Report and Photos from 2017 'Hundred'


The 2017 LDWA annual "hundred" mile challenge event

North York Moors, 27-29 May 2017

VOLUNTEER’S WEEKEND NORTH YORKSHIRE 100
Report by Susanne Waldschmidt and photos by Paul Lawrence and a galaxy of talent

 

Report:

The weekend began, on the Friday evening, in the Lord Rosebury Scarborough.  We were astonished to discover that this was a Wetherspoons pub.

On Saturday morning, after seeing off our London champions, we were transferred to Fyling’s Hall School surely the most beautiful checkpoint in the UK.  From a garden terrace of roses and clipped hedges we had extensive views of the North Yorkshire Coast.    The weather seemed more like the Mediterranean than the North Sea.  It was great for us but perhaps not for the walkers.  We wondered if they too would appreciate the lovely scenery. 

We had a free afternoon and fortified by Adam’s Kit Kat bars, the 8 of us set off for the 10 miles along the coastal path to Whitby.  It made a nice change from the footpaths of Surrey and Kent.  Dracula was hard at work though.  As we approached the Abbey unearthly sounds of thunder engulfed us and the heavens opened with a mighty deluge which drenched us.  After 15 minutes the sun came out and dispelled the demons and we avoided their wrath a second time by diving into the Abbey tea rooms.

In the evening it was back to the checkpoint and time to start work.

Never having done the breakfast baggage stop before, we were learning on the job.  The new PACER checking in system all looked so straight forward when we tested it with Adam in London.  Unfortunately the school wi-fi decided that the LDWA website was definitely dodgy and to be blocked at every opportunity.  Luckily though, unlike BA we had a tried and tested pencil and paper system.

As Sunday progressed, we had a lacerated leg, a lost bag, heat exhaustion and of course a googleplex of blisters.  Toilet paper was about to run out and not a single toilet brush was to be seen.  However our lovely London volunteers coped magnificently with every challenge.  It was great to cheer on our London Champions as they arrived one by one exhausted after 62 miles.

In the late afternoon we enjoyed another social walk, at the end of which was the final challenge.  The beloved leader had blearily read the Saturday bus timetable.  It was soon agreed that throwing her off the nearest cliff would not get us any nearer to Scarborough.  Thus we ended an intensively packed weekend with a comfortable taxi ride, that didn’t cost an arm and a leg, and most unusual of all a meal in a lovely fish restaurant, overlooking the harbour that did not bear the name Wetherspoons.

Thanks Maria, Isobel, Paul, Paul, Colin, Dave, Rob for being such a great team and helping to make this such an enjoyable if exhausting weekend.

A special thanks to our two conscripts Tony (from somewhere north of the Humber) and John from somewhere else up North.  Without their help we would have been somewhat overwhelmed.

A big thank-you to the Lancashire Group, who fed us endless breakfasts at all hours of the day and night and ensured there was a constant stream of hot tea and coffee.

Finally thanks too to the anonymous man and his dog, that both seemed happy to sit for hours in the sunshine, acting as an invaluable human/canine signpost for confused and exhausted walkers.

 

Photos:

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