85th Greenock & District Scout Group

(Inverkip & Wemyss Bay)
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About Us
The 85th Greenock & District Scout Group was formed on 27th May 1927 by Arthur Muir of Inverkip House.

Inverkip and Wemyss bay are small villages on the west coast of Scotland with only one scout group. The group comprises of 2 Beaver Colonys (one in Inverkip and one in Wemyss Bay), 2 Cub Packs, 2 Scout Troops and Explorer Scouts and is usually over 150 strong. Our Wemyss Bay sections were formed in the last few years.

We are situated conveniently close to the Loch Lomond hills in the Highlands for outdoor activities and also to Greenock and Glasgow for more urban activities. Our District campsite "Everton" is situated on the outskirts of Inverkip and is only a short walk from our meeting hall.

We also own a "bothy" on the outskirts of Inverkip. This was a fire damaged pavilion which overlooks the old curling ponds which we re-built some years ago with the help of many parents.

Our leaders are outdoor oriented and experienced in Climbing, Abseiling, Summer Hillwalking, Winter Hillwalking and Canoeing. One recently became only the 5th Scotswoman to summit Mount Everest
All sections meet weekly. Age ranges of each section are as below with a few months flexibility between sections. Please check our contacts for further information.
 
Explorers (14 - 16yrs) 
Scouts (10½ - 14yrs)
Cubs (8 - 10½ yrs)
Beavers (6 - 8yrs)
 
Beavers often have a waiting list, however Cubs, Scouts and Explorers are normally able to take new members at any time. Just come along on the night.
 
And yes, we're always very keen to meet anyone who can volunteer to join us as a leader in any of our sections. All welcome, no experience necessary, and training is provided.
Group History
The 85th were formed by Arthur Muir in 1927, a Justice of the Peace who lived in Inverkip House at the time and allowed the Troop to meet in his barn. Arthur was from a sea-faring family, his parents owning a shipyard in Greenock. His interests lay in the sea, so in 1934, he gave out a letter to the boys looking for parental consent for the troop to become Sea Scouts. That happened 2 weeks later. The picture here shows the summer camp two months after that with the boys wearing their new Sea Scout uniforms. The land scouts at the front were visitors from Langbank and Skelmorlie who had come along to camp with them.
 
It wasn't until the early 60's that the Troop became Land Scouts again. This picture was taken as the boys were still transitioning from the old Sea Scout uniform to the new Land Scout one.
 
You can find out more here (3Mb file so wait a few mins for it to appear).

Below are extracts of the scouts and our old meeting places from a series of videos from the taken in the 60's taken Kenny Devlin and Jack Veitch.