Peter Jull, the organiser of the whole event, looking really rather calm and cool at HQ. And, if technology works, there should be a short video of him below.
Tag: LDWA
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LDWA – Hunnypot Hundred 2026 (Marshal’s Event – Winnie the Pooh)
It’s not called the Hunnypot 100 for no reason….. And entrants will get to go over Poohsticks Bridge which is the original wooden bridge in Ashdown Forest in East Sussex which is where the game of Poohsticks was invented.
The happy mascot!
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LDWA – Hunnypot Hundred 2026 (Marshal’s Event – Calm at the Start)
I’m safely at Meopham and this is where the marshal event is taking place this weekend for the LDWA 100.
It feels a bit hot to me, but I’m seemingly always too hot. I rushed to get the train in Chatham to get here and I didn’t need to rush, I just realised that I could get an earlier one. Anyway, this 100 is the work of the Kent group of the LDWA.
I would say that it is the calm before the storm, but it’s all too controlled for there to be a storm. Anyway, this is Meopham scout HQ, which isn’t where the main event will be starting from. It’s all happening now as they say, well, as Alan Partridge says… There’s a strong contingent from Norfolk & Suffolk LDWA which is rather lovely.
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LDWA – Hunnypot Hundred 2026 (Marshal’s Event)
It’s the marshal’s event of the LDWA Hunnypot Hundred 2026 in Kent this weekend (2 to 4 May 2026) which means that I’m meandering down to Chatham today. I’ll use this as an index page for all the excitement and random witterings I might have to offer over the weekend as well as links to photos and videos.
There’s more information about the event at https://ldwa.org.uk/2026Hundred.
And there will be tracking of the very brave entrants at https://track.trail.live/event/hunnypot-100-marshal-walk.
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LDWA – 2026 Stansted Stagger
For over a decade, it’s been a tradition now for my friend Liam and myself to take part in the Stansted Stagger, a 26 mile challenge event put on by the Essex & Herts LDWA group. A walk at this time of the year is always a bit of excitement as there is the potential for a lot of mud, a lot of ice, a lot of rain and a lot of complaining from me. The drive there was marked by a series of Greggs being shut when they weren’t meant to be, so that was sub-optimal but I was too tired to be be pre-annoyed.
Liam got us safely to Stansted Mountfitchet where the walk starts. There were around 180 people taking part and there was a positive atmosphere whilst I focused on how many biscuits I could eat without looking greedy.
It was time for the walk to start and Liam and I seemed to be at the back, which is where we kept ourselves for much of the day. Some of the Norfolk & Suffolk contingent rushed off, but someone mentioned that it was probably just Simon H showing off. Someone in our group also mentioned that they were hungry, but fortunately, this event has 2.5 checkpoints so there was certainly lots to look forwards to.
We strolled past St. Mary the Virgin’s Church which is located just outside of Stansted Mountfitchet.
This is Arthur Findlay College, located at Stansted Hall, which is managed by the Spiritualists’ National Union. Arthur Findlay (1883-1964) was a stockbroker who became very involved with the spiritualist movement and he was one of the founders of the Psychic News. Stansted Hall, which is mostly from the late seventeenth century, was purchased by Findlay in 1923 and it was left to the Spiritualist movement in 1964 following his death.
Very pretty ice formations. We were fortunate that there was no snow, unlike the Norfolk we had departed, and relatively little ice. I have near zero ability to walk on ice, so this pleased me greatly. On reflection, this was the least muddy Stansted Stagger I’ve ever taken part in and that suited me on this occasion even as an experienced mud run person.
I appeared to be the only one in shirt sleeves as I thought it was getting a bit hot. The sun was quite clearly blazing down at this point, which is a field near to the village of Pledgdon Green.
The route that the organisers chose was a new one to me and it circumnavigated Stansted Airport. This was my favourite route that the event has taken, as it changes from year to year, although I was surprised just how little of the airport we saw as it seems to be landscaped away a bit. It was harder for them to blend the aircraft into the background though, so we were able to do some plane spotting.
The tilted sign amused me. I don’t get out much.
This was Mill Race, the former water channel for powering the mill at Tilty Abbey.
These are the remnants of what is left of Tilty Abbey, but I’ve written about this separately.
We then approached the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, which is the former chapel outside the walls of the abbey. When the abbey was suppressed following the Reformation, this became the parish church. But, I’ve written about this separately as well.
Sub-optimal and a reminder of the dangers of the cold weather. The police were aware of the car, but this looks like it must have been a frightening thing to happen.
And safely into the first checkpoint at Great Easton. I was surprised and delighted to see that there were some cheese & pickle sandwiches, which are one of my favourite things, so I had several of those. There were also jelly babies, crisps, mince pies, hot cross buns, biscuits and chocolate and so that’s all my main food groups covered. There was some fruit as well I think for those that like that.
The volunteers across the whole event were brilliant, full of enthusiasm and the LDWA is very fortunate to have so many people willing to help. And, from personal experience, it’s a lot of fun volunteering at events as well.
The church of St. John & St. Giles at Great Easton. It’s not a great photo as I was balancing crisps and jelly babies in my hand whilst trying to take a photo.
