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We've been keeping a secret from all of you!

February 12, 2026 🔗

Let's go back in time, to the autumn of 2022.

Some of the leaders from our group heard about an incredible opportunity that could give our Scout group a brand new hut. Considering that we'd only been hoping to give the kitchen a facelift, a few years after treating the loos to one, the prospect of a completely new headquarters was too tantalising not to look into further.

The Youth Investment Fund had been providing new or renovated youth facilities to groups across England, largely traditional builds in the first phase, and there was another phase underway that we could apply for. This phase was to construct modular builds for youth services around the country, in deprived or under-served communities.

We were fortunate enough to be selected for our first round of funding in early 2023. That funding would carry us through everything required to getting planning permission for the new headquarters.

We thought that was the end of the journey for us, though, and it wasn't until the beginning of 2025 that we heard we had a genuine shot at getting a new building. The next several months were a flurry of activity behind the scenes, and we succeeded in gaining planning permission for the new hut, with a resulting surprise article popping up in a local news provider.

The autumn has been a busy period for those working on the project, with plenty to keep them occupied. It's been a time of transition for the group, as the sections have been meeting elsewhere, all while trying to keep the project under wraps!

The old hut will be demolished and replaced with a new modular build, assuring we will have a home in Allesley Park for at least another 50 years (we managed to get a long enough lease to guarantee that!).

We'd like to thank the UK Government, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Youth Investment Fund for funding our new Scout Headquarters. We can't wait to show it to everyone once it's built!

Keep your eyes on this space. We're hoping to keep you updated with photos and news of the project as it progresses. Be patient with us!

The Sound of Silence

December 31, 2025 🔗

Apologies that we fell silent after Easter break last year! We were busy with our usual section meetings, planning our Group Summer Camp and we had a project underway in the background. More on that later.

The Beavers kept busy in the summer term working on their Outdoor Challenge badges, including learning some basic knots, making bird feeders out of apples, going on a nature hike on the Wedge, river dipping, pitching tents and building pom pom catapults.

In the autumn term, they worked on their navigation and map reading skills, practiced basic first aid, discovered facts about common wild British animals and learned about safety at home, around water, fire and roads. They’ve been raking the badges in! The Beavers also got to enjoy two District events with other Squirrels and Beavers: the annual Bablake District Craft and Campfire evening, with lots of leaves, glue and singing, and the annual District Christingle, hosted this year by the 36th/51st.

The Cubs spent a fair bit of their summer term around campfires, making cheese toasties, s’mores and banana splits, practising their fire lighting, as well as working on their pioneering skills and learning the Countryside Code.

When the autumn rolled around, the Cubs explored the history of the Castle Mound that is next to our hut, mapping the local area and improving their map reading and navigation skills, and fine-tuning their road safety knowledge. Adding to their sleeve of badges with each meeting!. Highlights of the autumn for the Cubs were the District Cubs Campfire, with all the Cubs in fine voice, and the District Cubs Christingle at St Nicholas Church.

The Beavers and Cubs also held a Christmas Craft Sleepover together at Twin Oaks Scout Centre, making beaded snowflakes, clay bead bracelets, tri-bead wreaths, two different wooden ornaments (one of which was very fragile and needed a gentle touch), and a special diamond painting Christmas card. We watched a film and had lots of Christmassy treats before bed, and there was even a snowball fight in the morning after the tents were packed up!

The Scouts kept their programme largely outdoors over the summer and autumn terms, with loads of campfires, some orienteering in the park, and quite a few nights of wide games. A big chunk of the autumn term was spent creating a video to advertise Scouts as a part of their Creative Challenge badge, some of which took place indoors and some outdoors. They also got to have a riflery night in the autumn and keep those skills fresh, with a special visitor from Canada giving them tips on both outdoor survival and shooting. The Scouts also had a couple of smaller camps at Rough Close in the summer term, one of which was to give the Patrol Leaders and Assistants training. They also held a JOTA-JOTI sleepover to get in touch with Scouts around the world in the autumn.

The Beavers, Cubs and Scouts had a great time on their Group Summer Camp, which was held at Beaudesert Scout Camp. There were lots of incredible activities available, which our young people hadn’t had a chance to do before, including raft building, kayaking, coracling, the monkey trees, a via ferrata, quarry zipline and fencing (en garde!)!

