Well, how exciting, the LDWA AGM weekend was an exciting event as ever and more on that when I’ve finally finished writing up Athens, but it’s good to be back on the NEC as the National Communications Officer.
Category: LDWA
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Smuggler’s Trod 2023 – LDWA Challenge Event
What better way to spend an August Bank Holiday Saturday than by going on an LDWA challenge walk?
Hayley and I were fortunate that our B&B owner kindly got up early to make us a quick breakfast and Simon and Jane picked us up after having a night at their luxury hotel and we set off on our adventure. The breakfast ensured that Hayley and I were fuelled for the day with an air of excitement to the whole arrangement. This is the third time that I’ve entered the LDWA’s Smuggler’s Trod 26 mile challenge event operated by Yorkshire Coast group, this time I would again be walking with Hayley, Jane and Simon. Richard was also at the event, but he was taking part in the shorter 17 mile version of the walk as he was keen to have a drama free event and an easy completion for his first challenge event. Richard parked around one mile away in the free car park, whilst Simon swept into the car park at the hall itself where the walk started.
Here we are, Jane, Hayley, Simon and myself, all ready for the off.
There are many reasons why this is one of my favourite challenge events, but the views right from the start are one of them. The walk starts up something of a steep hill, not something that I’m particularly used to in flat and steady Norfolk.
There’s a fair amount of walking over the moors, but we were fortunate with the weather which wasn’t too hot and there was plenty of breeze from the North Sea.
Snaking (and I’m pleased to say that I didn’t see any of the snakes that are running wild and unsupervised across this area) through the heather just before the split of the short and long walks. We hadn’t seen Richard on the walk as he decided to take it leisurely to ensure that there were no disasters on his expedition.
This is a tremendous walk, such a change of scenery for me compared to Norfolk.
This event is organised by the LDWA’s Yorkshire Coast and they had plenty of checkpoints and always friendly and supportive volunteers. We were wondering at this point at how Richard was getting on as he was walking alone, but we were confident that he was gliding through taking it leisurely. I was fortunate enough to have Simon and his technology guiding me around the event, saving me from doing the navigation.
There are many sections of the walk that I remember from previous events, not least this walk through the ferns.
We battled through, although Jane had a little falling incident here.
Our first checkpoint and I was delighted to see Yum Yums available at the event once again.
Shortly after this Hayley had a little incident and Jane dropped her cake, both disasters in their different ways. To cut a long story short, after some more walking and some debate, Simon and I then went on together to storm through the event because you can’t hold natural athletes such as us back.
This cave is rumoured to have been cut out by George Chubb in 1790, although I’m not entirely sure that I believe this local legend.
A boardwalk through the forested area with a drop down to the river on the left. This was on the long route only, so I was pleased that Richard didn’t need to concern himself with falling down and having an incident. We once again wondered how he was getting on with his short route walk whilst we were enjoying the variety of terrains that we were walking through.
This is new since I last walked the event in 2019.
Fortunately, no flooding at the moment.
The second checkpoint where I stocked up on jelly babies.
And flapjack. I also remembered there’s a substantial hill after this, something that I considered sub-optimal to say the least.
We reached the top and were treated to some more fine views across the moors.
Before we knew it, we had reached the next checkpoint which was operated by the formidable East Yorkshire LDWA.
We also had some rain for around fifteen minutes, which I rather enjoyed as it cooled matters down somewhat and it didn’t look like it would settle in for long.
Simon and I marched off through the trees and somewhere around here the short and long routes rejoined. Richard, who was walking nine miles less, seemed to be making good progress as I could see his location on Friend Finder. It was evident at this point that unless he walked very slowly, we wouldn’t catch him up.
There was some debate here about which way to go across the moors, but between us and despite me, we found the way to go.
There were now limited other entrants in view.
We safely reached the third checkpoint and it reminded me that last time I reached here in 2019 it was a hot day and I was delighted to restock on water. This is the campsite checkpoint and the more substantial along the route in terms of food and drink.
I was pleased that there was plenty of cheese for me to work my way through.
As well as jaffa cakes, sandwiches and more jelly babies. Could I just mention that this event costs just £15 to enter and I feel that I get my money’s worth just from the food and drink which is provided. For those on the long route, there was a checkpoint on average every 3.8 miles or so.
A small river crossing and I took great care here to prevent slipping in. I mentioned to Simon that I couldn’t see any evidence of Richard falling in, so we were confident that he had been safely getting himself around.
There was a stretch where it had been hot and a little unpleasant, but soon enough we were back by the coast. Then something exciting happened, I realised Richard was just 35 minutes ahead of us and there was potential that we could catch him. Simon and I discussed matters and the race was definitely on.
There’s just one blurry photo of a railway bridge as we had just over two miles along a former railway line into Robin Hood’s Bay. There are no more photos as Simon and I decided to up the pace to well over four miles an hour, plus just a little running, to try and catch Richard up. We saw the distance falling, 25 minutes, 20 minutes, 15 minutes, 10 minutes and we wondered whether we could even dream of overtaking him. It’s not a race of course, but it is under circumstances such as this.
Unfortunately, despite even more running, we just ran out of distance to catch Richard up. It transpired that he come in just three minutes before us, a gap which haunted Simon and I as we could have caught him. We sat and talked about our events for an hour or so, whilst I gorged on beef stew, a dessert of rice pudding and then more Yum Yums and cakes. The event had been impeccably run, Yorkshire Coast once again did themselves proud.
I won’t upload the photo (although it’s available on request of course!), but we discovered when we got back that Richard had been on one hell of an adventure. He had run out of energy after six miles and then whilst using his pole to navigate a route through the moors he snapped it and then slid straight into a bog. Up to his waist in the bog, he freed himself using his elbows and then soon enough the sweepers supporting the event found him trudging along in a dazed state. Worried he might jump in another bog, they then walked him to the end of the event, waiting patiently whilst he stood at the checkpoints charging himself back up on food and drink.
