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Holderness' London Art Residential

Holderness' London Art Residential

Friday 13 May saw the return of the ever popular Holderness Academy & Sixth Form College's Art Department Residential Visit to London. Mr Green, Mr Cotson, Mr Pearson and Mrs Abbotts took 31 excited Art and Design students from Year 9 through to Year 13 on an array valuable 'learning outside the classroom' experiences to inspire them.

Connie Watson, a Year 13 Art Student, has written a brilliant report on her time in London:

On Day 1, we began the trip by meeting at the train station bright and early on Friday morning, ready to go at 8am with our bags in tow. The Train arrived, and we hopped straight on, London bound! The Journey flew by and, after a quick McDonald's break, all 35 of us were down on the underground. For many, it was their first time in London, let alone on the busy tube and this trip is a great way to experience it for the first time. Bags were dropped off at the hotel then we were straight back out again, with a busy schedule ahead of us...

 

First Stop was the Sky Garden, located right at the top of the Walkie Talkie building. It provides some of the best views of London possible. You could see everything, from tiny people below to all the buildings stretching along the River Thames. The Tower Bridge and the Shard were just a couple of many sights in the iconic London skyline.

 

After that amazing photograph opportunity we headed over Tate Britain, the first art gallery on the list. There were some truly stunning works of art in here, something for everyone to enjoy, from many art genres and time periods. Portraits, landscapes, sculptures, you could walk around for hours. After a wander through the gift shop we were back out and on the tube.

 

Hard Rock Cafe was our chosen destination for tea this time round, and we had some delicious food options to choose from. The atmosphere here was like a museum in itself, all sorts of music memorabilia was covering the walls and there was a steady stream of timeless music videos playing on TVs around the room. Once we’d all had our fill we ventured into the Hard Rock Shop to buy anything from T-shirts and hoodies, to magnets and pin badges.

 

We took a beautiful walk through the nature of Green Park before the last stop for the day at Buckingham Palace, where the beginning of the setting sun made for a perfect photo backdrop. After this it was back to the hotel for showers and sleep, ready for an early morning to do it all again.

 

Day 2 began with filling up on Premier Inn breakfast to fuel us for the day, and we were out of the door at 09:00, beginning our trek into the centre of London. The weather was beautiful and the sun was shining which definitely made the walking more enjoyable. We headed straight to bustling Trafalgar Square and by 10:30 we were snapping photographs of Nelson's Column, beautiful fountains, and our next destination, The National Gallery.

 

This was one of the biggest highlights of the trip, we were able to freely wander and take in all of the ethereal artwork inside. Paintings by Leonardo da Vinci, J.M.W. Turner, Thomas Gainsborough and of course Vincent van Gogh were only a few of the thousands there to see, in the galleries 60+ rooms.

 

We bought our souvenirs before heading back out to Leicester Square for a while, time to grab something to eat and have a look around the square. There were plenty of options, from the famous Odeon that hosts movie premiers, to the beautiful streets of the theatre district.

 

We headed past the huge billboards in Piccadilly Circus on our way to the Natural History Museum at 2, where we were able to see some great exhibitions such as The Dinosaurs and the Development of Humanity through time. Of course we looked up at the giant blue whale skeleton adorning the ceiling.

 

After some more gift shop browsing, because who doesn't love a good gift shop, we were on our way to the bustling streets of Camden Market, another great photo opportunity, where we could have a look at the stalls, grab a drink or bite to eat, or rest our feet for a while with a sit down in the warm sunshine.

 

Bella Italia was our tea stop for Saturday, and yet again the food was wonderful, especially with the added bonus of having a dessert. We ended the day with sightseeing and photographs, firstly to Leake Street Tunnel, filled with graffiti which is never the same twice, constantly changing with different artists and styles of work.

 

On our walk back to the tube we saw such iconic sights as the London eye, walked along Westminster Bridge for a great view over the Thames, saw sights of the Houses of Parliament and of course Big Ben was towering over the skyline. It was back on the tube again before we got back to our beds for the night for a well earned sleep.

 

Sunday was filled with travelling back home, a great chance to reflect on everything we saw and our favourite moments, check out all the photos we’d taken and share them with friends and family. Overall London 2022 was a great success!