Story

Updated 13 September 2011   WE DID IT!!   After a troubled night’s sleep on Thursday 8 September and a full day at work on Friday 9 September we assembled at Construction House at 11pm to start our epic journey.  With vans loaded and much double-checking of baggage we set off for Osmotherley full of excitement and nerves.  After a quick photo shoot at the Lyke Wake stone we set off and knew at this point there was no turning back – we were going to walk 40 miles!!   It was a dry mild night and our spirits were high as we walked along the road to join the Cleveland Way equipped with torches to light our way.  The 6 miles to our first checkpoint at Carlton Bank flew past – Keith (our nominated leader) armed with his map, compass and knowledge of this area guided us all the way.  The support team were waiting for us with cups of tea, ready to refill our water containers and snack boxes and send us on our way again.  We were soon on the 4 mile stretch to Hasty Bank dodging muddy parts of the path and trying not to fall off the edge of the hill.  The first 10 miles of the walk was the hilliest with short-sharp ascents and descents which certainly got our heart rates up!  Our trusty support team were waiting for us at Hasty Bank with tea, water refills and advice.  Steve impressed upon us the importance of taking our wind and waterproof jackets in spite of the mild conditions – he said we would need them once we got on to the tops.  Refuelled with tea and wearing coats we set off again on the longest stage of the walk – nearly 10 miles.  This stage involved a long steep climb then levelling out onto a very long stretch of moorland path.  Unfortunately it was on this stage that we encountered wind, mist and rain (lots of it).  We were wet and we didn’t manage to witness a beautiful sunrise as the weather was so foggy and misty that the sky merely became a lighter shade of grey as morning approached.  You would think that this stage would have been easy as so much of it was level and on good paths but I think the lack of variation in terrain began to sap some of our enthusiasm and energy.  We plodded on regardless and eventually arrived at  checkpoint 3 at Ralph Crosses (not far from the famous Lion Inn at Blakey Ridge) where we were greeted by our four favourite people in the world (at that moment anyway) armed with a hot bacon sandwich for each of us.  After our longest stop so far (a mere 25 minutes!) we set off again (wearing fresh socks) in to the mist for the 5 mile notorious ‘boggy section’.  Our spirits were once again high as we knew we had now completed half the course and in actual fact the boggy section was quite good fun in comparison to the monotony of the previous section.  With sodden feet we arrived at checkpoint 4 at Hamer for a quick cuppa, refilling of water containers, words of encouragement from our supporters and words of warning from the locals who were out shooting grouse.  The next section was nearly 9 miles and was brutally tough.  In places there was simply no path – we were wading through heather, boggy areas and over some uncompromising rocky terrain.  For a lot of us this was the worst part of the walk partly due to the ‘ravine’ at 32 miles – a very steep descent into a valley, over some stepping stones in the river and an immediate climb out the other side.  The niggling pains started to become more noticeable and unbearable and our good spirits began to wane.  As we climbed to the top of the hill we saw Fylingdales and the road where our support vans were parked in a lay-by frying bacon for round two of bacon butties.  As we ate our bait and changed our socks again we felt very proud of our achievement so far and were spurred on by the thought that we only had 7 miles left to go – a 5 mile section and then the final 2 miles.  As we left Eller Beck and set off for the 5 miles to the Jugger Howe checkpoint we were sore and some of us were suffering quite badly with blisters and dodgy joints.  It was at the 35 mile mark that we saw the radio mast at Ravenscar signifying the end of our walk.  For some of us it was a real boost and for others it was terrifying as it seemed so very far away.  We soldiered on and our pace began to slow as the effects of the rough terrain and lack of sleep began to take their toll.  There was another ‘ravine’ at 36 miles involving another steep descent followed by a sharp ascent but some of our trusty supporters were waiting for us at the top with the offer of carrying our backpacks to the last checkpoint - they were certainly a sight for sore eyes and exhausted bodies.  The final checkpoint was at 38 miles and we did not stop – we merely dropped our bags collected a bottle of water each and carried on the two miles to the finishing mast at Beacon Howes. All 10 of us made it to the end even though there were times when we didn’t think we would but the camaraderie and team work ensured that we did what we set out to do.  Our support team tell me – and I quote:   ‘’there was an enormous sense of satisfaction seeing you all pull together, helping one another and keeping your spirits up, even though some of you were visibly and very obviously suffering.  Seeing such a diverse group of people (described by the support team as a “strange brew”) working together and supporting one another whilst still retaining your sense of humour  made our job of supporting you so much easier.’’   