Next year, Simon and I are going for 26 miles in under 8 hours as we can’t let Richard get in before us, even though he was only walking 17 miles. I had a marvellous time and I didn’t want this event to come to an end, definitely one of my favourite challenge event from all those that I’ve walked. I was also honoured to be at an event where a muddy and wet entrant was walked around nearly the entire event by sweepers, I’ve never heard of that before. Congratulations to Richard for finishing in such trying circumstances! And also of course thanks to Simon, Jane and Hayley for walking with me, especially Simon for be willing to run bits towards the end as we rushed to catch up with Richard.
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LDWA – Daffodil Dawdle 2023
The Daffodil Dawdle is one of the challenge events that is organised by Norfolk & Suffolk LDWA and one that I’ve been marshalling for several years having previously walked it numerous times. My role in the whole event is managing the registration and IT side of the operation, aided by Richard who I’ve trained up to do just about everything, which is allowing me to focus on my additional role of food tester. The start is Stradbroke Community Centre where we were made welcome by the particularly engaging and personable caretaker.
Here’s Richard entertaining some of the entrants before they get ready to start the event, which this year had two options, an 18 mile and a 26 mile route. He has been getting much better at recent events following my extensive training programme which I’ve been offering, although he’s yet to walk a challenge event himself. There were many negative comments about that during the course of the day, although to be fair, they were all from me. Being the brave athlete I am, I’ve already signed up to complete the Smuggler’s Trod later this year, the third time that I would have entered.
I put myself in charge of signage and an example of my professionalism is visible here. Richard claimed that this was would blow away within minutes, but I’m pleased to confirm that it lasted for the entire day.
Some of the 08:00 starters ready for the off, with plenty of Hike Norfolk members in there as well.
The 08:30 starters.
And the 09:00 starters who were mostly runners.
After the registration process is completed and the entrants are all on their way, Richard and I do two things. Firstly, we double check the entries to ensure we know how many people are out on the route and we update the checkpoints with this information using WhatsApp. Secondly, we get breakfast, which is my case was a delicious beans on toast prepared with care by Hayley in the kitchen.
Jayne excelled herself in the kitchen with this delicious leek and potato soup, which was prepared in honour of South Wales group. Actually, I’m not sure if that’s true, but it’s the sort of thing that we should do. Many entrants commented just how good this was and I’ve requested that it makes a reappearance at future events.
Peach crumble, also prepared by Jayne and this is another one of my favourites.
When entrants come in I tell them how brave they’ve been, if I think that’s appropriate, before writing down the time and entrant number for Richard to process. He then prints a certificate, which I carefully take over to the certificate table. Richard and I think that this is the mostly highly streamlined element of the event, although the kitchen staff are also nearing perfection as well. We run such a tight knit little enterprise in the corner that it gives me time to go and sit with entrants who have finished the route to gossip about numerous things.
It’s always great to hear feedback from entrants and I only received positive comments about the route, the volunteers and the food and drink. For LDWA members, the event fee was £14 which gets you drinks and biscuits at the start, numerous checkpoints all laden with food, such as sandwiches, crisps and the like, as well as the soup, beans on toast and peach crumble at the end. You also get a certificate and the warm feeling of completing a challenge, all for a very reasonable price I think.
We had just under 140 people walking the event this year and we were pleased that a slightly soggy area on the route had mostly dried out by the day of the challenge. Entrants navigate around the route using either GPX, the route description or a combination of both, but there are nearly always people around to follow if anyone does get muddled up. The group’s next event is the Summer Poppyline in Sheringham which will take place on Saturday 22 July 2023, with entries open at https://www.sientries.co.uk/event.php?elid=Y&event_id=11026.
And for anyone interested in volunteering for the LDWA in Norfolk and Suffolk, contact Hilary or Ray. Unfortunately the food testing role is filled, but help is always appreciated in other areas, whether that’s in the kitchen, at checkpoints, checking the route or in many other ways.
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Saturday : 2022 LDWA Summer Poppyline Walk
Eric Rolfe ensured that there will be plenty of photos of the Summer Poppyline event for Strider and elsewhere in due course, so this post is more about the organisation of the Summer Poppyline challenge event. It’s organised by Norfolk and Suffolk LDWA and it takes place most years, taking in a smaller part of the Winter Poppyline 50 mile event which is put on every two years. This year there was the choice of a 19 mile route or a 50 kilometre route, with this latter distance being chosen as part of the LDWA’s 50th birthday celebrations.
It was an early start, with Richard driving Stuart and I to the start of the event at Sheringham High School. You can spot them both to the right of this photo, with Stuart wanting to set off as soon as possible for fear that he might come in last or something. However, it’s all about completing the event and enjoying the view, so it wouldn’t have mattered. But it didn’t happen either, Karen and the other NEC members swept him along. Stuart, Julie, Bill and Sara were all very brave in taking part, not to mention that Karen was doing the longer event and is always brave.
The numbers were a little lower than usual, mostly due to external factors than any loss of interest in challenge events, but we had over 130 people signed up. I’ve trained Richard up to do everything that I used to do, showing just how good at delegation I am. I think in a few years that Richard might be able to cope entirely on his own. Registration went smoothly, particularly for those in my queue who enjoyed my professionalism and efficiency. Or something like that.
There’s Jayne, ready to set everyone off on the first wave and I note Katie, the organiser of the Norfolk & Suffolk group’s 100 event in 2025, at the front just bursting with enthusiasm to start. I like being at the start of the events, to see all the excitement and just a little trepidation about the adventure that was in front of the entrants. To some, the distances are easy, but to others they’re more of a challenge and I know we had plenty of people taking part in their first LDWA event.
