An International meet up for Coach 8

During our day in Bruges we were able to meet up with Catherine Hind who works for the Europe Region of WAGGGS, representing guides and girl scouts in 39 European countries. The brownies were able to chat to her and loved meeting her baby.
Thank you Catherine for providing these photos.

 

Brownie Katy made sure that Teddy didn't miss out on any of the excitement of the trip.

 

 

The brownies with Catherine in Koningin Astridpark.

Lots of chocolate and the long road home

We sadly said goodbye to the staff at the chateau and set off for the final stage of our adventures.

On our way home we were to visit a Chocolate Factory. This had been one of the most looked forward to aspects of the weekend and most of the brownies had saved some of their euros to spend here. The Chocolaterie de Beussant was excellent in all respects; many of the brownies commented on how much they had learnt about how chocolate was made. We had a free sample then there was time for more shopping before heading for Calais. Many of the items bought were destined to be presents for family at home though I do wonder home many made it there!
On the train we were next to an empty compartment so we all joined Redhill Brownies to take part in their leaving ceremony for Holly who will be 11 next week and was moving on to guides.
As we travelled west we said  our goodbyes as the coach got progressively emptier.
When asked to describe Euro Hop the brownies said FUN, AMAZING, COOL, EXCITING, SURPRISING, EPIC, FANTASTIC and BREATHTAKING.
I would totally agree with all of this and would like to say a big THANK YOU to all the brownies who were absolute stars and their brilliant leaders such a great experience.

Shopping till we dropped in Brugges

After another early start we travelled to the Belgian border, adding our final country. Most of the group started off with a boat trip on the canal. Katy, our youngest Brownie made her promise on the boat with swans swimming around.

The rest of the day was taken up with the wide game and shopping As we are the last Euro Hoppers I can reveal that the theme of the wide game was Tintin. Snowy the dog was lost in Bruges and the brownies had to solve clues and collect bones to rescue him, exploring lots of the town in the process.

The winning team were Rebecca, Holly, Rhianna and Greta from Guildford.

Everyone enjoyed the lovely shops, especially the chocolate and Christmas shop. Lots of ice cream and waffles were eaten as well!

The highlight of the day for Witchford brownies was climbing the 366 steps of the Bell Tower seeing all the workings of the bells on the way up and a brilliant view at the top.

Having returned to the chateau, the evening was taken up with a scavenger hunt and a great egg race.

Sadly our time in France is coming to an end and we now must pack.

A fun packed Saturday

Our first destination  today was the Moulin d'Renty, an ancient water mill where we discovered the mill's history and how it worked. We also heard about the witch who hid in the water and caught naughty children (but not good Brownies!). We tasted some yummy Brioche and visited the boulangerie.

 

We then travelled on to Boulogne sur Mer. It was really sunny so, after eating our packed lunch on the beach, we had a sand castle completion.

 

 

 

 

Soon it was time to get ready for sand yatching. The brownies listened very carefully to the instructions and worked really well together to rig the sails. It was quite windy and soon they were whizzing along the beach. This was voted the best activity yet.

 

 

 

Having travelled back to the Chateau we played games and enjoyed making crepes during the evening. Some very kind brownies even made some for their leaders.

Tomorrow our adventure takes us to Belgium.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Coach 8 arrives in France

Well, we have had the longest time to wait and some of us have had a very long journey however Coach 8 are very happy to have arrived in France. We had lots of fun on the way and there was lots of waving when a new group joined the coach. The last group to join us was 1st Witchford with their very smart hats.

 

While we were waiting to go onto the Tunnel train Redhill Brownies met Snow White!

 

 

After enjoying fish and chips and ice cream the Brownies are now asleep, ready for another exciting day tomorrow.

Coach 8 sets off for a weekend of adventure!

The excitement starts for coach 8 tomorrow and I wish them Bon Voyage!

We have members from the following units travelling this weekend and Judi will be blogging at various times, hopefully with some pictures!

Groups travelling on Coach 8 are, 1st Sithney Green, 7th Redhill, 3rd Guildford and Witchford Brownies.

Let the excitement begin for them all!!!!

A long last day for Coach 6!

Don't panic, we haven't only just got home, but our last day was a long one.

Starting with breakfast at 6.30, all the girls after packing up the night before were brilliantly on the coach on schedule at 8 to head to the chocolate factory.

I've never seen a group of girls get off a bus so fast as they did when we arrived, they were all very excited. Even when we got in, trying to keep them on the right side of the wall was fun, we nearly had another Augustus Gloop moment!

The girls did enjoy the presentation and the chocolate shop at the end. Getting them out was the challenge.

We then started the fun of the journey home! The bus wouldn't start!!! But with some time and patience it finally did, about an hour and a half later. The girls were brilliant though and went with their leaders to a playing field and had a picnic lunch.

As a result of the delays, the Scottish group swapped to coach 7 to ensure they didn't miss their flight. However, we did miss our Eurotunnel slot but were booked on to the next available slot.

Though a long day, everyone eventually got home safe and sound.

I really enjoyed my Euro hop experience and it was great to be part of Coach 6's international experience.

Oopps, forgot to mention The Great Cow escape!!! I'll leave that one for the girls to tell!!! :-)