The ‘Tour of Bradwell’ is a self-navigating race around the beautiful Dark Peaks. There are two races ‘Half Tour’ 16 miles with 3000ft of ascent and ‘Full Tour’ 33 miles with 6300ft of ascent. I decided to go for the ‘Half Tour of Bradwell’ to start testing my navigational skills.
The drive alone to Bradwell was beautiful so I knew I was in for a treat with stunning scenery and I certainly was not disappointed. The start of the race was in the village park and with a countdown of 3,2,1 and with a honk of a clown comedy horn we were all off. There are 7 Checkpoints to reach throughout the race and most of the runners were together at Checkpoint 1 and equally all took the wrong turn after this point.
After 1 mile someone realised and this was when I realised I had broken Rule No 1 or Self-navigation, never follow the person in front of you in case they have taken the wrong turning! The race continued through Castleton, Hope, Aston, Thornhill, Hope Valley and back to Bradwell and with only 1 other episode of getting lost were I ended up on a Quakers private garden, I made it back in one piece and loved every minute of it, even the stinger hills!
The Finish was met with Tea, Flapjack, Soup and an unexpected prize of a bottle of wine. A great race with a very friendly group of people.
The Full Tour will be a must next year. Anyone else??
[Katie]