The Victorian era is a major part of the Year 5 history syllabus and the annual trip to the Isle of Wight again brought to life the period for Year 5 pupils.

The first stop was the Isle of Wight Zoo where our guide explained how the animals caught their prey and how the various animals came to be at the Zoo. We saw tigers, jaguars, lions, lemurs, monkeys, reptiles and spiders.

After a visit to the beach, we went to the hotel, settled in, ate and then went to the beach again!

The next morning we set off for Osborne House. The rooms we full of valuable furniture and paintings. There were also beautiful decorative ceilings and statues. After lunch we walked to Swiss Cottage. This was where Queen Victoria's children played. It was beautiful and looked just like a Swiss house. The grounds were superb. Each child had his or her own wheelbarrow, tools and a bit of garden in which they could plant their own vegetables and flowers.

The next day we went to the Isle of Wight Steam Railway. First we watched a short video on the history of the railway and then we rode on a steam train, in a third class carriage. Then a lady took us around and showed us all the locomotives.

After lunch we went to Carisbrooke Castle. The first thing was to climb 71 steep, uneven steps up a big hill. In the baileys we saw the areas which would have been the kitchen, the toilet and the well. Then we walked around the wall and we could see for miles. It was as if we had found a time machine and gone back centuries to when they would keep a look out for attackers and would fire arrows through the narrow holes in the stonework. At the well house, we were introduced to Joseph the donkey. He walked on the water wheel and brought up a bucket full of water. The lady poured some water down the well and it was about ten seconds until we heard the splash!

The evening entertainments included a magician who was very funny and a little bit bonkers and a never been seen before Smugglers Evening, where we were shown in a fun way how people went about smuggling.

Friday was travelling day, as all good things come to an end, but we still had Dinosaur Isle to visit. First we had a fascinating talk about different rocks and how they were formed. Then we went around the museum feeling and smelling different things. It was brilliant although sadly the time had come to go home.