Rob had dropped a bit to walk with Liam and I for the next stage, here there are waiting for me to balance my snacks whilst taking a photo of the village of Great Easton.
This is the intriguing church at Little Easton and I’ve written more about that separately.
Horse Pond in Little Easton, located opposite from the Great Pond and the manor house.
Despite never being far away from Stansted Airport, it was rarely visible, but the control tower did appear from time to time. We certainly had no shortage of planes taking off and landing to look at during the walk.
This is All Saints Church at Canfield End with the walk going through the churchyard. It wasn’t known who the original dedication of the church was to, so in February 1900 it was dedicated to All Saints by the Bishop Suffragan of Colchester. The nave is from the twelfth century, but the chancel and most of the interior is from the nineteenth century.
The second checkpoint was located near to Great Canfield and it had plenty of seating for the weary. Obviously, as an athlete I didn’t need a seat.
Well, how lovely.
Those warm apple pies with custard towards the front were the standout food item here, and there was a lot of competition. I actually didn’t even notice the wraps until looking at this photo, such was the choice, although I think I was focused on the crisps.
The checkpoint menu. Bear in mind this entire event costs £15 or so for members, we get that much value from the food alone. Well, I do.
I took a cake to help sustain me for the next part of the walk.
An interesting tree near Great Canfield.
I can think of a few people who could go in these at Hellmans Cross.
And the peace oak in the same village that I’ve already written about.
The former railway station at Takeley, I’ll write about this separately and drop the link in here later.
The bridge underneath the appropriately named Station Road, this is the stretch on the former railway line from Braintree to Bishops Stortford which is now known as the Flitch Way.
The former station halt at Stane Street, which I’ve written about separately.
Rob decided he would rush off at this point, but Liam and I decided we would just amble along. We rushed the Capital Challenge last year and sometimes it’s best to just take it easy.
The final checkpoint by the Dunmow Road which was advertised as a water stop but actually had some snacks as well, which pleased me. But my two loyal blog readers would have guessed that.
Then it was a series of bridge and tunnel crossings to get over the M11.
The bendy signage at Birchanger.
And back to the start at Stansted Mountfitchet….
Julian “I’m not very hungry, I likely won’t have anything at the end” White….. That carrot cake was delicious.
I accept that this wasn’t our fastest time, but it’s not a race and we had a really rather lovely day. For anyone tempted to take part, absolutely do, it’s a manageable distance with plenty of food, drink and encouragement at the checkpoints. The volunteers were all wonderful and so many thanks for all the time they put in to planning this event, which really is great value. We’ll be back next year!
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LDWA – Podcast 2 (David Morgan – Challenge Event Walking and Organising)
This is the second podcast and there’s more about this series in the text of the first podcast with Simon Hodgin. In short, these are like pilot podcasts to establish how to do the audio better, see what the reaction is like and then we will start to widen the scope of the whole arrangement.
This podcast is with the legend that is David Morgan, the former Chair of the LDWA, who has organised and taken part in many challenge events. The podcast focuses on his experiences of this over the years and also addresses the most important question of what is his favourite food at challenge events. I suspect this might become a running theme (excuse the pun).
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LDWA – Podcast 1 (Simon Hodgin – Experiences of Walking and Volunteering with the LDWA)
Something new for 2026 is a series of podcasts that I’m planning for the LDWA. It’s going to take a fair few podcasts to start getting the editing quality sorted, but I have to start somewhere and Simon Hodgin of Norfolk & Suffolk group kindly agreed to help with the first one.
I reference in the podcast that there’s a lot more to the LDWA than just the 100, but I felt the need to ask Simon about some of his challenge event achievements. I’ve recorded a couple more podcasts and they’ll be advertised within the LDWA. After a while, they’ll advertised more widely hopefully when I’m content that I know what I’m doing.
The first few podcasts will be with LDWA members, talking about their volunteering experiences and their walking, but there will be more focused podcasts on how to prepare for any challenge event, what to pack for a 100 mile event, as well as podcasts about specific walking trails. Then there will hopefully follow podcasts featuring other people involved in outdoor adventure activities, as well as those involved working on trails, B&Bs owners used to dealing with walkers and much more besides.
When I’m happy that I’m getting there with the quality, then they might start appearing in the usual places where podcasts are found. So, that’s the background! The podcast download for the first episode is below.
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LDWA – 2025 Groups’ Weekend Day 3
And so the final day of LDWA Local Groups’ weekend was upon us (I’ll stress that we’ll be talking to groups and individuals more about what was discussed, this blog post is really more about Richard as I’m his chief publicity officer).
We started the Sunday morning (after breakfast of course) with an uplifting introduction from Phoebe Smith, the LDWA President.
And as a summary about the LDWA, it’s marvellous value for money, membership is £15 a year at the moment via direct debit and we have hundreds of challenge events that take place every year, alongside social walks and a website packed with information about long-distance trails. It’s also a way for people to be inspired by the travels of others, I like hearing about how brave other people have been and wondering if I can do the same.
