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!!! :-)

Thank you Coach 7

"Chocolate is awesome!" shouted the Brownies on our final stop in France this morning.

At the Chocolaterie de Beussant we smelt cocoa beans, learnt how they are turned into chocolate and hoovered up the samples on offer.

Coach 7 is now on its way up through England, making stops later today at Northampton, Market Harborough, Thrurnby and Stockport. As the first to embark, I'm currently waiting at Folkestone West for a train to take me into London, catching my breath after a whirlwind few days.

It's been an enormous pleasure being Wise Owl for Euro Hop Coach 7. The Brownies and their Leaders threw themselves into every activity; their smiles never faded even when their eyelids were drooping. They did Girlguiding proud, showing everyone we met in France and Belgium the fun and excitement of being part of our worldwide organisation.

Thank you all for making Euro Hop a fantastic experience. Sleep very well tonight!

Euro Hop highlights from Coach 6

Brownies on Coach 6 from Coleshill share their highlights of their Euro Hop adventure

It's been a really fun weekend. It's been tiring too - we've been up early to fit in lots of activities every day.

We had an amazing time on the beach - we got lots of sand in our shoes.

It was really good making croissants at the boulangerie - we got to try some chocolate which was very chocolatey! 

On Saturday night we had a campfire with everyone on Euro Hop - we learnt new songs. Our favourite was 'Little Guiding Light'.

Yesterday we enjoyed going to chocolate shops in Bruges. There were lots of strange chocolate flavours like asparagus and seafood. 

Last night we had a disco and we swapped badges and are taking lots of new ones away - it was groovy! We also ate snails - we thought they were yucky though Megan said they were nice.

It's been an amazing weekend!

Awesome day in Bruges - Coach 7

Tonight's Coach 7 blog entry has been written by Charly, Freya and Faith from Market Harborough Division and Tanaka from Northampton (pictured below with their souvenirs from the day)

Today we went to Bruges and ate chocolate. We met an American Girl Scout - she was excited to see us and asked if it was ok if she could take a photo with us and her mum.

We had to go on a quest to find a missing creature, which involved having lots of fun and we needed good map reading skills. We saw lots of things that we really liked - Christmas decorations, toy pandas, horses and carts, and old buildings with gold decorations. We also went to the Bear Necessities shop where we sang the song from the Jungle Book.

We went on a boat trip and saw a duck which we called Cow because it was black and white. 

We really liked wandering round the city - it was calm and relaxed and there were lots of bridges. We think we went over seven.

Tonight some people tried snails, but we weren't brave enough to - they looked horrid. Iris and Anna said they were nice but we don't believe them.

On Euro Hop Everything is Awesome - we've sung the song from the Lego film lots!

Photos of our day

Day 2 for Coach 6

We had a busy, educational day. Starring out with sand yachting which the girls and leaders enjoyed. Though as the wind wasn't strong enough to move the leaders they went on the pedalows.

We quickly departed Boulogne after a picnic on the beach and went to the bakery to see how croissants and pan chocolat were made.

We had a bit of time at the end of the day so we visited the Ebblinghem war cemetery. It was only small but big enough for the girls to go round and read all of the headstones.  The Brownies signed the visitors book on behalf of Girl guiding UK and seemed very reflective after the experience.

The evening was filled with crêpe making and campfire, then bed for some very tired girls.

Beach trip - Coach 7

Bologne-Sur-Mer was our destination this afternoon. We could more-or-less make out the white cliffs of Dover before arriving at the long sandy beach.

There was just enough wind for the Brownies to sand yacht - essentially go-karting with a sail. After a booster push from a friend to set off, some became pretty skilled at weaving round bollards. Girls and leaders also enjoyed skimming the waves on pedalos before splashing around in the sea. 

And of course a beach trip wouldn't be a beach trip without an ice cream...

The Brownies are now busy beating eggs, making crepes.

Tanaka from 22nd Northampton Brownies summed up today as a day of good teamwork. "We all had to work together to make the pedalos and sand yachts move. And tonight in teams we were cracking eggs and mixing ingredients to make the crepes. A really enjoyable day!"

The art of making a croissant - Coach 7

Bruno the baker this morning described to the Brownies the artisan method which has been used in the Bouiangerie d'Ecoueuilles for over 100 years.

