Category: News

Today we were out helping runners stay hydrated at the Weybridge 5k, 10k & Half Marathon. We take great pride in taking part in these community events and thank the organisers for inviting us. Well done to all the runners!!

More photos from the event can be found here: photos.runthrough.co.uk/galleries/weybridge-5k-10k-and-half-marathon-june-2025

We are excited to announce the following summer camps, we will update everyone with more information as we get closer to the events:

Scout and Senior Summer Camp

27th July – 1st August 2025

This year, our Scouts and Seniors will head to Nantmor Mountain Centre to partake in some hiking around Snowdonia National Park.

Senior and Rover Summer Camp

1st – 8th August 2026

Next year, our Seniors and Rovers will head to Denmark for a Rover Moot. Please see the programme details below:

Four members of 1^st Blackwater Valley entered as a team for this year’s event alongside Scouts from Hungary, the Scout Association, and 1^st Mortimer, a fellow independent Scout Group. Peter Johnson, and ex Royal Marine, was the GSM of 1^st Mortimer for over 50 years and he was a co-founder of the BPSA. He and his wife were great friends to our Scout Group.

While it is essential to maintain our group in the present, it is also vital to build it for the future. This weekend, some of our leaders were removing our old canvas store, which was beyond repair. To prevent mould, our canvas must be stored in a clean and dry environment. Sadly, over the many years our old store has served us, it has been repaired for leaks many times, and it was no longer possible to keep patching it. However, we look forward to our new store which will be placed in our old store’s footprint!

Last weekend we had a small group of members take on the Punchbowl 20 mile marathon, which they successfully completed in 6 hours and 56 minutes. It covers some challenging terrain and beautiful scenery. 

A great big thank you to all who attended our Christmas fair last weekend, and we raised just under £500, which was fantastic. Don’t forget our quiz night is approaching on the 7th of December and it is not too late to submit your team by getting in touch here.

Further to our decision to maintain the hut we have, our work on the rear wall entered its second weekend and is now finished. Thank you to everyone who took the time to come down and help. 

Last Sunday, our group attended the Remembrance Parade in Ash. It is sobering to remember all those locally who have lost their life in war. Thank you to all in our group who attended this special occasion.

On Saturday, the 26^th of October, we started the process of replacing the exterior walls of our Scout Hut. Three unsuccessful applications for a grant to replace our Scout Hut with a new building have reassured us we need to refurbish what we already own. A fourteen-hour session by group leaders succeeded in repairing the floor inside the emergency exit and replacing four of the eight exterior panels on that wall. We removed decking from outside that wall, which was causing rainwater to flow into the wall was also and preventing ventilation under the building. During the process of fitting new boards and reinforcing the wall frame insulation was introduced into those wall panels with a moisture barrier membrane over that.

As funds become available, we will work our way around the exterior walls until they are all replaced. We will then address replacing our canvas store and changing the heating inside the building. If you see any adverts for our fundraising events, please support us if you are willing.