The Intern’s Perspective: A lovely weekend to Wales

July 2, 2013

On Saturday June 22^nd, I attended Proscenium’s weekend trip to Wales. I am a recent intern for the company while living in London for eight weeks. Susannah Kyte, the managing director of Proscenium, wanted me to get a glimpse into the inner workings of the company and experience one of their many product offerings. The students I saw on the tour were really engaged and excited to be there. It was nice for me to get out of the bustling city and into the luscious, green scenery of Wales. I was a part of the coach led by Blue Badge Guide David Drury and he was hilarious. To offer up a quote, I will always remember Wales as the land of “five million people, ten million sheep.”

The trip started at the Roman Amphitheatre in Caerleon. It was 2000 years old but definitely still beautiful. What I enjoyed most about the entire tour was that we were given free time. A common misconception I think people have about tours is that there is no free time for participants to explore on their own. Or even worse, that there is an extremely tight schedule and a constant feeling of being rushed. However, Proscenium did not give off this impression whatsoever. The tour guides spoke and were highly entertaining and informative. Susannah provided interesting information about each location we went to. Then, everyone was given time to explore on their own.

After Caerleon, we travelled to Caerphilly Castle, the second biggest medieval castle in Western Europe and then to St. Fagan’s, which was a heritage park of Welsh life. It was all lovely. Unfortunately, the sun didn’t come out much for us when we were there but I still found it wonderful. The second day we went to the Big Pit Mining Museum, which was one of the most unique museum experiences I have ever embarked on. It turned out to be one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen. All of the miners gave real stories of their life working underground and I was so glad I got to experience it. The last stop we made was to Tintern Abbey in Wye Valley, which was a tranquil ending to the weekend. All in all, I thought that Proscenium carried out their tour in a very organized, relaxing but also exciting way. I felt at ease the whole time and enjoyed myself. I am looking forward to the next tour that I will be attending.