Four emails across the year. Each links back to the relevant section here.

1. ✓Welcome
   On booking

   Confirmation + Tally extras form.

2. Half-term
   12 Feb 2027

   Packing list + kit reminders.

3. Health & docs
   12 Mar 2027
4. Final reminders
   1 Apr 2027

Friday 2 — Saturday 10 April 2027

Where: Chalet im Rohr · 3822 Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland · 6 ski days.

Who it's for: Young people aged 13 to 17, Year 8 upwards. Skiing from beginners to experts — we mix abilities into groups that work. Snowboarding available alongside skiing if enough people book.

Cost: to be confirmed.

What's included

• Coach travel from Chalfont St Peter, Clacket Lane, and Dover, with the Channel ferry crossing
• Chalet accommodation at Chalet im Rohr, Lauterbrunnen
• All meals from arrival to departure (including packed lunches on the mountain)
• Lift pass for the week
• Ski or snowboard lessons with Gold Hill Holidays' qualified, English-speaking instructors
• Equipment hire — skis or board, boots, poles
• Insurance for the trip

You'll need to bring a helmet (not provided), spending money for the journeys, and a few francs if you fancy a hot chocolate halfway up a mountain.

Three pickups along the route to Dover. Times below.

Pickup points and times will be confirmed nearer the trip.

The coach leaves the first stop in the late afternoon on Friday 2 April 2027. Return is Saturday 10 April 2027, same order in reverse, arriving back early-to-mid morning. Times will be confirmed nearer the trip and emailed direct.

Two documents get checked at the coach door.

• Must be a valid UK passport (or appropriate travel document if non-UK).
• Must be valid for at least 3 months beyond the end of the trip — i.e. valid past mid-July 2027.
• Must have been issued within the last 10 years.
• Non-UK passport holders: please check visa requirements for France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Switzerland yourselves.

• Travel insurance is included in the trip cost, but each young person also needs a Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) to access straightforward medical care in Switzerland and to make any insurance claim simpler.
• Apply on the NHS website — they can take a few weeks to arrive, so please apply early.

Luggage on this trip is strictly limited — every bag has to fit on the coach alongside ski equipment. Please pack compactly.

• One bag or case per person (plus a small rucksack for the coach).
• No large hard-sided suitcases. A small to medium soft case or rucksack is ideal.
• A fresh outfit for each evening really isn't necessary — the chalet is warm and informal.

• Water bottle (with water in)
• Food for the evening meal on the outbound journey, or money for ferry/services
• Glasses or contact lenses (if needed)
• Stuff to do on the coach — book, headphones, etc.
• Toothbrush and toothpaste
• Small pillow (not essential but recommended)
• Any medication — including travel-sickness pills if needed
• Passport and GHIC card
• Some Euros and Swiss Francs
• Battery pack and charging cable
• A cake — one per family (afternoon tea on the trip; please don't send more than one!)

• Comfortable shoes for around the village
• Indoor footwear for the chalet (trainers, slippers)
• Casual clothes for evenings
• Pyjamas
• Underwear, socks, etc.
• Toiletries — wash kit, toothbrush, hairbrush, sanitary products
• Towel (bedding is provided, but towels aren't)
• Smarter clothes for the last-night party
• Bible, notebook, pen
• Hat (not essential)
• European travel adapter with narrow connections (Swiss sockets are slightly different from standard EU)

• Small rucksack for carrying lunch, drinks, extra layers on the mountain
• Waterproof jacket and salopettes
• Layers — long-sleeve thermal preferred
• Warm waterproof gloves
• Ski socks — at least 3-4 pairs, they get smelly
• Thermals
• Ski goggles, plus sunglasses (sunglasses must be suitable for skiing)
• Buff or scarf
• Helmet — you must bring your own. Equipment hire does not include a helmet. It must be a certified ski/snowboard helmet (look for EN1077 marking) — bike helmets and other types aren't suitable.
• Suncream and lip block — SPF 50 recommended

It's a long but well-trodden journey. Most young people come back saying the coach was one of the most fun bits.

• Coach picks up at three points en route to Dover (times to be confirmed).
• Channel ferry crossing — about 90 minutes.
• Once back on the coach after the ferry, everyone is asked to settle and try to get some sleep.
• We recommend a small pillow and basic wash kit in hand luggage.
• We make stops for breakfast in France and lunch in Switzerland the next day.
• You can either bring your own food or buy at these stops. Card and cash both work.

• Stop in Switzerland to make sandwiches in the chalet for the journey, or buy food on the road.
• Channel crossing.
• Coach drop-offs at the same three pickup points in reverse, arriving early-to-mid morning on Saturday 10 April.

Accurate return timings will be sent via email and the parents' WhatsApp on the morning of the return.

If lost or delayed at pickup or drop-off, contact us at skiswitzerland@westrunton.org.uk.

Chalet im Rohr · 3822 Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland, run for us by Gold Hill Holidays.

Bedding is provided. You need to bring your own towel.

• Early breakfast and packed-lunch making
• Train up the mountain by 8:30
• A session of lessons with our Gold Hill Holidays instructors, plus a session of group ski in ability groups with a leader (the order swaps day to day)
• Lunch on the slopes (yes, with chocolate)
• Back to the chalet for cake and downtime
• Three-course dinner, evening meeting, small groups, sleep

Phones are useful on the mountain so we allow them in the daytime. Phones go into a phone bank overnight so everyone gets proper sleep — they're returned at breakfast. Bring an alarm clock if your young person needs one in the morning.

If a young person is left without a phone or it's stored overnight, leaders can help them call home anytime, and a trip leader's number is always available to receive calls.

West Runton Holidays cannot accept liability for loss or damage to devices during the trip — bringing them is at your own risk.

After dinner there's a short Bible talk and a story from one of the leaders. The last night is a themed party — theme to be decided.

Everything is covered in the trip cost (apart from food on the journeys). Some young people like to bring spending money for hot chocolates on the mountain (~5-6 Swiss Francs each), postcards, the occasional cuckoo clock, and chips on the way home.

We suggest bringing cash — Lauterbrunnen has limited shops and getting to a bank is awkward. Euros work on the journey; Swiss Francs in resort. Switzerland is expensive, so plan accordingly.

Travel insurance is included in the trip cost via West Runton Holidays. In the rare event of a claim, any money paid out by leaders during the trip will be reimbursed via the West Runton Holidays office on return to the UK — please keep receipts. We will of course help with any claim.

It's vital that we know if your young person has been ill in the three weeks before the trip. Please contact us before departure with any details — failure to do so could jeopardise the trip for them or for others on it.

Any questions about the 2027 trip — packing, kit, dates, anything — drop us an email.