The traditional St George’s Day parade returns to Harrogate for the first time in three years this weekend.

Taking place tomorrow, it will see hundreds of Scouts, Guides, Brownies, Cubs and more join together in uniform to mark the occasion.

After gathering on Coach Road, they will parade into Christ Church for a short service when they will renew their promises.

It is a shorter parade than usual, after the decision to go ahead was only made two months ago. Attendance is also likely to be reduced because the event falls at the end of the Easter holidays.

District commissioner Karsten Hartmann told the Stray Ferret:

“In the past, we have started on Beech Grove, but it was too short notice to get everything into place. We hope to come back stronger next year.”

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This year marks the first time the youngest Scouts have been able to take part in the parade. First Pannal Squirrels caters for boys and girls aged four and five, and was set up during the covid pandemic.

The deputy mayor of Harrogate, Cllr Christine Willoughby, and her consort Andrew Willoughby, will also be at the event.

The parade will gather from 2pm with the 45-minute service, led by Rev Matthew Scott Evans, set to begin at 2.30pm.

It will be the first major event in the district’s scouting calendar since 2019. Mr Hartmann said he hopes it will begin to raise the organisation’s profile again, and particularly help to attract volunteers to enable more people to join Scouts and other groups.

For more information about joining Scouts or becoming a volunteer, click here.