Junior Sophister Class Trip to London

After a Covid-enforced hiatus over the last number of years, the annual third year civil engineering trip resumed last week. 25 students and 3 staff spent two days in London, visiting various sites of engineering interest, as well as enjoying some reading week downtime.

After an early flight to Gatwick, the students viewed a number of enjoyed a walk along the south bank of the river Thames, taking in a number of engineering sites including the Shard, the Millennium Bridge and the London Eye. In the afternoon, they were fortunate to be treated to a very interesting site visit to view the stabilization works at Hammersmith Bridge. The bridge, which was a key traffic route in central London, has been closed since 2019 after cracks were discovered in the 19th century cast iron structure. Sincere thanks to Hammersmith and Fulham Council for organizing the visit, and to structural engineer Mott McDonald, contractor FM Conway and project manager Arcadis for providing an extremely interesting and informative tour. The day finished with a visit to the Broad Street Pump, where John Snow worked out that diseases were caused by microorganisms in water, and some refreshments at the nearby John Snow pub.