Youth Charity · Penrith, Cumbria
Every young person deserves to be seen.
We're The Outside Club. We exist to make sure young people in our community belong, are heard, and get to choose their own future.
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We're The Outside Club. We exist to make sure young people in our community belong, are heard, and get to choose their own future.
Some young people don't have a space where they're welcome without conditions. No sign-up forms. No referrals. No labels.
The Outside Club is that space.
We're a youth charity based in Penrith, Cumbria. We run free, open sessions where young people turn up on their own terms and keep coming back because they want to.
Every week, over 40 young people choose to be here. Not because they have to. Because they belong.
We're outside, rain or shine. Our sessions are shaped by the young people who come. They choose the activities. They call the shots.
That might look like bushcraft and fire-lighting one week, football and frisbee the next. Arts and crafts. Cooking over a fire. Making paints from natural materials. Or just hanging out with a trusted adult who'll listen without judging.
We also run fully funded outdoor trips: mountain biking, climbing, adventures they might not otherwise get access to. Everything is free. Always.
Young people here aren't passengers. They lead. They develop ownership of their green spaces, find their voice in the community, and build confidence that carries into the rest of their lives.
We practise fully detached youth work. That means we go to them. On their turf. On their terms. No waiting rooms. No appointment slots. Just consistent, trusted adults who keep showing up.
We create conditions for change, then get out of the way. Young people here make their own choices, set their own direction, and surprise themselves.
No labels. No barriers. No cost. Everyone's welcome, and we work hard to keep it that way.
We show up every single week. We build trust over months and years, not sessions. This isn't a job. It's a commitment.
We're playful, silly, and up for anything. Young people come because they actually want to. That matters more than any metric.
The young people who face socio-economic barriers. Who've been excluded or are at risk of it. Who don't feel heard in other areas of their lives. Who'd never call themselves "outdoorsy."
Who just need one adult to take them seriously.
That's who we show up for. Every week. Whatever the weather.
We started in 2022, responding to a gap in youth provision in Penrith. A free weekly youth club, on the estate, for the young people who lived there.
Hot drinks in winter. Torchlight tag in the dark. Snacks. Swinging on the goalposts. Just being there, together.
Three and a half years later, we've grown to over 100 regular attenders and expanded into Carlisle. In December 2025, we became a registered charity: The Outside Club CIO.
We're just getting started.
The Outside Club only works because people back it. With their time, their skills, their money, or the spare footballs in their garage. However you want to help, there's a way in.