There’s Eric on the left, ready for his day of walking and taking photos. There are plenty of hills near to the start of the walk, not least the challenges of Beeston Bump, but it’s good to have a variety of terrains as not everyone can cope with endless miles of flat in the way that I can. I’d add that it’s great to see so many local members volunteering at the event, it’s a highlight for many people who want to help support the walkers and runners around the event.
Jayne setting the runners off on their walk, or in this case run, with the weather being quite warm, but not overly hot and there was a breeze from the coast. It was a delight to see our marshal Simon H turn up, although he was doing a very strange walk due to a leg injury, namely because he has pushed himself so much to try and be an athlete like myself. He should know his limits, but I didn’t say anything of course, and I was very sympathetic and full of empathy.
Sometimes we don’t have access to all of the cooking facilities in the locations that we hire, but in this case that wasn’t a problem, Jayne and her crew were busy making a variety of wraps for the walkers and there was a handy self-service area. As an additional treat, there was Eton Mess and ice cream, along with a range of cold and hot drinks.
It was all peaceful at HQ during the day, although since I was the emergency contact, I received a phone call from a walker concerned to see a fire near checkpoint 2. This transpired to be quite a serious fire on farmland, but fortunately the fire brigade were on hand and they were able to put it out. It provided some memorable moments for walkers, who might have feared momentarily that they couldn’t access our checkpoint full of food and drink. We ensured that the fire brigade knew about the situation and Malcolm bravely went out to go and have a look at the situation in case it impacted on our walkers.
Some of the entrants from Hike Norfolk celebrating their success, it’s good to see a steady flow of walkers from that group doing so well on these challenge events.
It was positive to hear all the feedback about the checkpoints and the welcome that they had offered, not to mention the range of food and drink that walkers and runners enjoyed. I hope that all of the marshals enjoyed their day, with everyone at HQ having a marvellous time, especially when Jayne arrived with some extra lunchtime treats for the hardworking registration desk operative and also for Richard. We heard later that a few of our walkers encountered some wasps early on during the walk, not something that is ideal, but good humour and bravery got them through.
As for the NEC entrants, Karen swept in looking like she hadn’t even entered the event, whilst Stuart looked quite worn out if I’m being honest, which I was. I had a lot of sympathy for him, I know how he felt, but he had been very brave indeed. Julie, Bill and Sara looked suitably tired from their experience, but I’m pleased that they enjoyed the route. Tim was also going to take part, but unfortunately, due to circumstances mostly out of his control, he wasn’t able to make it to the event. But, we’re pleased to have been able to offer some hospitality to the NEC officers who did take part.
The next challenge event is the Flower of Suffolk on the first Sunday of October, sadly this will be one of the first local events that I’ll miss in years, namely because I hope to be in the United States. I do hope that Richard copes without me on that event, but there will support on hand if he gets overwhelmed without my calm influence to gently guide him back on track. I shall of course report back here in October with whatever gossip I’ve managed to pick up from overseas.
I’m not sure I’ll be walking any more challenge events this year, but I hope to take part in a few next year, especially as Richard has indicated that he’s up for trying an 18 mile event. He’ll definitely need my support, encouragement and positivity with that, so anyone with ideas on which is the best LDWA event for him to start on, don’t hesitate to let me know 🙂
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Friday : LDWA NEC Walk
As some of the Long Distance Walkers Association NEC members were in Norwich for the Summer Poppyline challenge walk, I led a short walk around the city. And, all good walks need to start in a pub, in this case Brewdog in Norwich so that Stuart could tick it off his list. It was of course to see Julie and Stuart, especially given how far they’d come for the weekend, from Scotland and Wales respectively.
I haven’t been in the Red Lion at Bishopgate since the change of ownership during lockdown, it’s got a rather lovely river view and location. The beer choice isn’t as inspired as my other favourite pubs in Norwich and there was an absence of welcome which I thought was a shame. I think it’s more food orientated though, so perhaps that’s what they’re focusing on. However, it’s hard not to enjoy the rather lovely surroundings of the pub, with Bishopgate Bridge in the background. The bridge was built in 1340 and is still standing (I hope the bridge Liam is currently building lasts for 700 years), although the tower was taken down in 1791 as they were worried it was structurally unsound. The bridge was used for road traffic until the 1990s and it’s now pedestrians and bikes only.
Pulls Ferry, a fifteenth century building at the site of where a ferry operated until 1943. It’s also the entrance to where the canal was built by the monks in the late eleventh century to transport stone from the River Wensum to build Norwich Cathedral. And standing in front of the gate, one of the city’s dinosaurs.
What I thought the group needed was a nice hill and I expected Stuart to report back to Dave Morgan just how Norwich can deliver hills.
Liam, ready to start the trek up Gas Hill, along with Karen, Richard, Stuart and Julie. They were very brave to take on this challenge. It’s a lot steeper than the photograph suggests. The hill is named after the gas works that were built here in the Victorian period, but unfortunately they’ve recently pulled down the gas holder which I thought for heritage reasons should have been kept.
Nearly vertical and there was a lot of complaining about the extreme heights, the lack of oxygen and why were we walking up such a big hill. I ignored it, I couldn’t be dealing with that negativity. Actually, Karen didn’t complain at all, I’m not sure that she even noticed we had climbed a hill at all.
And the climb, which took nearly six minutes (which to me is the upper limit on any climbing challenge), was worth it, there’s Norwich looking rather lovely. Norwich Cathedral is the centre with Norwich City Hall standing just next to it. This is the view that Robert Kett and his army would have had during Kett’s Rebellion of 1549. Although he was executed for treason, they did at least name a road after him which leads up here.
The walk to the pub went via Norwich Cathedral as it would feel rather odd not to include this magnificent building in any sojourn around the city. But the main part of the weekend was the Summer Poppyline the next day, with some very excited NEC members ready for their big walk. Stuart was besides himself with excitement, especially when it was mentioned to him that the challenge event didn’t just go up Beeston Bump Mountain, but another two nearby hills as well. Anyway, I feel I’ve dwelled (or dwelt, depending on your personal preference) on the matter of hills a little too much in this post….