Together, all three sections also went to the Gang Show, had our annual Bonfire Night party, with lots of food, lots of fireworks and lots of singing around the campfire and held our annual Christmas Jambowlree in December, winding up 2025.

Week 26: April 7-10 2025

April 11, 2025 🔗

Wrapping up the spring term with a sweet campfire treat, the Scouts made marshmallow and chocolate pockets from scratch on Monday night. Their cooking skills are improving steadily!

The Scouts are mixing dough to make marshmallow and chocolate pockets with. Why one Scout is holding his circle of dough over his face is anyone's guess, though.

With all of their marshmallow and chocolate pockets roasting on the fire, the Scouts are chilling out around the circle.

Surprisingly, this Scout hasn't scoffed his sweet treat yet! It looks nice and golden brown.

This Scout has a tasty looking result to her baked treat and looks rather pleased with it.

At last, the Cubs have finished their bird houses! All the hard work has paid off, and their bird houses look fantastic. They've been really supportive of each other through the task, even chanting the name of the final Cub as she hammered in the last nail on her bird house on Tuesday night.

Ten wooden bird houses in a row, ready to be mounted in ten gardens! The Cubs have done a great job on them.

The youngest Cub is getting the hinge of the bird house lid screwed into place.

This Cub is carefully positioning his roofing felt on his bird house, that will keep the hinged area dry.

The second week of riflery for the Beavers went well, with two of the Beavers shooting very consistently. They were shooting so consistently that they were given the chance to use the knockdown targets instead, which they thoroughly enjoyed!

The Beaver has got an incredibly small grouping on his rifle target and looks very proud of himself.

Two of the Beavers are shooting at knockdown targets instead of paper targets, as they are accurate enough in their shooting. One has hit two of her three targets, and the other has knocked down all three and reset them to knock them down again.

Week 25: March 31 - April 3 2025

April 4, 2025 🔗

One of the Scouts wanted to lead a session to teach the others how to make lemonade. He found it was a little harder to get Scouts to listen and follow instructions than he'd thought it would be. Some of the groups of Scouts made something more like caramel than lemonade, but others managed to make lemonade from lemons. The hut certainly smelled nice, between all the caramelised sugar and lemon!

A Scout stands alone next to a table of ingredients as he explains to the Scout Troop how to make lemonade.

Two Scouts are squeezing lemons under the watchful eye of their leader. Looks like they're having fun!

These Scouts have accidentally made caramelised sugar, instead of lemonade syrup. Oops! Looks tasty, though.

These Scout girls have managed to make actual lemonade. It's hard to tell whether they're enjoying it or not, though!

Bird houses on Tuesday. That's right, more birdhouses! Now that the birdhouses had the stain on the outside of the panels, the Cubs set to work gluing and nailing the pieces into shape. By the end of the evening, everyone had their houses glued and at least partly nailed, with large elastics holding the parts together tightly for the glue to dry.

Thanks to our in-house rifle instructor, the Beavers had the chance to practice their target skills with their parent to help them on Thursday. They had a great time and one of the Beavers seems to have a skill for riflery.

It's this Beaver's first time using an air rifle. His dad is helping him, to make sure everything is done safely. He's got everything lined up and he's ready to shoot at the target.

It's this Beaver's first time shooting and she is a natural. Every target had her shots grouped closely and she's very proud of how well she did.

Week 24: March 24-27 2025

March 28, 2025 🔗

Due to the heavy rain the Scouts encountered on their camp on Saturday night, they weren't able to have a campfire, so the leaders decided they'd have one Monday night instead! The Scouts led each other in song, toasted marshmallows and had a nice chilled evening.

The Scouts have got a roaring fire going and are waiting for the fire to make coals they can toast their mashmallows over.

The Scouts are kneeling around the fire to toast their marshmallows.

Mmmmm. A nice gooey s'more is about to get devoured by this smiling Scout.

This Scout has got soot all over her hands from the fire circle and seems rather happy about it!

The Cubs have been working hard on their bird houses. This week they stained the outside of their bird houses with a water-based stain, to keep them protected from the weather.

Three of the Beavers are moving on to Cubs next term, so the Beavers had a skills night to help them. They learned how to build a fire, how to iron and roll their neckers, how to light a candle and how to tie three different knots. When the parents arrived, the Beavers practiced their knots with them. It's always great to watch the Beavers learn new skills.