The walk took us 18 hours including our stops – pretty good for a bunch of amateurs!  We closely followed a couple of gentleman who are seasoned walkers and were never more than 10 minutes behind them at each checkpoint.  We feel an enormous sense of satisfaction and are very proud of our achievement, particularly given the conditions we endured at times.  We are also very proud of the money we have raised for our local good cause – The Herriot Hospice.  All in all I think it is fair to say that the FT Group Lyke Wake Walk 2011 was a complete success and an incredible experience that has left some of us saying ‘never again’ and some of us scouring the internet looking for our next challenge!   We would like to say a big thank you to: All who have sponsored us – your generosity has helped us smash our target! FT Group for supplying our support vans and provisions – you helped make it happen! Our Support Team – you were amazing and our success is in no small part down to you! All the walkers – we were amazing too!   <span style="font-family: Candara; color: blue; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Updated 23 August 2011 We woke to a beautiful day on Saturday 20 August, just the sort of day that is perfect for a long walk.  Tessa, Graham, Leonie (accompanied by Ronnie the dog) and Sarah gathered in the car park of Flatts Lane Country Park at 7.15am for a 7.30am start.  Ian Walker joined us also, unfortunately Ian cannot attempt the Lyke Wake Walk with us due to a prior engagement but came for fun!!  We all set off with enthusiasm and a little trepidation and began the ascent to Eston Nab – our first viewpoint of the day providing industrial scenes of Teesport.  After a brief stop to admire the view we carried on to Roseberry Topping for more stunning views, a distance check (provided by Tessa’s iphone app) and a well deserved sit down.  We had completed just over 6.5 miles and were feeling motivated to carry on so back down Roseberry Topping and up the steep hill, over moorland to Highcliff Nab and then through Guisborough Forest and back to the car park for some lunch.  The iphone came out for our second distance check and we were surprised to see that we had completed just under 16.5 miles!  (The 14.3 miles did not account for scaling the viewpoints or slight deviations due to our map reading skills).  We were feeling proud of our achievement so far and our bodies weren’t suffering too much so after lunch, a change of socks and a refill of our water containers we set off again to complete the walk in the opposite direction, without detours for views, in the hope that we could squeeze another 14 miles in before it got too late in the day.  In total we walked 30.7 miles in 11.5 hours over some challenging terrain and although it was tough at times I think I speak for all of us when I say it was an enjoyable day.  Our bodies haven’t suffered as much as we had feared they might and we have learned some valuable lessons from the ‘trial run’.  Overall we feel very encouraged after Saturday and are very much looking forward to the Lyke Wake Walk.     Updated 8 August 2011 It was suggested we got together prior to the Lyke Wake Walk and did a 'Pre Walk' therefore ‘some of us’ have chosen to do a 14.3 miles walk on the 20 August setting off from Roseberry Topping. The thinking is we park our cars in the car park, complete the walk, back to the cars for lunch and then re walk the walk in reverse equating to 28.6 miles a fair old distance and a very good marker for the 40 miles ‘some of us’ think this is totally mad, crazy and foolish and the 40 miles on the 10 September is quite enough for them and wont be joining in. We will let you all know how it goes and who were the wise ones ……     Members of the FT Group, based in Northallerton, are planning to tackle the famous Lyke Wake Walk across the North York Moors to raise funds for a local good cause.   The 15 strong team including walkers and support members, felt the 40 mile Lyke Wake Walk was a perfect challenge to stretch them both physically and mentally whilst giving them the opportunity to raise funds for a local community charity, Herriot Hospice Homecare.     The walkers, who are all employees of the FT Group's companies, Walter Thompson, Tom Willoughby, Langtons and Wares, are planning to embark on their expedition at midnight on the 9th September from Osmotherly and are targeting completing the grueling walk mid-afternoon the following day at Ravenscarr. In addition to the challenge, the group wanted to raise sponsorship for a good local cause and selected Herriot Hospice Homecare also based in Northallerton. Herriot Hospice provide care for terminally ill patients who wish to remain at home, in the Hambleton and Richmondshire areas of North Yorkshire. The team members are : Kyle Bezance, Mark Cairns, Steve English, Gary Foster, Tessa Harker, Kevin Hullah, Keith Noddings, Colin Pratt, Michael Robinson, Mike Sharp, Graham Shepherd, Leonie Smith, Sarah Oliver, Simon Thompson and not forgetting Ivor Goodsite!   Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - We raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.  So please dig deep and donate now