Walk the Path 2009

Thank you to everyone who came along and made our annual Walk the Path event such a great success.  The weather was good on both days – not too hot or wet – the company was convivial and judging from your comments the refreshments stops were not only most welcome but also expertly run.

In all 176 people walked the path over the weekend with Sunday being the most popular day, 112 people set off, compared to 64 on Saturday. Unfortunately I forgot to check how many dogs took part this year, although I do know Grommit, Bobby and Mylo all came along on both days whilst Bailey, Kirsty and Holly came along for only one of the days. My apologies if I have not mentioned your four-legged companion, because I know there was a lovely beagle who took part on Saturday but forgot to get his/her name.

Saturday

Checking in at Rowhill everyone was keen to get going and the initial pace was very brisk. Altogether we had 64 people out on the path – which means that by the end of the day they had walked a total of over 800 miles! When I caught up with the back markers of the last group just before the morning refreshment stop (top picture) I was surprised at how quickly they were walking – fortunately I didn’t have to keep up with them…

By lunchtime the pace had slowed down somewhat and everyone welcomed the opportunity to sit down for a while. Fortunately the toilets  had arrived on time this year (veterans of the 2008 walk will understand what I mean). Thank you
Rosa and Eleanor for checking in our walkers (third picture from top) and ensuring that no one had fallen by the wayside.

The second half of Saturdays’ walk is always a bit of a revelation as you go through both Hawley Meadows and then Shepherd Meadows – a lovely stretch of the path. This year our walkers were again surprised at this rural part of the path so close to the built-up areas (bottom picture).

Apparently walkers saw plenty of Grey Herons on the walk during the day, but unfortunately no sightings of any Kingfishers - we must see if we can improve the situation next year!

Weary walkers started checking in at Sandhurst from 3pm onwards, enjoying a quick drink before boarding the minibus back to pick up their cars or walk home. The first day had passed off smoothly but there were almost twice as many walkers on Sunday.

Read about Sunday >>>