Looking for things to do in Ludlow?

Girls can join, and plenty do. Every section of Scouting has been open to both since 2007, and Explorers longer than that, so the split with Guides people remember from school hasn't been a thing for a long time. Triffid is mixed.

No. We aren't attached to a church and nobody will ask what you believe. There's a Promise when you're invested, and it comes in several wordings, including one written for people of no faith. You pick the one that's honest for you.

No. There's no drill, no inspection and no shouting. The uniform is a hoody and a necker. Most Mondays you'd struggle to tell us apart from any other group of teenagers, apart from the kayaks.

7pm to 9pm, term time. Some weeks it's at the hut: cooking challenges, first aid, navigation, planning the next camp, wide games. Other weeks we're out somewhere, which is why we ask you to email before a first visit — we'll tell you where to turn up.

There's no rota and no expectation that you volunteer. The one thing that genuinely helps is parents sorting lifts between themselves when we're meeting away from the hut, which happens often enough to be worth knowing about.

No. Scouting is open to disabled and neurodivergent young people, and the rule is that we adapt to the young person rather than the other way round. You don't need a diagnosis or a letter from anyone. Tell us what helps and what doesn't before the first Monday, so we can plan rather than improvise on the night. Activities, camps and badges can all be adjusted, and you and they lead that conversation, not us.

To start, nothing. Normal clothes are fine for the first few Mondays, and the uniform is a hoody and a necker that subs cover. Kit only comes into it once they start a DofE expedition, and we'll tell you exactly what's needed in good time. We have the tents, so that's one thing you'll never buy. Sleeping bags, boots and rucksacks are your own.

No. Email us and they can come the next Monday. Explorers is 14 to 18 and you can join from 13½, and if they're still in Scouts it's free while they're moving up.

Scouts is 10½ to 14 and led by the leaders. Explorers is 14 to 18 and the unit picks its own programme each term, camps further afield, and does the Duke of Edinburgh. Nobody needs to have done Scouts first. Plenty here didn't.