Carys from 1st Norris Bank Brownies (left below) was fascinated by the wood-burning oven where 130 croissants can be baked at one time. For Bethaney (right below) making croissants by rolling up triangular pieces of dough was an enjoyable challenge - she was amazed how quickly Hugo could do so.

...And we didn't leave empty-handed...

Coach 7 share highlights of their journey across the Channel

Euro Hop travellers on Coach 7 have had a long day but we're very excited to have arrived at Chateau d'Ebblinghem. 

Below Brownies share their highlights of their day journeying down England and across the Channel.

Emily, 22nd Northhampton Brownies

My favourite bit of today was arrving in France whilst singing and watching films. When I first saw France I was happy that I had arrived in different country for the first time!"

Chloe, 1st Norris Bank St Martin's Brownies

"I thought the Euro Tunnel was really really fun! I enjoyed making the passports on the train. I was shocked when I first arrived in France, as I thought that it would be really warm!"

Tanaka, 22nd St Mary's

"My favourite bit of today was going on the Euro Tunnel. I was surprised that we could fit a coach in there!"

Coach 6 has arrived!!!

Well we have made it to France and the girls are settling down to get some sleep before their early morning wake up call tomorrow. Whether any sleep will be had is questionable as they are very excited after tonight's activities.

We had a good run over after a couple delays before and at Gatwick, but the delays meant that there was no hanging around at the Eurotunnel and we boarded straight away.

Everyone is looking forward to the fun and games ahead but first some very much needed sleep!!!!

Sleepless night due to excitement!!!!!!

Well the adventures of Coaches 6 and 7 begin today and I wonder if anyone got any sleep due to the excitement? I know I didn't get much. It is going to be a fun filled weekend. Bring on the FUN!!!!!!

Euro Hop adventures begin for Coach 6 and 7!

The excitement for another 2 coaches of Brownies starts tomorrow and I wish them Bon Voyage!

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

Groups travelling on Coach 6 are, 1st Newent, Coleshill District Brownies, 1st Bulwark, 1st Aucherless and 1st Rothienorman Brownies.

The groups travelling on Coach 7 are 1st Norris Bank (St. Martin's), 1st Thurnby, Market Harborough Division and 22nd Northampton (St Mary's) Brownies

Let the excitement begin for them all!!!!

Wow - It's a small world and where are you?

I'm amazed at the response to the Euro Hop blog!

I've just reviewed the statistics that the lovely friends here provide and we have had over 4000 views of the blog - that seems an amazing number to me in a relatively short period of time!

The other element the statistics provide is the countries from which people are reading the blog. Now I really do know how small the world can actually be when you belong to a worldwide movement like Girlguiding, but when I share some of these countries people have been reading the blog from, I'm sure you will agree its amazing and exciting particularly for the Brownies who are just quite simply having an amazing time with new friends!

We have had views from, Canada, USA, Brazil, Ukraine, Germany, Poland, France, Belgium, Holland, Denmark, Lithuania, South Africa, Ireland, Switzerland and Italy to name just some!

Coach 3 - Chocolaterie and heading home

Better late than never but here is what Coach 3 got up to on our final day of Eurohop!

We all enjoyed having not too early a start on our final day.  There was still lots to be done, to pack our bags, tidy our rooms and load the coach.  There was also time for the Brownies to give me some feedback about the weekend! Words like amazing and awesome summed up their feelings!

We said goodbye to Dave our groupie and then headed off to the Chocolaterie de Beussent.  We saw Coach 4 at the end of their visit and wished them well on their journey home.  We had a very informative tour of the Chocolaterie, learning where cocoa comes from and how it gets made into chocolate.

Alain showing the Brownies some cocoa beans

We got to see this happening for real and also how they make their wonderful chocolates. Then the girls got to try one before visiting the shop where the left over money was spent buying presents for people at home!

Lots of Chocolate!

After a loo stop which took a long time as there was one loo and 47 of us, we headed to the Eurotunnel.  Luckily there were no delays and we drove straight through to customs. Our coach got inspected by a sniffer dog at French customs which was interesting for the girls to see.  We then all had to get off the coach to show the UK border staff our passports.  This all went smoothly and was another new experience for the Brownies.

 Very soon we were travelling under the Channel and were back in the UK.  We said goodbye to Gisburn and Auchterarder Brownies at Gatwick and also to Dave the driver.  Dave was excellent all weekend and deserves a special thank you! I was next to depart and then the coach continued on its way to Basingstoke, Bromsgrove and Hereford.

