On our first day in Kandersteg, it rained so we couldn't go out to play in the mountains. We decided to see if the weather was better in the next valley to the south.

It was but only marginally.

The train passes through the Lotchenberg tunnel and snakes down the edge of a mountain passing through tunnels and across viaducts as it descends the side of the Rhone valley to Brig.

 A short bus ride from the station is the swimming pool.  This isn't just any old swimming pool.  It Geothermaly heated so some pools are hotter than the average bath!

 But the best bit must be the whirlpool.  This is a roughly donut shaped pool where the water is pumped round by jets.  The water is pumped very very fast.  In the Picture on the left Andy Lannin (Not a small lad by anybodies standards or a week swimmer) has just been sucked under.  One suspects Steve is about to befall the same fate.

 This is not a pool for the week hearted as even strong swimmers can easily get into trouble, but we all seemed to float back to the surface again so it was OK.  It was certainly great fun!

 The Venture scouts dominated this sport for the best part of the afternoon until the biggest hooligan in Gidea Park turned up.  Once the GSL Alan Mathews and his accomplice Geoff Preston turned up, nobody stood a chance!

 The other attraction at this pool is the water flume.  This is alleged to be the longest in Europe, a claim we're not going to argue with.  They have managed to build it snaking down the mountain side!  The more skilled flumeists from Gidea Park managed to achieve quite frightening speeds!

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