As Scouts, we believe in preparing young people with skills for life.
Each week, nearly 300 young people come through our doors to learn, grow and take on new challenges. Your support helps make this possible – creating a safe, inclusive space where they can build confidence, make friends, and feel they truly belong.
We encourage our young people to do more, learn more and be more. Through fun, adventure and hands-on experiences, they develop teamwork, leadership and resilience – skills that stay with them for life.
We believe in bringing people together. We celebrate diversity and stand firmly against intolerance. We also work to ensure Scouting is accessible to all, supporting families where needed so that no young person misses out.
We are Longford Scout Group, based at The Ranche in Longford Park, Stretford, Manchester. We’ve proudly been part of the local community since 1908.
We offer Scouting for young people aged 4 to 18 across five sections:
- Squirrels (4 to 6 years)
- Beavers (6 to 8 years)
- Cubs (8 to 10 years)
- Scouts (10 to 14 years)
- Explorers (14 to 18 years)
Approximately 300 young people meet each week at our HQ, supported by a dedicated team of volunteers who make the adventure possible.
Longford Scout Group is all about challenge and adventure. We support our young people to reach their full potential by encouraging teamwork, learning by doing, and thinking for themselves. We’re passionate about what we do and committed to making Scouting accessible to all.
Scouting continues to thrive because it adapts to the changing needs of young people. It sparks imagination, builds confidence, and is supported by a strong and caring community..
Our HQ – affectionately known as The Ranche – has a long history. Following a meeting of Longford’s “Court of Honour” on 4 September 1912, a decision was made to request use of the Shippon and adjoining buildings in the newly acquired Longford Park. Rent was set at 1 shilling and 6 pence (7½p) per week. After securing the space and carrying out necessary works, our headquarters officially opened on 21 December 1912, with celebrations lasting late into the evening.
The Journey of our HQ…
Since then, The Ranche has remained our home. At the start of 2024, we secured an exciting 25-year lease and expanded our premises to support the continued growth of the group.
Since taking on the additional building space, we have already completed significant improvements to make it sound, safe and usable. This includes reroofing the HQ, making the building watertight, rewiring it, installing a new kitchen, and creating additional activity space.
While a great deal has been achieved, there is still more to do. Further work is planned, including improvements to the toilets, windows, insulation and heating.
By delivering this work in manageable phases, we can continue to improve our facilities in a sustainable and well-funded way for the nearly 300 young people who use them each week.
You can follow our refurbishment journey and see project updates here:
Our HQ Refurbishment Project
If your child would like to join the adventure, or if you’d like to know more about what we do, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.