The AS Geographers set out for Shrewsbury for a weekend packed out with investigations that we would later use in one of our examinations in the summer.  After a long journey we arrived at the environmentally friendly field study centre, which was to become our home for two days.  Upon arrival, we jumped straight into action and planned our methods that we would carry out the next day in Shrewsbury.

Saturday

Kitted out with clipboards and maps, we set of to the town and began to collect data. Our aim was to investigate the land use within the town and to see whether there is a main focus point to the settlement.  We set out in groups of threes and studied different areas within the town.  In our particular zones we located the retail businesses and categorised them.  We also recorded the types of land use that we could see and then counted the number of people that walked pass us in three minutes, leading to some strange glances from members of the public!.  After a long day and a quick stop in Starbucks we headed back and collated our results and found that there was a main inner core to the town.

Sunday

After being briefed for the day ahead, we set off to collect our rivers data.  We were investigating the downstream changes of Ashes Hollow stream on the Long Mynd.  We walked along the river, wrapped up warm, carrying all the equipment until we were close to the source.  A demonstration of how to carry out the experiments was given and we set off in groups of three to collect the data.  We measured width, depth, wetted perimeter, velocity, gradient and bedload size and shape.  Having hands on experience enabled use to gain a more in depth knowledge of the measurements of river variables and furthered our understanding of river processes and landforms.