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Saturday and Sunday : LDWA Boat Trip Along the Orwell
There was little of consequence on Saturday because I was far too focused on the excitement of the LDWA boat trip that was taking place on the Sunday. There’s the usual heap of photos at https://flickr.com/photos/julianwhite-uk/albums/72177720300345889 for anyone who wants to trawl through them all.
My friend Liam, who is pub obsessed, demanded that we go to Briarbank, even if it meant missing the pre boat trip walk, so I decided that we’d better do that to keep him happy. I went here a few months ago, it’s a laid-back and friendly venue which would be easy to miss. And here’s a quiz question, there’s a subtle hint in the photo as to what this building used to be.
Here’s the answer and well done to anyone who noticed what was above the door in the previous photo.
The frontage of the building today. They’ve got a pleasant outside area I noticed later on and I enjoyed my visit, the Briar Cobnut brown ale was well-kept and quite malty.
Here was the vessel for the day, the Orwell Lady. This boat trip was paid for by Norfolk & Suffolk LDWA as part of the national organisation’s 50th birthday and I think 40 or so members came along for the journey. I had thought that the boat was a bit bigger than it was, but it’s a vessel with an interesting history, it was once a Thames River cruiser which was put together in 1979. It operated from Westminster Pier for a decade, then moved to Brownsea Island near Poole and has been meandering around Ipswich since 2001.
There’s the new N&S chair in the centre, Hilary, taking control after Hayley (on the left) yelled at everyone to be quiet. She’s good at getting quiet is that Hayley!
And we’re off! The captain, or whatever he’s called, gave a running commentary during the day of things to look out for.
We had to go into a lock to get onto the Orwell from the Marina and there was a bit of a queue for that, so we did a little tour of the harbour first. I remember Ipswich marina as an industrial and quite derelict area nearly two decades ago, it has very much changed to be really quite decadent now.
This is the grand building of the Old Customs House, originally built in 1845, replacing the previous building was which thought to have been there for over 400 years.
Into the lock. As Alan Partridge would say, it’s all happening now. Susanna was on the vessel and I was surprised that she hadn’t been to Ipswich before, as she’s been just about everywhere. I was impressed that she wanted to see the Wolsey Gateway, it’s one of the treasures of Ipswich that I’ve thought doesn’t get the recognition that it deserves. Ipswich could have been very different today if Wolsey’s plans for his Ipswich college had come to fruition, it could have perhaps been more like Cambridge and Oxford. The Gateway is a remarkable survivor and was intended to be the entrance from the river into the college, which itself was never built.
All of these containers are courtesy of Matt Hancock, hundreds of them, all with PPE waiting to be destroyed.
I’ve walked along the riverbank before, and gone over the Orwell Bridge in a car, but I’ve never been in a boat thing that goes underneath the bridge.
A little island with some fishermen.
And a hawk’s box, or some sort of bird like that. I’m pleased at the zoom on my camera, this is the first time that I’ve properly tried it out on something I wanted to see. What I wanted to see wasn’t there, but I guess that’s not quite the point.
I don’t think that I’d want a yacht, it looks a right hassle to maintain and manoeuvre about. I imagine it’s a very expensive hobby as well, so I think I’ll stick to craft beer where I’ve got no fears of capsizing. Well, I hope not anyway.
Look at the size of this container ship operated by Maersk. I remember being close to container ships in Seattle harbour when I went on a little boat trip there, but I don’t recall ships any of this size. Apparently this can hold several thousand containers and it still amazes me that the thing can still float with all that weight.
The cranes for taking containers on and off ships.
We didn’t unfortunately get up the powerboat speeds of when a little group of us went on the Thames Rocket a few months back.
Harwich and its lifeboat station, which is one that Liam didn’t build.
It’s a long time I’ve been to Harwich, I fancy another visit at some point. The geography of the situation, namely the big river in the way, makes it harder for me to get to than Felixstowe, despite them being so close on the map.
There was some kind of emergency, so this little boat thing was allowed to travel at speed ahead of us.
There’s Simon, Jane and Liam. Richard managed to break one arm off of his sunglasses as a party trick to amuse people which was kind of him.
Back under the Orwell Bridge, with the whole trip having taken around three hours.
The Cliff Brewery building originally constructed in 1896 and not in very good shape at the moment. There are plans to get on and fix this building up, but they need to hurry up before it just falls down. There’s more about this building on the Ipswich Maritime Trust web-site.
Sitting in the lock waiting to re-enter Ipswich Marina harbour, it’s surprising (to me anyway) how quickly the water level rises but without being able to feel it.
Anyway, all in all a very lovely day, thanks to Simon and Hilary for organising this trip, a lovely way of commemorating the LDWA’s 50th birthday. I’m pleased to say that no-one fell overboard, no-one was seasick and everyone was actually quite brave. It was also lovely to catch up on gossip, which I think was the main function of the day really.
Liam had never been to Tim Hortons, so we had a little visit on the way back to their new Ipswich outlet.
I quite like the chain, although they’re expanding quickly and I wonder just how different their offering is. Anyway, this is a bit of an aside to the rest of my post about the boat trip, but I enjoyed my chicken strips anyway.
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Sunday : Recovering after the LDWA 100
I say recovering in this blog post’s title, but I didn’t enter this year’s event, I just needed some sleep after only getting one hour over the previous 48 hours from my marshalling the event. Others who completed the event were much braver!
Richard drove us to his decadent Mercure hotel with a four poster bed as they had responded to his e-mail and confirmed he could have an early check-in. The rather less decadent Ibis Styles at Barnsley was rather less pro-active in offering such assistance to me, so I was pre-annoyed at the hotel before arrival. After I drank Richard’s coffee and privately laughed at how he nearly entered the room of a honeymoon couple (I’m not sure anyone in that arrangement would have been surprised or delighted), he kindly drove me to my hotel.
