73rd Groby Scouts visit to Switzerland – Kandersteg International Scout Centre
On Friday 18th July 2025, 31 members of 73rd Leicester (Groby) Scout Group met up on Laundon Way to board a coach and headed off to Kandersteg International Scout Centre in Switzerland. This was the culmination of 2 years planning and preparing to visit the International World Scout Centre that had involved numerous fundraising events, lots of skills training, many training hikes, and a massive amount of paperwork!
We left Groby at 11:30am and headed off to Dover, crossed the channel at 7pm in lovely sunny weather, albeit very blowy on the water!, then drove through the night, with a rest stop in Luxembourg along the way, and finally arrived at our destination in Switzerland at 8am Saturday morning.
And then – “Wow” – breathtaking views abound, Alpine mountains surround the centre, the River Kander runs through the middle, traditional Swiss Chalets and huts liven up the landscape – it’s truly a scene from a ‘chocolate box’!
Kandersteg International Scout Centre is at 1200 metres above sea level and is a centre for all Scouts from all over the world – it has capacity for 1500 attendees, was founded 102 years ago, and is usually booked to capacity at least 18 months in advance!
Upon arrival the group quickly set about getting organised – setting up tents, camp kit, and exploring the campsite. Then into the local village to stock up on essentials before returning back to camp for a rest and an early night to recover from the journey!
Sunday morning the adventure begins! The weather is being especially kind to us – very dry and very warm – off to Flag Break, joining up with Scouts from countries including Taiwan, Japan, Spain, Cyprus, America, Norway, the United Kingdom, and many more. The theme for the day is “International Friendship”; meeting and greeting with other groups, sports day games in a scouting manner including Tug of War, Capture the Flag, Volleyball, and Football. Later in the evening, an opportunity for all groups to come together and have a display about their country and hometown, share food, play games, and take part in the age old tradition of badge swapping.
Monday saw an early start to the day with everybody up at 6am and hiking off to the train station at 7. Unfortunately, we had experienced heavy storms through the previous night and have had to change our plans for safety reasons – no longer Canyoning, but heading out for High Ropes experience. Two trains later and we arrive at the huge high ropes park and for the next 3 hours enjoy ziplining, rope slides, controlled descents, and much more – great fun but very tiring!
A hike back to the train station at Interlaken with a quick look around the town, before heading back to camp for International Barbeque Evening accompanied with lots of fun and dancing as well.
Tuesday is another early start! Everybody up at 6am and split up into 2 teams to take part in overnight hut hikes.
Team 1 consists of the older members of the group who are heading to the Lötschenpass Hut – the hike takes them 19 kilometres to a height of 2690 metres (twice the height of Ben Nevis). It’s an extremely tough challenge with some very difficult terrain, including scrambling, steep ascents, and some sharp descents too. The team walk over the Lötschen glacier and get to see some magnificent views before arriving at the hut in time for an evening meal; then a good rest before waking to see the sunrise and heading back down the mountain and returning to camp Wednesday mid afternoon. It was an amazing experience, physically demanding, and one that the team will never forget!
Team 2 took on the Ueschinenhütte Hut hike. This hike is 14 kilometres and ascends to 1890 metres. This group are the younger members of the team, however the hike is just as challenging and yields an unforgettable experience for the entire team. After a home cooked meal at the hut and a good nights sleep they head back down the mountain to return back to camp at lunchtime on Wednesday.
Thursday is yet another 6am get up (thought that this was supposed to be a holiday!?!). Onto the coach at 7 and off to Lauterbrunnen. We are heading for Jungfraujoch – the “Top of Europe”. We take 2 mountain trains (rack & pinion) that traverse through the mountains and take us to a height of 3454 metres. Snow! Temperatures have plummeted to below zero Celsius! The group takes the opportunity of the unique location and we hold “Investiture Ceremonies” for our Explorers and Network team members at the top of the mountain – a memorable experience for all. We get a couple of hours at the top – enough time for some snowboarding, a visit to the Ice Palace, Glacier Plateau, and an opportunity to drop a postcard home from the highest postbox in Europe.
We are then heading back down the mountain on the train; at the first station the majority of the group leave the train and head for the Eiger Trail – a 13 Kilometre hike that takes everyone below the North Face of the Eiger and has a total descent of 1,400 metres. The terrain is stunning – long winding trails down the mountain, zig zag descents, water crossings, weather changing by the minute, and clouds below us! An extremely arduous and testing hike that proves to be incredibly rewarding and all members of the group can be extremely proud to have completed it. Then back onto the coach at Grindelwald to get back to camp.
Finally, Friday is a leisurely start! We headed into Kandersteg to take the cable cars up the mountain to the Oeschinensee lake. At 1689 metres we had the opportunity of paddling in the water, hiking the shoreline, admiring the waterfalls, and enjoying the experience of a slightly less taxing day. Then it’s back down the mountain - some by cable car, some on foot! - and off to camp for the International Campfire.
More than 400 people take part in the campfire, contributing songs, traditional dances, sketches, jokes, and laughter. All in the spirit of International Friendship it turns out to be an amazing and unique experience.
Saturday morning is a little less fun – last minute packing and clearing our camping area – it’s our final day! Once we have handed the camp area back, we head off to the village where some of the team go swimming in the outdoor pool (a surreal experience surrounded by mountains), others picking up some last minute souvenirs, and we all meet back together for dinner.
Then it’s onto the coach at 8pm and heading home, yet another drive through the night – onto the ferry at 8am Sunday morning, and we arrive back in Groby at 2 in the afternoon – everyone completely shattered but totally exhilarated by the experience! And already talking about arranging the next trip back!
During the week the group recorded a hiking distance of 124.1 Kilometres (77.11 miles) and managed to reach the highest Altitude of 3454 metres (11,333 feet) a truly remarkable achievement. To add some perspective – Ben Nevis is 1345 metres and Snowdon is 1085 metres!
Huge thanks to all of the leaders that volunteer and gave up their time & holiday allowances to make this trip happen – the young people thoroughly enjoyed the trip! Let’s see if we can get there again in 2028 and have even more people experience the phenomenal Scouting adventure that Switzerland has to offer!