The first stop on our school trip was the Iron Bridge. Where we got out of the bus and enjoyed the view from the Bridge onto the river and the surrounding town. Of course we also had to take a picture of the whole group in front of the bridge, after all that bridge is history. Getting back into the bus our next stop were the old furnaces, which were not as exciting to look at. But the highlight of our trip to Iron Bridge was the visit to the Victorian town Blists Hill, where we spend the rest of our day. 

Here our fist stop after entering through the town gates was the bank, where you were able to exchange modern money for Pounds, Shillings and Pence. I highly recommend here and in every other shop in the Victorian town, to talk to the people in the shops and asks questions. By striking up a conversation we for example learned that every citizen had a book in which debits or deposits at the bank were noted and, in addition, not a word was spoken about the money transactions in the bank but instead a slip of paper with the amount of money needed was handed over to the banker. 

Our next stop as a group was the photographer, where we were able to dress up and take photos like in Victorian times. 

After that our groups ways parted so everybody could explore the town on their own. 

We visited the sweets shop to buy sweets like in Victorian time, the post office, selling the absolute and most adorable flower bookmarks and showing of a telegraph. Anybody that is more interested in the story and development of the postal service in England can go upstairs over to post office, where a small place, that is like a museum, is hidden. 

For a small snack, we went to visit the Fried Fish dealers, that sold legendary fish and chips. The chemist was also an interesting stop, selling soaps and oils with different uses, some smelling quite pleasant, while other smelled like a mix of bleach and fabric softener. 

One of my highlights possibly was the giant horse named George and the iron foundry, where to extremely nice man answered every question our class could come up with. Like were the molds a one time use only, which yes they were. Or did you ever burn yourself, a question they laughed at and agreed that it was part of the job to get at least on burn mark. 

And for last my favourite fun fact learned in Blists Hills, I learned in the Duke Sutherland cottage, that in the Victorian era pink was seen as a strong colour with which mostly men identified themselves, while blue was more in the image of women, contrary to what is mostly common today. 

And lastly we ended our day at Iron Bridge with shopping in the souvenirs shop. If we hadn’t already bought something in the various shops in town, this could have been the opportunity to buy some gifts to bring back home.