I was a member of the Bourne Venture Scout Unit walking group, comprising of feeder groups 4th Purley, 10th Purley, 20th Purley and 26th Purley in the Scout County of Greater London South West. Approximately 12 Venture Scouts undertook the walk with 2 minibuses in support. We walked from West to East (Osmotherley to Ravenscar), taking approximately 22 hours. We would have completed the crossing sooner, but one of our group collapsed 1 mile from the finish. We huddled around him to keep him warm until the minibus arrived and he could be treated.
A second crossing with the Bourne Venture Scout Unit, again West to East, with 2 minibuses in support, in approximately 20 hours. A group of approximately 12 walkers.
Interestingly on both occasions, around RAF Fylingdales, our compasses began to act strangely, resulting in our getting lost, before we found the main A road and could resume our course. We’ve always assumed it was the strong EM force around the radars that caused the malfunction.
Regards,
Geoff Hayes