Form IV pupil, Elys Walker, reports on the recent Transition Year trip to Causey Farm.
On Wednesday the 9th of September, the Transition Year went to Causey Farm, in Meath. We left around 1:00 pm in the afternoon and arrived in Causey Farm at around 2:00 pm. We were split into three groups and sent off to different locations. First, we baked bread. We only needed six ingredients, white flour, wholemeal flour, bicarbonate soda, salt, an egg and buttermilk. We all found it funny that there were no exact measurements for the ingredients. Instead, we used a mug to measure out the flour and milk. After we put our bread in the oven, we went for a walk around the farm. We saw alpacas, a camel, pigs, cows and we even caught a sheep.
After we finished our tour of the farm, we got changed into our old clothes to go to the bog. All 20 of us in group 1 climbed into the back of a trailer. There were no seats! We were driven by a tractor down the road to the bog. The trip took 10 minutes. When we arrived at the bog, we had to get a safety briefing on how to jump into the bog and how to get out. We were told to jump in and land with our legs in front of us. To get out of the bog we had to push all the mud off our legs, then hook our hands underneath our knees and pull our legs out. When we finally jumped into the bog, it was so hard to get out! The mud was so heavy and trying to clamber back up the bank was really hard as our legs kept sinking back into the mud. By the end of the bog jumping, we were all covered in mud and our arms were so tired. We got back onto the trailer and went to get cleaned off. We went into a lake to wash the mud off. We then got changed back into our dry clothes.
We also played the Bodhrán, a traditional Irish drum. It was quite hard to get the rhythm right and to play in time with everyone else. Just before we left the farm, we collected our loaves of bread which were fresh out of the oven. We then got back on the bus and started the journey back to school, stopping off at McDonald’s en route! We arrived back at school at 8:30 pm, and everyone was exhausted from a brilliant day. All of TY would like to thank Ms. Kilfeather for organising this trip and to Ms Lynch, Mr Ryan and Mr Clarke who came with us. We all had an amazing day and it was a great opportunity to get to know our year better.
