HUNDREDS of girls belonging to the Guides, Brownies and Rainbows gathered at Newport Wetlands on Saturday as part of the Guides' centenary celebrations.

Up to 800 girls from all over Gwent spent the day at the national nature reserve getting involved in activities including pond dipping, bird box building, and spotting a whole range of wildlife.

The girl guides, aged from five to 26, were helped through the activities by guide leaders as well as volunteers from the RSPB and Countryside Council for Wales who manage and own the Wetlands.

The RSPB will celebrate its own 100th anniversary next year.

Helen Cann, from Girlguiding Gwent, said: "Guiding is all about giving girls the opportunity to try out new activities in unfamiliar environments, and this was very much an adventure for all our girls."

Lauren Jarrett, 14, has been a member of the Guide group in Cwmcarn for four years.

She said: "I'm most looking forward to making a bird box. I think it's really fun learning about all the wildlife."

Fellow Cwmcarn guide Megan Jones, 11, said: "I enjoyed going to the light house because I've been there before and it was very interesting. I like being in the Guides because we get to try doing all different things and make loads of friends."