Gilwell Park 100

Back in 2019, the team at Ruddocks were thrilled to support a special series of projects to mark a century since the first Scout Camp at Gilwell Park – the international spiritual home of Scouting. Gilwell Park was donated to The Scout Association in 1919 and has since become the flagship location for training and Scout events across the world. And we were privileged to help The Scouts with their celebrations through several interconnected design, print and installation projects.

Working within the modern, fresh and inspiring Gilwell 100 brand, we designed the elements for the interactive heritage hub at Gilwell Park. We incorporated key facts about The Scouts’ history, activity stations, including how to tie a friendship knot, a leaf identification game, and a scaled-down version of the Gilwell Oak (the iconic oak tree which sits at the heart of Gilwell Park). We produced the original for the World Scout Jamboree held in the USA. Visitors could pen their Scouting memories and experiences on specially designed oak leaf-shaped sticky notes and add them to the trees to create a living memory board.

Another essential part of the commission was the redesign of the existing Gilwell Heritage Trail, in line with the celebration branding and updating the trail map with a new significant stop on the trail: the ‘Pigsty’. Back in 1919, the first Scout group that arrived at Gilwell was tasked with clearing the grounds to make the area suitable for camping. But the weather took a turn for the worse and the Scouts all had to take refuge in a gardener’s shed – this was nicknamed the ‘Pigsty’! Given its historical significance, it was key for this to feature in the celebrations and the Heritage Trail.

We aimed to engage visitors by recreating the experience of that night 100 years ago, under the Scouts Heritage brand, which focuses on the rich history of the movement and the Scouts as an empowering force for young people. We designed and installed an experiential space which included oversized, wall-mounted photo albums using original imagery and even motioned detected thunderstorm sounds.

To really bring to life the experience at the time, we created bespoke illustrations of the clothing and equipment that the Scouts would have used a century ago.

Continuing our strong collaboration with The Scouts, in 2023, we were pleased to design and produce the Gilwell Park Guidebook that covers the story of Gilwell Park and takes the readers on a fascinating trip through 600 years of history. Copies of the Gilwell Park Guidebooks were delivered to The Scouts and its supporters, and received wonderful compliments, from as far as the USA!