Hadrian's Wall Walk in 3 hours

 

We Walked the Wall in 3 hours- well almost!
On Saturday, 22nd April, Rotary in the North of England set out to cover the 84 miles of Hadrian’s Wall in three hours. The project was conceived by the Rotary Club of Hexham as part of the 1900th anniversary of the Wall celebrations but Covid delayed it by a year.
The project was designed to promote Rotary and to raise money for Rotary Charities. 20 clubs from the North of England took part ranging from Berwick and Alnwick in the North to Darlington in the South and Blyth in the East to Furness in the West, with several clubs providing more than one team. Altogether 27 teams took part with each being given a section of the wall to walk. All started off at 10 am on the Saturday and the last team to complete their section finished at 13.14 so we were just outside the 3 hours but this gives us a target for another year. The weather was grey and overcast with a persistent drizzle with heavier bursts making conditions slippery underfoot. The longest stretch to walk was 8.4 miles!!
Over 125 walkers took part, with some adding additional loads to their journey, with at a team from Whitley Bay carrying a full Shelterbox weighing over 35 kg. At least 5 Ukrainian refugees joined with the Rotarians, Inner Wheel, friends and families and with ages ranging from 7 to 86 years. Money was raised for a variety of good causes with many clubs opting to choose the Ukraine or the Turkish earthquake victims to receive their share.
The 15 Clubs taking part from our District were Alnwick, Berwick, Newcastle, Tyneside, Whitley Bay, Cleadon and District, Washington, Consett, Ponteland, Blyth, Cramlington & Wansbeck, Washington Forge, NE Hub, Teesside West, Darlington, and Hexham and were partnered by 4 Clubs from our neighbours 1190, Furness Peninsula, Carnforth, and Kendal.
A JustGiving page was opened for donations at https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/RotaryWalktheWall and so far has raised over £7,000. the page remains open for another month for donations so well wishers can add to the total.