Richard was considering all the exciting adventures that he could go on having been inspired by Phoebe. Phoebe has written numerous books and gone on endless adventures, I recommend her Instagram account at https://www.instagram.com/phoebersmith/.
The rest of the morning was spent in workshops which were very helpful and informative. It’s often the case that members can come up with great ideas that we just haven’t thought of before. Weekends like this are also really helpful because groups can share best practice with each other, learning from how things are done differently.
There was a really rather lovely lunch before we headed off home, the plaice goujons were very agreeable. Thanks to Woodland Grange for their really helpful staff and consistently good food, it’s much appreciated!
We managed to work out how to exit the car park.
And then it was time to head home, popping into a JD Wetherspoon en route, although I felt quite exhausted during the latter part of the drive. I obviously remained very brave. It was definitely worth the mad dash across mainland Europe to get back for the weekend.
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LDWA – 2025 Groups’ Weekend Day 2
The second day of the LDWA Groups’ Weekend (here’s more about day one) started with a hearty breakfast arrangement.
There were two walks laid on for members, with a 16-mile option and a 23-mile option. I opted for the shorter walk and everyone, other than Richard, was ready for the 09:00 start. There were calls to just leave him behind, but they were mostly from me.
Here we are, ready for action!
This is the River Avon, we crossed over on Hill Wootton Road, located just off of Kenilworth Road.
Richard and Madeleine discussing something important.
Richard working out where he was, which at this point was near to Hatton Park.
The series of locks at Hatton and I realised later on that this is near to where the Elephant, Bear and Bull touched on.
A dragonfly sculpture (or at least I think it’s a dragonfly).
The walk then went from Hatton into the outskirts of Warwick, this photo was taken near to Warwick Parkway railway station.
Richard demanded to be in another photo near to Budbrooke Industrial Estate.
And then into Warwick although we unfortunately didn’t have time to stop in any of the pubs. Fortunately, I’ve visited most of them already.
Richard needed a sit down and medical treatment. Fortunately, the ever tolerant Pam and Sarah were able to assist with this.
Madeleine is looking up at a leaking bridge, which feels sub-optimal as it’s from the canal above. The River Avon is on our right.
Getting towards the end of the walk now, this is near Old Milverton.
The light isn’t very good here, but this was a quick diversion to Saxon Mill.
St. James the Great church at Old Milverton.
This looked exciting, disc golf. Must add that to my list of things to try.
The board showed the evening’s entertainment. From my perspective, many thanks to Simon Pipe for producing such a professional video of the LDWA 100 and we were able to show a bit of a sneak preview of that. And also thanks to Andy for his introducing the expanding media team.
The evening meal included chicken and leek pie, one of my favourite things….
And some rather lovely looking desserts.
The NEC members present gave some talks, here’s Richard as he likes his photo being taken. Could I also mention here to check BBC iPlayer for Farm 999, series 1 and episode 14, where he makes his latest TV appearance. We’re very lucky in the LDWA to have this media talent.
With that, the day’s excitement came to an end with some lingering in the bar. I’m pleased to say that NEC Richard mostly recovered from his long walk and many thanks to Richard and Sally for their walk leading during the day. Thanks to everyone who attended the day, the feedback is always very useful and its great to see to many volunteers.
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LDWA – 2025 Groups’ Weekend Day 1
After a rail journey from Luton Airport, via London, I arrived into Leamington Spa and then walked to the Woodland Grange hotel. This is where the LDWA Groups’ weekend was taking place from Friday to Sunday.
The venue is one which the LDWA (I should note that this is the Long Distance Walkers Association) has used before and I recall the friendliness from the staff and the cleanliness of the hotel. It’s a lovely hotel and after an initial piece of confusion where they thought I was sharing a room with Richard, I was allocated a lovely private room.
Madeleine, the rather wonderful LDWA chair, also presented me with a chicken bake and that’s why she’s my favourite NEC member 🙂 I doubt any other NEC member will read this (other than Richard), so I’ll get away with that.
Here’s Penny, the Volunteer Support Officer, giving a talk about the weekend. Engagement with groups is important to the LDWA as we’re a volunteer led organisation and the NEC needs to get feedback from individual members and groups to properly deliver what the organisation needs.
I’d add that I won’t reveal any private discussions, but for those going, a report will be produced and all members will be able to see the various things that the LDWA is doing.
Everyone taking part got a free drink from the LDWA, which is rather lovely. I won’t name people individually as I’ll forget someone and that might annoy them, but it’s always lovely to see Chelle, Andy and Sarah from Norfolk & Suffolk LDWA. Richard was also there from the group in his national IT role.
It’s important to be well fed on these occasions and we weren’t let down by the venue.
And a little dessert to go with it (I didn’t have all of what’s in the photo).
And the highlight of the evening was the talk from the LDWA Vice-President Ken Falconer. He walked Lands End to John O’Groats fifty years ago and thought it would be a good idea to do it again fifty years later. It all led to one of the most entertaining talks that I’ve heard at an LDWA event, all really rather lovely.
I was rather pleased to actually get to Leamington Spa given the complexities of the travel arrangements, but this is an exciting and important weekend with the whole LDWA waiting to be surprised and delighted by the IT announcements.