On a works night out in September last year, after a few drinks one of our group mentioned that we should do the Lyke Wake Walk. This was something that I had vaguely heard of, and that at that point in the evening seemed like a good idea. When I chatted with Katrina about the walk, it soon became clear that she knew less about it than I did, which itself was some achievement. By the end of the night, we were all in and were trying to muster up support among our colleagues. It was only when I woke up and googled the walk the following morning that the scale of the challenge took shape.
However, we were not to be deterred. We were a group of social care workers who had a recently started up a rambling group and at that point most of the group could manage 10 miles without passing out or being sick. What could possibly go wrong on a forty mile endurance walk across the North Yorkshire Moors! We set a date for the 1st July 2017 and started our prep. By Easter we had 23 committed souls aged between 21 and 58. Our local Go Outdoors store was raking in business and our local chemist had had to order in compeed in bulk.
Starting at 3.30 on the morning of 1st July, we all set off from the LWW stone at Osmotherley heading eastwards, hoping to see our support crew at the various checkpoints along the way and to be joined by colleagues who did 10 or 20 miles stretches with the main group.
The collective spirit was amazing and the shared experience will help form friendships new and reinforce those not so new.
There were no serious injuries on the walk other than the total abandonment of dignity
which you get with no toilets for 40 miles! It certainly answered the less frequently asked question as to whether or not it is just bears that s**t in the woods…
I’m sure we all had our own personal challenges along the way; whether those were making our way through pain and fatigue, overcoming the sheer relentlessness of it all, remembering the alphabet, or in my case trying to maintain some sense of dignity whilst falling arse over elbow. My admiration goes out to each and everyone of the group, with particular mention to be made of Adam who completed the last 11 miles in role, completing sketches from the Ministry of Silly Walks. Twenty of the 23 starters finished the walk with the last of us coming home in 17 hours.
Thanks also to the support team, who provided welcome relief at each check point and supplied us with fuel and good humour.
To everyone who planned, practiced, fundraised, laughed, joked, encouraged, guided, shared advice, compeed and ibuprofen, sang or provided light relief by falling off chairs – thank you; not least of which was Lynn who herded us with remarkable good grace throughout the weeks and months leading up to a day I am sure none of us will ever forget, until a time when forgetting the LWW is the least of or problems.
Whether you are young of body or just young at heart, it is a significant achievement by anyone’s standards.
Respect to all who have ever completed the LWW
The people who completed the walk are:
Lynn Richardson
Katrina Newby
Dianne Shires
Claire Collins
Al Rodger
Dave Williams
Steve Bardsley
Martin Crompton
Andy Sleigh-Munoz
Dale Darby
Adam Burton
Janice Judd
Neil Morrisroe
Bill Dyson
Carl Kemp
Ian Pearson
Oxana Goncharova
Jo Rawnsley
Gill Parkinson
Andy Rawnsley
The people who did parts of the walk are:
Gemma Reilly
Zoe Lloyd
Fiona Martin
Nathalie Kayij
Rebeca Sinclair
Marianne Pearce
Kristina Phillips
Vickie Orford
The support crew were:
Geoff Rodger
Hazel Harwood
Mark Harwood
Janice Hubbard