The Ibis Styles desk was unmanned when we got there, so Richard coughed a bit and someone came out concerned that someone needed medical assistance. The staff member was friendly and helpful, meaning I was able to get my early check-in, so Richard drove back to his palatial accommodation and I was given a room which had another broken lock. But, it was a clean and comfortable room, so I was pleased.
After a few hours of sleep, I woke and decided to privately toast the entrants to the 100 event with one of the official bottles of beer that Aaron kindly let me have. They were all magnificent (the entrants, not specifically the beer, although that was lovely), whether they finished or not, as it’s all about the taking part and giving it a go. If you finish and want to do more, then great, and if you drop out half-way and swear you’ll never do another one of the bloody things, it doesn’t matter, you were all part of the event.
Richard had been fanned by nubile young men and women in his four poster bed in his decadent accommodation, all part of the hotel’s five star service. So he was back fully alert, I was slightly more dopey and grumpy, but that’s a standard state of affairs if I’m being honest. I did have an Old Speckled Hen as my free welcome drink and that helped a bit even though the hotel seems to like super chilling them.
We decided against walking into Barnsley as I couldn’t be bothered and Richard had walked four miles on the Friday, so wasn’t mentally prepared for another long hike. Instead, Richard kindly offered to drive us in. As the parking was free, I offered to pay for it which I thought was kind of me. We started off in the JD Wetherspoon operated Silkstone Inn as Richard was craving alcohol and whilst we were there I got myself a quick half pint of Hope & Glory from Rooster’s Brewing Co, which was well kept and very drinkable. Richard ordered half the pub’s menu again, whilst I limited myself to my half pint.
The Kes statue in Barnsley and I was perplexed at the time as to how I missed this when I visited the town last summer. On reading up on the situation, it now makes sense, as the statue was only put here in late 2021, with the unveiling attended by the film’s director Ken Loach and the main actor playing Bill Caspar, Dai Bradley. The statue cost a cool £100,000, paid for by public subscription, and was designed by Graham Ibbeson.
I thought this was rather lovely, the Covid memorial sculpture named Reverence, also designed by Graham Ibbeson. It’s intended to mark how many ordinary people were involved in the fight against Covid and the words on the plinth read “Barnsley’s fierce love will hold you forever in its heart”. This sculpture cost £210,000, although Ibbeson worked for free. These sculptures don’t come cheap do they?
Then another new venue for me, Spiral City on the Arcade, which had the very lovely Bad Kitty from Brass Castle Brewery, which complemented my Steakhouse BBQ crisps very well indeed. I managed to stop Richard getting drunk as he was driving, another selfless act that will go unnoticed as I don’t like to make a fuss. It’s a decent venue, with friendly staff and although I knew they were closing within 45 minutes of our arrival, we still felt welcome. There’s a mix of cask and keg, with the atmosphere feeling modern and on-trend, it was a very agreeable venue.
There’s the exterior, with Spiral City on the left and the Jolly Tap Brewery on the right.
And that’s the end of the story really for this weekend, as Richard went off to get drunk in his room in his decadent hotel after he kindly dropped me back off at the Ibis Styles. I think he got a turndown service and he had sobered up by the next morning before his big drive back to Norwich. It was a memorable weekend which I really enjoyed, with one final thanks to the volunteers who organised the LDWA 100 and to the entrants who had a go at it. I hadn’t expected to come back to Barnsley so close to my first visit to the town last year, but I was pleased to go to a couple of pubs there for the first time.
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Sunday : The Third and Final Day of the Trans-Pennine LDWA 100
Following on from the previous day and the Trans-Pennine LDWA 100.
I had come back to the HQ following my visit to the final few checkpoints to see the brave entrants come back in. I had seen the first couple of entrants back in before heading back out to the checkpoints, they were the runners who had finished after taking less than 24 hours to complete the course. I mean, just imagine, getting that far in less than a day, it’s all quite ridiculously fast.
But, as I’ve mentioned before, those runners did a great job, the LDWA don’t value their efforts any differently to those who take just under 48 hours to finish. Indeed, being realistic, those walkers who come in just before the end have gone for two nights without sleep, that’s even more amazing an achievement. This is why we refer to the walkers and runners as entrants, not as competitors as it’s not a competition or race. I had managed only one hour of sleep during the event, but then again, I didn’t have to walk 100 miles, so on this occasion even I needed no sympathy.
Sara, the 100s co-ordinator, looking at how the entrants were getting on, the tracking facility means that was possible in real-time for the first time on the 100s event.
More importantly, there’s the bell, which I took command of for several hours. Every entrant who completes the 100 miles is welcomed by the bell ringing, to ensure everything knows just how brave they’ve been. I wouldn’t need this, I’d go and tell everyone in person just how brave I’d been, but that’s a different matter. Completing the event is a big thing and a bell ringing and applause is the least that we can do to acknowledge the efforts that the entrant has made.
My view for several hours.
I was delighted to see that Claire and Simon had got back in, still looking in great shape. I analysed Simon’s GPX file to see if he had cheated, but despite checking for over twenty minutes, I had to admit he had indeed walked the official route without deviation. He did very well. Simon and Claire seemed to enjoy their walking round, although a few came to an end and swore they’d never enter again as they remembered how far 100 miles was. However, some had changed their mind within minutes, it’s a tough challenge, but that’s why it’s so addictive to many.
Aaron opened this 2.75kg bag of jelly babies, which I selflessly helped him eat to pass the time over the next few hours.
Karen (on left) effortlessly sweeping in.
Sammy Dawkins, one of the youngest finishers, who was another one who didn’t look any different to when he started, just a natural walking athlete.
