We were rudely awoken far too early for our liking and arrived in Brussels an hour or so before the Eurostar departure lounge even opened.  When it finally did, we sprawled ourselves on the concourse and had a snooze.

After a cracking two weeks we arrived back at Gidea Park station bang on time.  A troop circle was held in the car park where various badges and awards were dispensed to the Scouts, Explorers and Networkers.

This was the end of an era. Our previous trips to Kandersteg had all been Joint events between the 3rd Gidea Park Scouts and Venture sections. Although we had on paper Explorers from Unit M and one from Unit J as well as county Network Members, it still felt like an old 3GP Scouts and Ventures summer camp.

Kandersteg 2003 was the last summer camp where Scouts cooked breakfast and dinner on fires. By the following summer, the change in age range of the Scout section was making itself felt. It was too much to ask Scouts to cook breakfast on a fire, hike for seven hours and then cook dinner. From 2004 and onwards, we evolved how camps for the Scout section were run.

The following summer, Unit M brought a large contingent to the Lake District with 3rd Gidea Park Scouts, but we ran completely separate programs and never camped together again. Over the next three years the Scout Troop grew. Our next trip to Kandersteg was 2006, with just three leaders but three full patrols of Scouts. That was a very different experience.