Hi Everyone,

Here is a report from our fantastic caterer for the Pewsey Downsaround, a report on the 80-for-80 walk, the recent Nags and a Noggin' walk and more from our Walks Secretary.

Pewsey Downsaround by Janette Armstrong

The Pewsey Downsaround was held on a sunny Sunday at the end of April.

Around 200 people gathered at the crack of dawn at Pewsey Scout Hut, drank vast amounts of tea and set off for the day on the 10, 17, 26 and 35 miles routes.  We had runners, walkers, a combination of the two and some furry friends. 

As the entrants crested the ridge from Knap Hill they were met by the welcoming sight of one of our new flag banners at the bottom of the hill.  On arrival a second surprise - Virginia had provided tasteful table decorations to complement the array of food hidden under the new rain and wind proof food boxes.

Onwards to Calstone (where I believe the flags were particularly welcome) for the 35 milers and Avebury for the marathon.

The Downs were spectacular under the sun and there was a pleasant cooling breeze.  Well done to those at the new Avebury checkpoint who had to cope with a power cut in addition to the usual poor phone signal.  I understand there was just enough hot water already boiled for hot drinks.

Finally back via Huish and the woods which were stunning with the perfect combination of bluebells and white wild garlic flowers.

The entrants arrived at the Scout Hut for more tea, the famous vegetable Tagine and record quantities of rice pudding!

We had a huge amount of very positive feedback and loads of thank you’s from the walkers and runners at the end.  I wish we could have bottled the atmosphere.  They loved the food, the route (Wiltshire certainly looked at its best bringing out the bluebells, wild garlic and cute lambs), and especially the cheerful volunteers.  

Again many thanks to those who gave up their time in advance (baking, shopping, managing entries and ferrying kit), on the day (at HQ, on checkpoints and in the kitchen) and afterwards (cleaning and sorting kit and ferrying it back to storage).

Thanks to Carol, Bea, Angela, Sue (for cakes, cooking), Adrian (storage, water, ferrying of kit), Clare and her little blue van (washing up, generally stepping into the gaps and keeping the hall in order, sorting of kit and ferrying it all around), the IT, registration, HQ control and finish team (Andy, Tony, Carol, Steve, Richard, Phil) and the wonderful cheery checkpoint volunteers (Sue, Virginia, Adrian, Sheena, John, Jo, Lucy, Ben, Eley, Roger, Angela, Bruce, Jon, Alan and Malcolm) without who the event won’t be possible.

It would be great to see some new faces next year as we are all getting a bit older and new eyes often bring new ideas for improving the event still further.

If you are interested in helping next year either on the day or with food preparation, baking, sandwiches or shopping in advance please let us know.

And for those who enjoyed the vegan gingerbread at checkpoint 1, here is the link to the recipe by Nigella https://www.nigella.com/recipes/luscious-vegan-gingerbread

80-for-80 led by John Walker

To ‘celebrate’ my 80th birthday I arranged for a 50 mile circular walk in March (that’s 80km, hence 80-for-80, geddit? ).  Around 20 of us met at the Bouverie Hall car park in Pewsey in mid-March to start the trek. Half of us were from Wiltshire with the rest coming from other groups - and surprisingly we also had an American lady with us.

The route was in a figure of 8. The first loop was 30 miles and it went around the eastern half of the Vale of Pewsey.  In the late afternoon we were met by my wife Jo who treated us all to birthday cake and coffee  We returned to Pewsey and immediately invaded the local chippy for our evening meal. 

Twelve of us put our head torches on and set out on the second loop of the walk.  This was 20 miles and it went over the Salisbury Plain before gliding down to the Kennet & Avon canal for the last few miles. The night was as black as ink and it was bitterly cold but everyone kept going and we arrived back to our freezing cars in Pewsey at around 4.00 am, a tired but happy bunch of trekkers.

The only real casualty was me!  My left knee decided to stop working properly towards the end of the walk so I had to have a couple of unscheduled breaks. Unfortunately the damage was worse than I thought and I didn’t do any more walking for the next 6 weeks. But that’s a small price to pay for such an unforgettable 80th birthday.

Nags and a Noggin' walk led by John French

The Good Friday 16 miles walk, celebrated the Peter O’ Sullivan Memorial open day. The walk featured an easy, scenic figure of eight route that included two sections of the popular Lambourn Valley Way. With free car parking off Lambourn High Street, the event attracted a total of 13 participants. The recent dry spell ensured pleasurable conditions and the experience of visiting two of the country’s leading horse racing stables created much interest.

The pub lunch stop at eight miles was welcomed by all, and the Landlord was happy to allow hungry walkers to eat their own sandwiches. Toilets and local shops were available nearby, so all needs were catered for. The surprise of the day was the change in the number of visitors to this annual event, promoted by Newbury Racecourse, in aid of local charities. When the walk started at 0900 there were few people about. Four hours later the area was packed with horse enthusiasts. The cost of entry into the stables was kindly subsidised by Wiltshire Group LDWA, and the positive feedback from attendees suggests the walk should be run again next year, again scheduled for Good Friday.

From our walks secretary Lucy Robins

The Coln River Walk on Saturday 28th June is now full. If you would like to be put on a waiting list, please email wiltshire.walkssecretary@ldwa.org.uk.

The walks programme is looking a bit empty for the next few months and I am asking members old and new to have a think and see if you can fill some of the gaps. Ideally, we would like to fill the first and third Sunday and third Thursday of each month, although I am open to walks for any dates, any length walk, long or short if we can fit them in.

If you are unsure on what is required to lead a walk, please contact me or any of the committee members and we can help.

And finally some words of advice

On a recent walk an incident occurred requiring the NHS to assist a walker with a medical problem.  WhatThreeWords  was used to summon the NHS ambulance to the off road location.  The paramedics and other emergency services recommend using WhatThreeWords to report a location when needing help, therefore a very useful App to download onto your smart phones.

Best Regards

Sue

Secretary of the Wiltshire LDWA
wiltshire.secretary@ldwa.org.uk