45th Keswick to Barrow brings in another amazing donation

The Keswick to Barrow Walk is a 40 mile sponsored stroll through some of the country’s finest landscapes. The route starts on the southern side of the Lake district town of Keswick and winds its way through some of the most beautiful scenery to Barrow in Furness.

The idea of walking from Keswick to Barrow originated in 1966 as a result of a statement made by the late US President, John F Kennedy to the effect that 'every American should be capable of walking 50 miles a day'. At this time the first Polaris Submarine - HMS Resolution was being built at the shipyard in Barrow and several American experts were resident in the area assisting with the project.

With the idea now conceived, plans were soon under way to organise a walk and build relationships with the crew of the submarine and the workers at the then ‘Vickers’ shipyard. The initiative was taken by the Installation Manager (Submarines) to formally challenge the Commanding Officer of HMS Resolution to form a team and walk from Keswick to Barrow (approx 50 miles) on 1st April 1967.

The Commercial Department of Vickers heard of this challenge and joined in the walk making it a three cornered contest with the crew from HMS Resolution. The Crew of HMS Resolution finally won the contest in face of severe competition. The distance of the walk was later reduced by moving the start out of Keswick to prevent any problems which might arise through congestion on the difficult entry to the town. The more convenient start point of Rough How Bridge was established with a final measured distance of approximately 40 miles.

This year the walk took place for the 45th time and over £235000 was raised from the event, which took place in May. On Tuesday 29th November all funds were given away to hundreds of charities at a presentation evening, which took place at the Forum 28 in Barrow. Since the walk started over 2 million pounds has been raised. This year St Mary’s was awarded £13190 with the option of claiming an additional £2000 in Gift aid. The Hospice cannot thank the organiser’s and walkers enough for this wonderful contribution.