What we got up to: Day 2 at Lower Grange Farm

Author: Hadyn C, Explorer.

We’ve had a great day at the Kandersteg pre-event, with a jam-packed schedule. Let’s get right into all of the action.

We woke up with wakey-shakey, the best way to get your joints moving after waking up at 7am. It’s the perfect substitute for coffee. Then breakfast was had, a wonderful round of cereal, porridge (and sausages in rolls for the Scouts) - that was sure to get us filled up.

After our patrol (Sandwich², as it’s now called) was done with the morning routine, we learnt the ways of the marquee, unpacking it all, put some of the parts up, and packed it all away ready for July. Our craft was practiced so we could do it in Switzerland, and we moved to team games. This was a fun opportunity to learn about our team members, and human table football proved quite the fun adventure. Ice breakers were done, and we had a lesson in communication to make sure everyone was on the same page, making sure the 10 days will be as comfortable as possible.

Lunch was needed at this point, and the wraps provided were heavenly (though, anything is heavenly at a campsite). We then gave it time to digest, and the only sensible thing to do next is a hike, of course. A quick 4km ramble was put on the schedule to practice the distance from our campsite to the train station and back, with it timed to make sure we would know when to leave to avoid missing the train.

Before we knew it, we were back and some groups split off to practice passport control and all the wonders of bureaucracy that come along with it. However, our group joined a wellbeing chat to make sure we were in the best state of mind ready for 10 days a long way away from home.

We prepped our lunch for tomorrow, before we sat down for dinner, a delicious mix of chicken and rice that was sure to fill you up. Ice cream was had afterwards, a pleasant surprise that had long lines waiting to get a few scoops. Finally, some evening entertainment was in order, with rounders played outside, bingo and friendship bracelets in the marquee, and me, writing this blog post to sum up today’s part of final prep in advance of Kandersteg.