the world (at 2km) which stretches out into the Thames estuary. Southend is also famous for the Golden Mile of amusement arcades, bowling alley and Adventure Island Fun Park www.adventureisland.co.uk The afternoon was spent at Bluewater Retail Park, which is one of Europe's largest.
Stratford-Upon-Avon and Warwick Castle
This trip was one for the history and culture buffs! First stop was to look around the ornate and very traditional thatched cottage that was home to Anne Hathaway, William Shakespeare's wife. Next, we strolled the ancient streets of Stratford-upon-Avon before heading to our final place of interest, Warwick Castle.
Oxford
We all loved Oxford, The City of Dreaming Spires, home to Oxford University, the oldest university in the English-speaking world. The city offers a mix of old and new and some of the historic buildings were used as locations in the Harry Potter films. For more information on Oxford, go to www.visitoxford.org
Portsmouth
150 International Students went on a coach trip to the city of Portsmouth, where they enjoyed free entry to the richly historic Royal Navy Dockyard. The Dockyard is a huge open museum dedicated to the British Royal Navy and is home to the 15th Century remains of the Mary Rose, and to HMS Victory, Lord Nelson's flagship. Portsmouth is also home to the modern development of Gunwharf Quay, which houses excellent shopping and catering outlets, and is home to the impressive, sail-shaped Spinnaker Tower, to which our students also gained free entry. For more information on Portsmouth, go to www.visitportsmouth.co.uk
Cardiff / Caerdydd
After a rather long journey it was good to stretch our legs and everyone enjoyed this visit to the Welsh capital, its parliament the Senned, Cardiff Castle and the Cardiff Bay area.
Norfolk Seal Watching Trip and Norwich
Norfolk is famous for being flat and having wonderful wildlife, especially birds and seals. We were taken out in small boats where we saw seals swimming alongside us and others sun-bathing on the sandbanks. After we explored the historic town and lanes of Norwich. See Norfolk Seal Watching Trip & Norwich for more information
London Bus Tour & River Trip
To celebrate starting their new lives at UEL, we took 150 new International students on a half day guided bus tour around the sights of London and on an afternoon Thames river cruise. Guided by an expert Blue Badge Guide, we visited such famous attractions as Buckingham Palace, Tower Bridge, and St. Pauls Cathedral, before embarking on a boat trip from Greenwich to Westminster.
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