There were numerous presentations throughout the event, this one presented by Aaron to David Purdy, who had completed his 20th LDWA 100. They get a special badge marking this milestone, along with a certificate signed by Sara and Julie, the national chair.
John Backhouse, who had completed ten LDWA 100s. Oh, and Richard to the right, who is thinking about entering an LDWA 10 one day.
The very lovely bell! Bacon rolls also made an appearance at this point, I was very pleased at that. One thing that isn’t evident until being at this event is just how emotional it can be, seeing friends complete such a touch challenge of course, but also just the delight of seeing anyone finish having walked for nearly two days non-stop. I marshalled my first 100 in Kent, and it was only then that I realised how high emotions were, all in a happy sense of the word.
It was starting to get a little busier in the hall as entrants started to wait for the arrival of friends, as well as those coming in towards the maximum time of 48 hours. Giving them that special welcome.
The beer that successful entrants received and what a marvellous idea.
Stephen Coveney, who had completed ten LDWA 100s.
And then this certificate was ready to be awarded to Leonard Fallick, who has achieved the astounding milestone of having completed 40 LDWA 100s. He hasn’t entered all of them in a row as he couldn’t make a few of them, but he’s finished every single one of those which he’s started, which is some considerable going. Some 100s are more challenging than others, some because of the terrain, but some mostly because of poor weather. But yet Leonard has battled on and finished every one of his 40 events, a remarkable achievement.
And here’s this hero of the LDWA, well done Len!
As an additional reward, Len was also presented with an engraved glass so that he can sit at home drinking decadent craft beer (or whatever drink he prefers) whilst looking forwards to future events and reminiscing over previous achievements.
Sara and Len.
Ken, our Vice President, calling over Aaron to thank him for all of his hard work as the event organiser. As Aaron noted, it was of course a team effort and we couldn’t have had such an event without the many hours of organising, walking, writing routes, changing routes and booking halls, a process which takes years for events such as this.
And that was the close of the event, another really lovely weekend which has been a real challenge for the organising committee given that their event was pushed back a year, then the dates were changed with the shift of the Bank Holiday days being moved. Nonetheless, they kept rebooking halls and kept changing plans, and I know from the feedback received just how much the entrants enjoyed it. OK, there’s a lot of walking, but there is the marvellous sense of the LDWA community wanting to be involved in this event, whether taking part or marshalling. All really rather lovely, and Simon Pipe has an album of photos from behind the scenes at HQ.
Oh, and did this make me want to do another 100? Well, it did just a little bit. But when the event came to a close, it was time for me to move to a hotel, get an early check-in and then have a long sleep.
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Saturday : The Second Day of the Trans-Pennine LDWA 100
This post carries on merrily from my post about the opening day of the Trans-Pennine 100, where 400 or so walkers took part in walking 100 miles.
With the Norfolk & Suffolk checkpoint closed, Richard and I made our way to the Heart of Scotland checkpoint at Mam Nick car park, which was 52 miles into the route. This outdoor checkpoint, which was CP8, was staffed with more enthusiastic volunteers, even though they’d been up throughout the night offering food, drink and support to the entrants. There was hearty soup available, as well as numerous types of delicious snacks.
And let me note a little about this whole thing. It’s great that there’s food and drink on this event, and of course essential. But what very many walkers need is a welcoming smile, a reassurance that everything is OK and that this bloody nightmare will be over soon enough. It’s great to get help from people who have completed a 100 and know exactly what is involved, which is mostly mental strength to keep on going. As the guru David Morgan always says, it’s 90% mental and 10% physical. Or, as Chelle always says, it’s just 25 short walks joined together, which I never found that motivational if I’m being honest as I can be tired out after one short walk. Anyway, I digress.
The menu had been carefully written out with some style.
There’s Julie, watching Naomi walk down the hill.
I think that’s Naomi, still being heroic and very brave battling on.
We then jumped (well, drove) to CP10, which is the breakfast stop. East Lancs were the group responsible for this big challenge, which was serving 400 people a cooked breakfast. Despite the space being a little limited, the team sprung into action offering table service with a smile, whilst the walkers tended their feet and thought about the situation that they were in.
The busy kitchen team.
And here’s Simon! We later discovered that Jane retired at this checkpoint, as did Naomi, but their efforts were still considerable. It’s all about giving it a go, that’s the main thing. I have a grumpy friend who got to 60 miles and didn’t realise how impressed people were, but that’s a different story.
For the avid readers of this blog (all two of them), they might remember this from the LDWA AGM, it’s the Colin Wormwald trophy. This goes to every 100 event and every entrant can have their photo taken with it, that’s a right that has been passed on down the generations! Instead of giving this trophy to the fastest entrant, it’s awarded to every single entrant, because this event isn’t a race, it’s a personal challenge and we don’t treat the fastest any differently to the slowest. Aaron decided to dress this year’s event up with a ferret, or whatever it is, I’m not sure what Michael will do next year for the Elephant, Bear and Bull event, but he’s got three animal options with that name.
I had a quick walk to a Wetherspoons in Wombwell, the Horseshoe, before Richard and I went back out to have a meander around some checkpoints. I’ll post separately about the Wetherspoons, so as not to spoil my flow of thought about walking.
The Irregulars checkpoint at CP14 which was at Wortley Rugby Club. They had some excitement of finding that their HQ had been used for storage which required some quick thinking, but like another checkpoint whose marquee blew down, they were resourceful and the walkers would never have known.
Just in case Simon needed any assistance, we decided to walk towards him. I think he appreciated my top tips on how to complete the event.
And here are Simon and Claire, positively gliding in again. They made this look a little bit too easy if you ask me.
The rugby club, where some entrants took a slightly more direct route than others.
And then a highlight, the South Wales checkpoint at Tankersley Welfare Hall, which was 85 miles into the event. Not a bad looking menu if you ask me.
