Arriva London and Maggie’s have come together to encourage people to ‘Walk the 38’ in 2012, in celebration of the route’s centenary and in order to raise money for Maggie’s – Arriva London’s partner sponsor for 2012. Maggie’s Centres provide emotional and practical support to people living with cancer.
Through the excellent and longstanding partnership the Skolars have with Arriva London the Skolars decided to undertake the challenge and support their chosen charity for 2012. On Saturday, members from the London Skolars community section, including junior players, took part in the ‘Walk the 38’. Below, Paul Thorman gives a step by step account of the day:
“Whilst rain was forecast for the walk, we set off to the start point at Clapton Pond. It was a tropical 16°c and with the weather in Britain being so reliable in October, we were set to stay dry throughout the day. As soon as we took our umbrellas out and pointed our (iPhone) compass south down Lower Clapton Road, we were off.
The usual athlete’s supplies of sandwiches, cake and Haribo were tucked away for when energy stores had depleted and replenishment was required. Needless to say, 5 minutes in and everyone had a mouthful of jelly babies. Arriva had generously spaced checkpoints every 200 yards or so (also known as bus stops) so that the group wouldn’t get lost, whilst we also relied on the maps (pictured) provided by Maggie’s to get us through the 7½m route.
The route was always going to be a scenic one as we were to be greeted by some famous London landmarks later on in the walk. However, it was a cultural trip as well as we saw two Banksy pieces; one on Essex Road and one on Rosebery Avenue and another culturally relevant sight in the brand new “Routemaster” bus which runs on the 38 route.
About halfway through the walk we begun to pass the traditional Monopoly properties of the Angel Islington and Pentonville Road with the route becoming more congested as we got towards central London. As we made our way through Piccadilly Circus and onto Piccadilly, we realised that we’d picked the same day to walk as the anti-austerity marches by various trade unions. Now, as we caught the tail end of the marches it meant Piccadilly was car free and we could walk right down the middle of the road making it a lot easier than dodging pedestrians! The finish line was in sight and as we turned left after Hyde Park Corner down Grosvenor Place and the Queen’s back garden. We arrived at Victoria Coach Station after about 2½ hours and straight into The Shakespeare for a well-earned pint.
The walk was a lot of fun and it’s a great way of raising valuable funds for a wonderful charity. There is no better way of seeing the sights of one of the world’s great cities whilst doing your bit and everyone at London Skolars is proud to be associated with Maggie’s.”
The find out more about the ”Walk the 38″ intiative click here, and for further information on the valuable work that Maggie’s do, click here.
