About
The Walk
The History of the Walk
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 team contest in face of severe competition with a Shipyard worker claiming the honour of being the first person back.
The first walk started from Castlerigg Stone Circle but the distance of the walk was later reduced by moving the start south 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.
Although originally not planned as an annual event, the walk gained popularity with the workers based in Barrow and soon became an important part of the yearly events calendar. That first walk was meant to increase social relations between the Royal Navy crew and the workers in the shipyard. As the walk is still going strong today thanks to the organisational skills of the companies originally involved, it must have been a success!
Within the space of just 7 years, the walk had grown from 63 participants to 1,500 expected walkers (1974), and people from across the country were taking part. In 1974, a team from HMS Vulcan travelled all the way from Dounreay (Thurso, Caithness) at the very top of Scotland to take part in the walk: that’s over 400 miles! Nowadays, it is common for over 2000 walkers start the walk, and charity donations of over £200,000 to be reached with each walk. Over 44 years of walking, £1,642,607 has been raised and more than 1.860,000 miles have been covered.
Some of the more interesting features that have been present throughout the history of Keswick to Barrow are the awards and shields. The Resolution Cup, offered by the HMS Resolution crew at the first walk for the first team of walkers home, has been offered every year since, although it is no longer presented by the crew of the HMS Resolution. As a challenge cup, it has been won 10 times by the Royal Navy and 34 times by the Barrow Shipyard (now BAE Systems).
There are several participants who have lasted the test of time, with 3 people having completed the walk at least 30 times. Gordon Ingall is the top of the leaderboard, having completed 37 walks, perhaps one of the most notable participants over the years. The more times you complete the Keswick 2 Barrow walk, the higher your rank in ‘Ye Ancient Order of Barking Dogs’. This ‘order’ has been a part of the walk’s history for many years. For those who have finished the walk over 30 times, like the three above, the award is a silver tankard. After 40 completions, this becomes a ruby glass. There are also awards for those who complete the walk once, 3 times, 7 times, 20 times and 50 times.
With so many people taking interest in a ‘big walk’ for charity, there were often large amounts of donations. The 1974 walk raised just under £9000, which would be approximately doubled in modern money. This money was split between a total of 27 charities operating in the Furness area, each receiving between £150 and £500. In 2011, over £230,000 was donated to 243 charities.
The Keswick to Barrow Walk has had a long and successful history, and the number of entrants increases every year. The total amount donated to charity since the walk started is now over £2.0 Million. The next target is to raise a total of £3.0 Million by 2016, the 50th walk.