And Dave was offering his usual formidable welcome in his Wales hat. I pretended not to notice it, I try not to encourage frivolity and fancy dress. The Norfolk & Suffolk checkpoint was jubilee themed, but I ignored that as well.
Fish finger and bacon rolls, what a time to be alive! These were delicious and I’ve spoken to Michael, several times, about these being available at next year’s event.
Simon and Dave, both who annoy me by walking around 100s pretending they find them difficult. Dave and his “oh, I don’t know if I can do it this year, I’ve hardly trained, just only done six marathons a week” nonsense, and Simon who vaguely pretends it’s a challenge to him. They are professionals at this, but as I mentioned, their fast speed and looking fine at the end is no more an achievement than the entrants who collapse over the line.
Onto the North Yorkshire checkpoint at Wentworth Village Cricket Pavilion and entrants were now being able to see the end in sight, this was the 90 miles mark. No photos of the inside of the checkpoint here as it was quite busy and we once again, incredibly selflessly, again went to walk to see Simon and Claire. To be honest, I was checking Simon wasn’t in a taxi, as marshals have to be alert to these things.
And the final checkpoint before the end, David Findel-Hawkins and Merrian Lancaster offering an incredible welcome. I note that as they gave me beer, which Dave didn’t offer me. It was a close run thing between the two checkpoints, but Merrian was very pleased I said theirs was the best 🙂
It’s like a party! Entrants didn’t tend to linger too long at this checkpoint, not because they weren’t surprised and delighted at it, but because it was only four miles to the end.
So with a smile and a wave, entrants left the checkpoint to just finish this damn thing off.
With that, Richard and I went back to the HQ to wait for the entrants. I’ll save this part of the story for the next post, but it was very exciting watching all of the very brave entrants coming in. Once again, so many thanks to the marshals who made this event possible, it was rare to see anyone looking tired, despite the hours of volunteering they’d put in to help the entrants. There was a friendly welcome at every checkpoint, such a wonderful community of walkers.
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Friday : The Start of the Trans-Pennine LDWA 100
I took over 200 photos during the LDWA event, I can’t use them all in these blog posts, but they’re all visible here for anyone who might want to peek through them. The LDWA also has a Flickr account now, where there are additional photos available.
The HQ was Netherwood Academy near Wombwell, which isn’t far from Barnsley. The map of the LDWA 100 and looking at that is a reminder of just how far this distance is. Look at the number of maps taped together…. If anyone wants to see the route, and indeed how the entrants got on, it’s at https://track.trail.live/event/ldwa100. If that link isn’t working (it’ll be there for six months I think), there’s plenty more information at https://ldwa.org.uk/2022Hundred.
The registration process and the collecting of the trackers, the first time that they’ve been used in an LDWA 100.
And that’s a lot of trackers.
I had a little peer in the food room, all of this food and drink was being despatched to the checkpoints later on.
All neatly stacked up and a reminder again of just how much organisation goes into these events. I’ll return to that theme across these posts, it’s all a formidable volunteer effort. Norfolk & Suffolk group are holding the event in 2025 (their then forward thinking chair thought that was a great idea in 2021) and work is already underway on the route. As Dave Morgan says, a flat 100 is harder than a hilly one, I just hope he can cope with the terrain when the time comes. And also hope that the snakes on the Suffolk coast don’t come out in hordes again.
The food and drink destined to go to CP7, which was the Norfolk & Suffolk checkpoint that I was going to later on in the day.
I’ve just realised that I took quite a lot of photos of the food….. I’m hoping that the Norfolk & Suffolk event will innovate exciting new menu options, although I might not be allowed to go near that process. But a fish and chips van, hmmm…..
A little bit of a queue forming for the trackers, but the event registration went smoothly and it was good to see Madeleine in control at one of the desks. She was keeping everyone in order.
This bit isn’t ideal for entrants, it’s the wait for the start, and I could see the excitement in the eyes of Simon Hodgin and the look of anger in the eyes of Jane…. I’ve a lot of time for Jane’s walking style, she’s pre-annoyed before the start and quite grumpy that she’s doing the walk. This, to me, is much better than Simon’s odd attitude of being excited and positive. Also visible in this photo, as he’s helpfully wearing green (he supports Norwich City, hence the green) is Dave Morgan who was getting ready to receive his own award the next day.
Hazel and Karen visible in this pre-departure photo. Hazel was helping at the Cornwall & Devon checkpoint, which I’m sad to say is one of the few I didn’t get to, whilst Karen, the national groups officer, was walking the event. And in some style if I’m being honest, but more on her effortless walking later.
Aaron, getting ready to send the first wave of walkers off. He might have set them off slightly early, but there’s no time like the present on such occasions. Also visible on the right is Michael Jones, the organiser of next year’s event, ready to get tips from Trans-Pennine, or learn from any mistakes they might make, whichever way you want to look at it. There’s always much to learn from any event, but Aaron definitely got the big calls right as seems to be the popular soundbite from Government Minister at the moment. Not that I’m suggesting he’s like Boris Johnson (who arguably didn’t get the big calls right, but I won’t meander into politics), as he’s very sensible (I’ve veered back into politics very quickly again). Right, enough about that.
The walkers have gone, Aaron gets some time to reflect seeing the first 200 or so entrants off. I think there were around 400 people who took part in the walk, an excellent turnout. Unfortunately there were a few who couldn’t make the event as short notice, including some who got Covid just before the event.
Successful entrants got a beer to mark their bravery, a marvellous idea, it’s a blonde ale from Acorn Brewery, who are local to the event.
With that, Julie Cribb (the national chair) and I went to have a look at a few checkpoints and speak to some of our marvellous volunteers. She was also supporting her daughter, Naomi, who was walking the event, which is very brave indeed. This is CP1, operated by East Yorkshire LDWA. It’s a challenge marshalling this first checkpoint as everyone is coming in quite quickly, but the marshals were doing well and food and drink was being efficiently provided.
