Rainbows, Brownies, Cubs and Scouts in Corbridge: A Parents' Guide

Scouting and Guiding are among the most popular weekday activities for children in Corbridge, and with good reason. For a modest termly fee they get games, badges, camping and time outdoors, and a chance to make friends beyond their own school class. This guide sets out what is available in and around the village, which nights each group meets, and how to get a place.

Meeting times below are taken from each group's published page and generally apply in term time. Sections can change their night from year to year, so always confirm with the group before you turn up.

How the sections work

Scouting and Guiding are two separate organisations. Scouts is open to all young people and runs Beavers for ages 6 to 8, Cubs from 8 to 10 and a half, Scouts from 10 and a half to 14, Explorers from 14 to 18 and Network for 18 to 25.

Girlguiding is for girls and young women. Rainbows are the youngest section, from around four or five to seven, followed by Brownies from 7 to 10, Guides from 10 to 14 and Rangers from 14 to 18.

1st Tynedale (Corbridge) Scout Group

The village has its own Scout group, 1st Tynedale (Corbridge) Scout Group. It meets at the Corbridge Scout HQ on St Helen's Street, a short walk from the Market Place and close to the parish hall. The group is a registered charity, run by volunteers, and is part of Hadrian Scouts, the district that covers Corbridge, Hexham, Prudhoe, Haydon Bridge and Allendale.

It runs three sections:

• Beavers (6 to 8): Wednesdays, 6pm to 7pm
• Cubs (8 to 10 and a half): Thursdays, 6pm to 7.30pm
• Scouts (10 and a half to 14): Fridays, 7pm to 9pm

Being in the village, it is the obvious first choice for most Corbridge families, and children can walk there from most of the village. Register interest through the Hadrian Scouts website as early as you can, ideally a year or so before your child reaches the starting age.

Riding Mill Scout Group

A few minutes east along the A695, Riding Mill Scout Group meets at the Millennium Hall on Church Lane and in the Supper Room at Riding Mill Parish Hall. Its meeting nights differ from Corbridge's, which can help if the village sections are full or clash with another club:

• Beavers: Thursdays, 6pm to 7pm
• Cubs: Tuesdays, 6pm to 7.30pm
• Scouts: Fridays, 7.30pm to 9.15pm
• Explorers: fortnightly on Fridays, 7.30pm to 9.15pm

Riding Mill also runs an Explorer unit, which is useful for teenagers moving on from the Corbridge Scout troop.

1st Stocksfield Scout Group

Further east, 1st Stocksfield Scout Group has its own headquarters at Guessburn in Stocksfield. It meets on yet another pattern of nights:

• Beavers: Tuesdays, 6.15pm to 7.30pm
• Cubs: Mondays, 6.30pm to 8pm
• Scouts: Thursdays, 7pm to 9pm

Stocksfield is around ten minutes' drive from Corbridge, so it tends to suit families on the eastern side of the parish or those who already travel that way for school.

1st Hexham Scout Group

Westward, 1st Hexham Scout Group is based at the Lookwide Centre on Maiden's Walk, behind Hexham General Hospital. It is a larger group with all four main sections:

• Beavers: Tuesdays, 6.15pm to 7.15pm
• Cubs: Wednesdays, 6.30pm to 7.45pm
• Scouts: Mondays, 7.30pm to 9pm
• Explorers (Lookwide unit): Tuesdays, 7.30pm to 9pm

Many Corbridge teenagers go on to secondary school in Hexham, so the Hexham Explorer unit can be a natural next step for friends who want to stay together.

Rainbows, Brownies and Guides

Girlguiding in this part of the county is organised by Girlguiding Northumberland. We have not found a public listing for a Rainbow, Brownie or Guide unit meeting in Corbridge itself,. Girlguiding usually places new members through its online system rather than listing meeting places publicly, so this does not mean there is nothing nearby.

The way to find a place is to register interest on the Girlguiding website. You give your postcode and your daughter's age, and a local volunteer should then get in touch with details of where and when the unit meets. As with Scouts, waiting lists for Rainbows and Brownies can be long, so it pays to register early.

Getting a place, and helping out

Almost every group in the Tyne Valley has a waiting list for its younger sections, and the limiting factor is nearly always the number of adult volunteers rather than space in the hall. Groups are often able to take more children when a parent offers to help, whether that is as a section leader, on a rota or with behind-the-scenes jobs such as accounts or the group's kit store. Training and safeguarding checks are provided.

Fees vary between groups, so ask the group about costs, uniform and any camp fees when you are offered a place.

More for families

For other ideas for children in the village, see our guides to family activities in Corbridge, sport and clubs in Corbridge and the best playgrounds in Corbridge.