Keswick to Barrow

It was the Keswick to Barrow walk today and it seemed to be the biggest event yet. It was amazing to see people actually arriving back running just after 10 am. I picked a few walkers up later in the day they were tired but justifiably jubilant at having completed the full tortuous forty mile route. Heroes’ every last one of them full credit to them. Pity about the lack of a proper taxi pickup point it was a struggle to get anywhere near the finish point and the exhausted entrants had to walk even further to be collected.” 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 the Victorian town of Barrow in Furness on the coast of the Irish Sea.
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 underway 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 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 the face of severe competition.”