"Crumpled, tatty maps are the most important mementos, getting those little stickers are more valuable than gold on the day!"
Mud fights, nun outfits, wasp swarms and cow encounters – there are 38 years' worth of amazing stories of the iconic walk that has become synonymous with Stroud. Let’s delve into a few of them in the run up to this year’s event.
Jane Wells MBE is one of the founding members of the meningitis movement in the UK after her son contracted meningitis in an outbreak in the early 1980s. Only a year after cofounding the Meningitis Trust (which later became Meningitis Now), Jane reached out to one of the first fundraisers for the charity, Aleck Miskin, who was a keen walker, to create an outdoor fundraising event.
Aleck hiked the highways and byways of the Stroud Valleys to put together a route very similar to the one we still use today. The Five Valleys Walk was born!
Jane says, “Those were hectic early days, very different from today! We had lost children, lost dogs, and groups of young kids walking together. I remember the wasp nest in Randwick woods which was swarming. We created a diversion but I’m sure a few people got stung!
Dressed as nuns
“There were the pumpkin pies at checkpoint one, the years of truly terrible weather. People dressing up like the Lewin brothers who came dressed as nuns in 2001.
“The walk has changed a little over the years, mostly to avoid private rights of way. The bus service has been and continues to be the lifeline that makes the whole event possible – without it people might not do it.”
Members of Chris Sillett’s family have been taking part in the event since 2000 after losing Chris’s son Andrew to meningitis, aged just 19.
Chris says; “My extended family wanted to help raise much needed funds to promote awareness and this seemed like an event Andrew would have approved of as he was outdoor mad.
Hooked straight away
“We were hooked straight away. In 2019, on the 20th anniversary of his passing, our extended family had 28 members take part all linked to a Just Giving page. We raised loads of cash and all we had to do was walk… and walk…and walk.
“If you can do that why not give it a go. It’s not for the feint hearted but you don’t need to do it all. Some sections are wheelchair and pushchair friendly. Pick your distance, register, turn up, ENJOY!
In our time we have had loads of laughs. We have literally come face to face with surprisingly large (but friendly) cows. We have tripped over blades of grass, tripped over somebody else’s dogs, disappeared into cornfields that were above our heads, got lost, found our way again, got wet, dried out, repaired somebody else’s boots, treated other people’s blisters, even lifted somebody else’s bloodhound through a v-shaped stile… twice!
“We have no bad memories (well maybe the climb up to Minchinhampton Common) and loads of good ones. What’s not to like?”
Community Ambassador, Alison Walker, has been manning a Five Valleys Walk checkpoint for seventeen years. She sadly lost her daughter, Hannah, to meningitis in 2003 when she was eight months old. She and her family hold special memories of the walk over many years.
“Our first FVW was 2003 and a whole load of family and friends walked all or part of it. I remember Muriel Brooks and her team selling homemade sandwiches and cakes, plus Bob, her husband, would sell cider and the odd beer from a makeshift bar in his garage!
Mega mile with Monty
In 2004 my daughters Isa and Emma took part in the Mega Mile on Minchinhampton Common with Monty the mascot. Our dog Toffo also became a veteran of the FVW!
2005 was the first time I walked the whole route, having persuaded my parents to look after the children. In 2006 I walked the whole route again. We started from Woodchester checkpoint to ease the legs in before the hill after Nailsworth!
In 2007 I made my debut as a checkpoint volunteer and I got the best one, Honeyhill! Isa and Emma came with me and we spent the whole day welcoming walkers and handing out the precious stickers for maps and certificates for finishers.
Over the next seventeen years I’ve manned a checkpoint accompanied by varying numbers of children, friends, friends of children and staff from the charity. When the Honeyhill checkpoint closed, I was sent to Pitchcombe and I’ve stayed there ever since.
Extremely rewarding
Manning a checkpoint isn’t easy, but it’s also great fun. It’s a long day, but extremely rewarding. I always see someone I’ve trekked with, listen to people’s stories and meet a lot of dogs.
I have Hannah’s teddy bear at home, with the badges we used to receive for completing the whole walk, proudly recording our early achievements. I also recently found clippings in Isa’s memory box of the 2012 Stroud Life article titled, “Girls walk in sister's memory”, along with two worn maps recording years completing the 21 miles. This sums much of the FVW up for me - crumpled, tatty maps are the most important mementos, getting those little stickers are more valuable than gold on the day!
These stories, and many more similar memories from intrepid participants over the years, make up the rich history of the Five Valleys Walk that people hold so dear.
If you want to join the incredible people that walk the five valleys to raise awareness and funds for Meningitis Now, and to make amazing memories for you and your family, you can sign up here. You can choose any distance that suits you between any of eight checkpoints, covering anything from 1.5 miles to the full 21. The now infamous free bus service will take you back to your starting point.
