Annual Gathering 2026 - Paisley

This year’s Reforesting Scotland Gathering will be held for the first time in Renfewshire, from the 25th to 27th of September, based at Lapwing Lodge near the historic mill town of Paisley.

Every year the Gathering moves to a different part of Scotland, to visit and take inspiration from local projects based around community, forest culture, sustainable livelihoods and nature restoration. Besides the visits we have talks, discussions, workshops and a great ceilidh.

Renfrewshire, Inverclyde and North Lanarkshire lie between the city and the sea, stretching from Glasgow in the east to the Firth of Clyde in the west. Their history is both rural and industrial and its landscape has been shaped by agriculture and mining. Two hundred years ago, Paisley was one of the main centres of the 1820 Rising, the closest that Scotland ever came to revolution! We’ll visit projects spanning the urban to rural gradient, from community projects in the west of Glasgow to villages and farms in the hinterland.

Our venue will be Lapwing Lodge, the Scouts’ outdoor base in the west region. With lots of dorms, huts and camping space, there will be plenty of accommodation – and plenty of room for workshops and socialising.

What’s Included

Weekend tickets include all events at the Gathering which will start on Friday morning with the optional Buildings Tour, followed by dinner and evening sessions at Lapwing Lodge. There will be a range of speakers, practical workshops, visits and tours over the weekend to choose from plus a ceilidh on Saturday night. The event is fully catered and the Gathering finishes after lunch on Sunday.

Programme

Friday

10:00 Buildings Tour (an informal tour of interesting sites en route to the gathering)
16:30 Registration open
18:00 Dinner
19:00 Welcome Talk
19:30 Icebreaker, Soapbox, social time

Saturday

08:00 Breakfast
09:00 Registration starts
10:15 Talk
11:00 Talk
12:30 Lunch
13:00 Visits - head out to one of the local project visits
17:30 Project Discussions - hear about current Reforesting Scotland projects and get involved
18:15 Talk
19:00 Dinner
20:00 Ceilidh & raffle

Sunday

08:00 Breakfast
09:00 AGM and RS annual roundup
10:00 We’ll have a range of practical craft and skills workshops, plus any other discussion sessions which members may wish to lead. Volunteers to suggest and lead workshop sessions welcome!
12:00 Plenary – feedback from visits and workshops
13:00 Lunch
14:00 Finish

Saturday Visits

We have some great visits and workshops lined up this year including visits to local projects, foraging and ecology walks and specialist visits. A booking form to choose your preferred option will be sent out a few weeks before the gathering.

Sunday Workshops

As is traditional at the gathering, workshops for Sunday can be spur of the moment and suggested by attendees over the course of the weekend. They can be discussion based or practical. We already have some lined up such as forage cookery, woodland soils, tree seed collection and more to come.

Accommodation

The venue is a scout centre and includes a range of bunk rooms and cabins. We will be using the bunk rooms as twin rooms and the cabins as shared dormitories. Camping for tents and parking for vans (no electric) are also available. The accommodation is fairly basic and priced accordingly, and you will need to bring your own bedding (including duvet/sleeping bag and pillow).

Pricing and Rates

You must be a member to book the gathering. If you’re not yet a member, you can purchase membership online.

If you can, please consider paying the supporter rate as this really helps us to keep the cost of the gathering down. The concessionary rate is for students, unwaged etc or anyone who feels they genuinely cannot afford the standard rate.

Children (under 16) do not require membership. Children under 5 are free.

Weekend tickets include all meals from dinner on Friday to lunch on Sunday. Day tickets include lunch and dinner on Saturday and lunch on Sunday. All meals are vegetarian and a simple continental breakfast will be served from 8-9am. We’ll have plenty of breaks for tea, coffee and cake. There is no bar so BYOB.

Getting There

The nearest train station is Johnstone (3.5mi away). We will be able to offer pick ups for the gathering on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning and will send a form out for this nearer to the gathering. We can also try to organise lift sharing for the buildings tour for those coming on public transport.

Any questions?

If you have any further questions, please email Alan heartwood@reforestingscotland.org