Wooster's volleyball team with Royal Holloway University's team.

The College of Wooster volleyball team is currently in England and Scotland, where the Fighting Scots are learning about the College's Scottish heritage and history of the region.

"Teaching our student-athletes how to be positive global citizens and giving them the tools and confidence to explore new places is paramount to the bigger picture of our program," said head coach Sarah Davis, prior to the team departing. "Just as in our 2012 trip to Costa Rica, we are excited to explore the local cultures and experience volleyball in a whole new context. Understanding Scottish history and the link between Wooster's Scottish and Presbyterian roots will be especially relevant for this group and we are so grateful to have this opportunity as a team.

"Additionally, we will visit Liverpool's International Slavery Museum as a reflective experience to coordinate with the campus' Martin Luther King Jr. Day activities," added Davis.

Throughout the trip, Wooster's student-athletes will provide updates of the team's travels below:

Monday, Jan. 9 – by Lydia Webster '17

Windsor Castle

Today was a jam-packed day, but as a team we were able to experience so much! Our first full day in England included a tour of Windsor Castle where Queen Elizabeth II currently resides each weekend. While touring the castle we were also able to watch the Changing of the Guard. Along with seeing Windsor Castle came lots of new foods to try! We had lunch in a pub just a short walk away from our hotel. We finished our day off playing a local club team. By the end of the night we were playing side-by-side with them, completely integrated. It was such an awesome time to come together as two completely different teams because at the end of the day we all shared the same passion – playing volleyball! Day one is now complete – six more to go! Stay tuned!

Tuesday, Jan. 10 - by McKenzie Reese '19

Today was a very exciting day! The team packed up and headed to London. We had a great tour guide who informed us of everything we needed to know about the royal family. We saw Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, and other beautiful monuments around the city. My favorite spot of the day was the Borough Market where we ate lunch. It was very interesting to see all of the different cultures that come together to make up London. Now we are headed to Scotland for more adventure!

Stirling Castle

Wednesday, Jan. 11 - by Erin Rajewski '19

Today we left for Scotland very early in the morning. We arrived in Edinburgh and took the tour bus to Stirling where we visited two castles. The first was Doune Castle, which is where scenes from Monty Python and Outlander were filmed. We then ate a delicious lunch in Stirling and headed up to the top of the town to see Stirling Castle. After being up for about 12 hours of almost pure travel, either by plane, bus, or on foot, we decided to go back to the hotel and rest before our volleyball match. Our day concluded with a fun and exciting victory over Stirling University!

Thursday, Jan. 12 - by Ksenia Klue '18

Today marked day two in Scotland, and we started the day with a beautiful, snowy morning in Stirling. We traveled to Edinburgh and toured Edinburgh Castle. The view was breathtaking with the city and mountains all around. With many different things to explore next in the city, Laura Sherer and I chose to travel down the Royal Mile where little shops, cafés, and pubs lined the street. My favorite part of the day was seeing parts of the National Museum of Scotland, as well as the Scottish National Gallery. I really enjoyed the way J. M. W. Turner used watercolors to depict various scenes of Venice in different lights. The watercolors are only on display at the Scottish National Gallery during the month of January. The team finished the day with a great, competitive match against the City of Edinburgh Volleyball Club!

Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park

Friday, Jan. 13 - by Cami Miller '20

Today we traveled to Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park, the first national park in Scotland. On the hour-long bus ride we stopped to view some highland "coos" which is the Scottish word for cow. When we finally arrived to the loch, we withstood the cold and went to the end of a dock to take in the spectacular view. The landscape was covered in snow, and this hasn't happened in five years since the last snowfall in Scotland. No surprise that us Ohioans brought the snow along with us!

Wooster traveled by train to go from Scotland to England on Saturday.

Saturday, Jan. 14 - by Erica Roberts '20

Today our team woke up early for one last breakfast in Scotland at 8:30 a.m. After breakfast, we loaded the bus and drove an hour to the train station. Next, the team got on our first train of two for the day and road three hours soaking up the last bit of gorgeous Scotland views from the train windows. We then successfully caught our next train that left the station only 15 minutes after we arrived which took us to Manchester, England. After arriving we ate quickly at the station, and took a coach to our hotel only 15 minutes away. Everyone was able to check in with no problem and enjoyed a few hours to unpack and relax before the evening out. At 6 p.m., we boarded the bus again to spend a few hours shopping and eating dinner at a beautiful local mall called Trafford Centre. The night finally ended with a nice drive back to the hotel arriving at 10 p.m., which gave everyone plenty of time for a full night of much needed sleep.

Sunday, Jan. 15 - by Laura Sherer '17

Today we visited the town of Chester, which is a walled city with charming Tudor architecture. The wall around the city is actually a remnant of the Roman fortress that once stood there in the first century. After Chester, we went to the port city of Liverpool and explored its museums. In the Merseyside Maritime Museum, Anna Emmick and I visited the international slavery exhibit, which was a sobering reminder of the tragedies of the past as well as the current injustices of today. We also saw the Titanic exhibit and heard haunting survivors' testimonies on the day the ship sank. We finished with The Beatles Story Museum. It was colorful and larger-than-life, so it was definitely a good one to end on. Overall, this trip was amazing, and I'm so incredibly sad it's our last day in the United Kingdom.