We arrived at CP2 before the entrants, which was a handy opportunity to take photos of the food. I’d add I didn’t take any, I went to the nearby Greggs. As an aside, there was a nightmare with my O2 priority reward, where the shop couldn’t get it to scan. Three staff tried to get it to work and failed, with one being annoyed at me I think, whilst the other two were annoyed at O2. They just gave me the pizza in the end anyway, which is the first time I’ve had that from Greggs. Very nice, although I’m still more of a chicken bake person. But, that’s fine, as I got a chicken bake at the same time just in case that situation arose.
CP2 was marshalled by volunteers from BBN and they were ready for action with the rush of entrants, offering a warm welcome to those who had by this point walked for just under 12 miles. Incidentally, one of the advantages for the marshals of the trackers is that they can see when entrants are about to arrive, which means that they can be extra ready.
And there’s Simon, having left Jane behind. Simon was speed walking around the event with Hilary.
And Naomi, still looking positive and keen.
Sara Dyer, the national 100s officer on the NEC, who helps groups organise this event.
Here’s Jane, with her Dad, Brian. Lots of smiles and the temperature was really quite moderate, not too hot but also not pouring with rain. I’m not allowed to mention the infamous event in South Wales that poured down with rain for two days, but somewhere in the middle is what walkers want, a cool breeze and not too wet. It was a good weekend for walking.
Then it was off down a farm track to see Wiltshire group at CP3.
Their food selection, in the calm before the storm.
They had a formidable scone production line going on, alongside some other healthy snacks such as Jaffa Cakes and jelly babies.
And they had ponies! No other group organised ponies, so I was very impressed.
And Julia, second from the left, who is the NEC’s membership secretary.
And Karen coming into the checkpoint, looking exactly as she did when she set off. Very calm, composed and professional.
Simon coming into CP3, still annoyingly positive.
Simon having a little rest, with Hilary from Norfolk and Suffolk (and the group’s new chair) strolling in as well.
That production line I mentioned earlier.
Julie and Naomi, this checkpoint was at around 18 miles.
Jane arriving into the checkpoint and still in a positive frame of mind. Inspirational.
CP4, which is Holmbridge Church Hall. On the drive there, I was pleased to see Holmfirth and the cafe where Last of the Summer Wine was filmed. I didn’t quite get to Holmfirth last year when I was in the area, so this whetted my appetite for when I do finally get to go to the town.
Julie and Nicky at CP4, the Lakeland and West Yorkshire checkpoint.
The kitchen team.
Neil Carter from Norfolk and Suffolk group, one of my favourite LDWA members as he always comments on my general bravery. Simon H doesn’t, so he isn’t as far up my list of favourites.
There was lots of bunting in the hall, although the LDWA didn’t put this up, it was a for a Jubilee Weekend event the following day.
And here comes Simon. It was lovely to see Pete Colley at the event as well, he was stopping by to watch some of the entrants glide into the checkpoint.
Still looking calm and composed.
And Hilary, who was jogging behind to keep up.
With that, it was off to CP7, as that was where I was spending the rest of the day, at the Norfolk & Suffolk checkpoint.
The marshals at the checkpoint, Sue, Katie, Chelle, Roger, Yvonne, Richard, Shu (just), Jayne, myself, Michael, Malcolm and Julie (popping in as chair). We had some fish and chips before the event, which was marvellous and everyone enjoyed those. Richard just had a heap of sausages or something, he didn’t want the delicious and decadent fish. I was initially annoyed as Chelle, who had volunteered to get the chips from the nearby Hayfield fish and chip shop, came back to say they didn’t accept cards. Luckily Richard and I were able to lend her cash (mostly Richard, he’s very wealthy) for a few hours to ensure that everyone got their food.
And the Raynet team ready for the checkpoint.
Aaron popped in, whilst also running the entire event, to drop off beer to those who had entered the marshals. Here’s Malcolm being presented with his beer.
That’s a blast from the past…. I’ve been a member of the LDWA for a decade, and this group had ceased to exist many years before that.
Night falls. A couple of local residents came to chat and were very enthused with the whole arrangement, with the usual surprise of why so many people want to walk non-stop. It’s actually the non-stop bit which confuses people, they can’t imagine keeping going throughout the night, or indeed two nights. We kept the noise as low as possible of course, we were an overnight checkpoint, but we were helped with the trackers meaning we knew when people were arriving.
It was rather lovely to be able to welcome entrants in, as well as a small handful of supporters who were helping friends or family with their efforts by cheering them on. We had a few retirements at our checkpoint, which was about 40 miles in, but mostly we were able to send entrants out inspired for the next part of their challenge. Neil unfortunately had to quit at this checkpoint, but he battled on as far as he could, it was a shame he wasn’t feeling very well. A proper fighter.
Our checkpoint in full flow. It was a tight squeeze when it was at its busiest, but it wasn’t often this packed, I think we had a big contingent from Yorkshire in at this point.
Jane wasn’t quite as jovial as she had been earlier on if I’m being honest. She made some funny comments about Simon that I think everyone thought were most amusing. I certainly did. It was a true inspiration to see how Jane had been so creative in where to stack painkillers to help her through and her Dad, Brian, seemed to be having a enjoyable time with the walk.
And that’s where I’ll leave this post, as the Norfolk & Suffolk checkpoint closed in the early hours of Saturday morning. There were no major incidents and I hope that all the entrants enjoyed the hospitality offered. And thanks to the wonderful Norfolk and Suffolk marshals, volunteering to help out at the event throughout the night whilst also smiling and remaining cheerful. Jayne managed the kitchen with effortless ease and I was able to save a couple of cheese sandwiches from going into the bin, so all was well with the world. Chelle also managed the checkpoint with professionalism, despite having a dog who needed some attention at numerous points during the night. And apologies for anyone I’ve missed mentioning who might have been in the photos.