2006 Sponsored Walk
report by David Mee, Walk Co-ordinator

The 2006 Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway Sponsored Walk took place on Sunday 17th September. Nearly 100 walkers met at Toddington Station at 10.00 to take part in the walk along the track bed to the site of Broadway Station and return.

Luckily the weather was very kind - warm and sunny for the most part, and walkers were able to enjoy good views across the vale towards Broadway Tower and Childswickham. The walk also provided the opportunity to inspect the exciting developments just north of Toddington, with track now stretching across the viaduct and along the straight almost to Stanton Bridge. Walkers of all ages and abilities took part, the youngest was Freddie Harris, just 6 weeks old, who with a lot of help from his parents completed the walk in just over three hours and ten minutes. On return to Toddington he was awarded with a complimentary Junior Membership of the railway! The oldest walker was well into his seventies.

By the end of the day we had raised over £1100 in donations, and with many sponsorships still to come in at the time of writing I am sure that I will be able to report a very healthy final result. Rupert Maclean, our master of ceremonies at Toddington, organised an impromptu bucket collection during the day which generated a further £60. Grateful thanks to all those who supported this event - it is not too late to make a donation, please send cheques made payable to ‘GWRL’ to:

2006 Sponsored Walk
Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway
The Railway Station
Toddington
Gloucestershire
GL54 5DT

The competition to guess the average time of the first twenty walkers to complete the full walk was Mr Gerald Seal of Cheltenham with an estimate of 2 Hours 52 minutes and 8 seconds. He will be receiving a £20 voucher to use in the GWR Shop.

Many thanks to all of the volunteers who made the walk possible. In particular, Bernard Dudfield and members of the Fire Department who ensured that the track bed was clear and safe prior to the walk, The Fire Department for providing First Aid cover on the day and drinking water at Laverton, Rupert for excellent support on the day at Toddington, Caroline and the OTC team for the much appreciated refreshments at Broadway. Finally my appreciation to all those who offered lifts back from Broadway to those doing the five mile walk.

It really is an excellent day out - why not join us in 2008 on the next Sponsored Walk!