As a Wise Owl I need to thank all of the Brownies on my trip for making the weekend so enjoyable.  Special thanks need to go to the leaders for making my job so easy and for giving the brownies the opportunity to have such a great weekend away. I hope the rest of the Eurohop trips have as good a time as we did!

Coach 4 visits the Chocolaterie before heading home

Our final day in France before heading home via the shuttle was an even earlier start. Breakfast eaten, lunch made, packing finished, beds stripped and goodbyes said to Emma (our “Groupie”  at the Chateau) we headed on to the coach for the short journey to the Chocolaterie de Beussent.  

Alain and his staff greeted us and, following an introductory talk, showed the Brownies how they make their fantastic chocolates and we all admired the examples on display.  Everyone was given a chocolate to sample and all agreed how delicious they were.

Leaving the Chocolaterie after visiting the shop to buy our final souvenirs, we headed to Calais for our shuttle.  A big thank you to Michael, our coach driver, as he managed to negotiate an earlier shuttle meaning we could get home slightly earlier.  We all had to go through passport control, another new experience for the Brownies.

The Brownies all agreed that they had a fantastic weekend and described it as “ace”, “amazing”, “jaw-dropping”, “fantastic” and “brilliant”.

To end the blog for Coach 4 I thought I would list our highlights of the weekend (in no particular order): -

• The shopkeeper in Bruges who told me how well the Brownies (from both weekends) behaved in his shop 
• 3 visits from the tooth fairy
• Holly eating 6 snails
• Ashleigh making her Promise on the shuttle
• The whole group renewing their Promises on the Canal Cruise
• Our brilliant coach driver, Michael, who wore a Big Brownie Birthday Badge today
• Well behaved Brownies who were a pleasure to be with
• Getting to know new Leaders and Brownies
• Jo offering to make teas and coffees for the Leaders during a power cut ....... everyone accepted!!

Coach 4 go to Bruges

Early start this morning, breakfast and making our packed lunches before travelling to Bruges where Michael dropped us off at the coach park.  We sat in the nearby park and ate our Pain au Chocolat which Bruno had given us yesterday when  we visited the Boulangerie – they were delicious.

Each colour group made their own way round Bruges, looking at the sites and visiting the shops – the chocolate shop and the Christmas shop being the most popular – whilst playing a wide game.  Most of the Brownies wanted to shop to buy presents to take home.

After lunch we went on a Canal Cruise, 51 Brownies, Leaders and helpers were a bit of a squash on one boat, but we all enjoyed it..

Everyone ate ice-cream, the group I was with found a little shop which sold vanilla ice cream with chocolate pieces in it.  We all agreed that it was delicious and ate it on our way to the park to meet up with the other groups.

Back at the Chateau we had dinner before taking part in the evening activities.

The Brownies all had an opportunity to try snails, Holly was the star of the evening eating 6.

Coach 3, Day 3, Country 3!

Coach 3 have had another busy day! We headed to our 3rd country of the trip and the Brownies were very excited to get their "passport stamps" on the way into Belgium! Bruges was our destination and we walked across the city faster than Usain Bolt in order to make our canal boat trip.  This was a good chance to rest following the manic sprint and it was great to hear about some of Bruges history and see the amazing city.  Some girls even won extra Brownie Points for remembering the facts which came in useful for the wide game later.   There was a brief moment of heroism when the canal boat driver rescued Elizabeth's bag from the water!

 

Enjoying the canal boat ride!

After the canal boat ride the groups split up to explore Bruges and complete as much of the wide game as possible.  It was very hot so ice creams were on the menu all round, as was relaxing in the shade in the park!  The girls had a great day and a highlight was definitely shopping for chocolate and souvenirs. One group were even invited to join a couple's wedding photo!

There was another exciting addition to dinner when we got the chance to try snails alongside our roast beef.  Lots of girls tried them, Bea from Hereford was brave and tried the first snail and Charlotte from Basingstoke are seven! The girls are now having fun with their evening activity and are looking forward to swapping badges with each other later!

SNAILS!!!

My favourite moment of the day was when a member of the public came up to us and said that the girls were amazing and so well behaved! They were a credit to Girlguiding today!