English

Stage 7

Paper 1 Non-fiction 2024

Cambridge Lower Secondary Progression Test
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3138_01_INS_2RP
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Winter Wonderland

It feels like we have landed on another planet as we drive past volcanic moss-tipped mounds.
Tiny cracks of light peep through the sky between the moody charcoal grey clouds amid the
misty mountainscape. After jetting in to Akureyri airport, we take a car and drive for an hour and
a half, following white wintry wildlands to Deplar Farm, which appears out of nowhere – all 5
wooden lodge chic, bathed in blankets of snow and home to just 12 beautiful bedrooms.

The snow is so fresh and untouched, like freshly ironed white linen sheets stretched across a
mattress of land. And as we check in, my insides are dancing in a nervous frenzy. I’ve always
wanted to go to Iceland. It’s such an intriguing country. So cool and unique. I’m only here for a
couple of days, but all that’s on the agenda is fun. Behaving like kids in a snowy white 10
playground and hopefully – hopefully – catching a glimpse of the Northern Lights1.

I’m here with my friend, James. He’s much more of a snow lover than me. But I’m suited and
booted and ready for action. Everyone who stays here is assigned a guide. Senya, who is our
dedicated guide for the next two days, takes us out on a snowshoe hike. Everything is white,
and I’m awash with a sense of calm that only nature can provide. We walk and walk for what 15
feels like many kilometres, a lot of it in silence as we absorb the sheer beauty surrounding us.
I’m taking in everything when Senya senses an ominous change in the weather, and we head
back to the warmth of Deplar.

The building itself is over 100 years old, though it’s been adapted over the years. It feels very
much like a home from home. Comfy seats are nestled around chunky Icelandic rugs, while 20
coffee tables with tops made of tree trunks are dotted here and there. Telescopes sit patiently
by giant glass windows, waiting for stars to shoot or the Northern Lights to show. Meals are
served next to an enormous crackling fire in the dining room. One long table seats all the
guests, who swap stories of their heroic skiing activities of the day.

The next morning we wake to discover the skies have been hard at work overnight. Snow hangs 25
off the roof like dangerous dollops of icing from a birthday cake, and some doors are almost
entirely snowed shut. We get in the car and drive back towards Akureyri airport, keeping our
fingers crossed that we’re able to take a teeny tiny plane on an air tour of the famous Diamond
Circle. We sit, we wait, we listen to hushed conversations, and try to convince ourselves we
won’t be too disappointed if we can’t go. 30

Then we get the go-ahead to take off. Everything that happens next feels like a dream. We
head east over Godafoss Waterfall, which gushes with a tirade of frothy white waters carving a
circular puzzle piece out of the snow. The snowy mountain tops look like rippled ice cream as
we fly over the beautiful islets of Myvatn. Finally, the magnificent Troll Peninsula mountain
range comes in to view in the west as we head to Eyjafjordur, Iceland’s longest fjord2. And when 35
we finally touch down, I realise I’ve barely taken a breath in the last 45 minutes. The whole thing
is an experience I’ll never forget.

As we’re nibbling on nuts, getting ready for dinner, cocooned in the comfort of our bedroom,
suddenly there’s a frantic knock on the door. ‘The Northern Lights are happening right now,’
says Ivan the dinner waiter, out of breath as he sprints to other bedrooms to let everyone know. 40
‘They never come this early in the year!’ he bellows in disbelief. We park ourselves on the
snow-covered wooden furniture outside, desperately trying to take pictures that will do justice to
the sky we see above us. Streaks of green dance across the darkness. Purple swirls wheel over
the top of the building. We dart around, trying to catch every single light as the display lasts long
into the night. 45

Back inside, we gather in the warm lounge and before we know it Brandon – one of the guests
from America – is standing on the stage in front of us as music starts up. This is karaoke like

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you’ve never experienced it before. There is a full range of instruments should you wish to live
out your wildest rockstar dreams (which I do). We sing and dance until the small hours, laughing
with our new-found best friends, and promising to meet up again once we return to our normal 50
lives.

It’s quite a journey to Deplar, both in distance and mind. But nature will repay you with sights
that will stay in your memory forever.

Glossary
1
the Northern Lights: a natural display of light in the night sky, seen only near the Arctic
2
fjord: a long, narrow inlet of sea, between mountains

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