The Five Church Walk, 7th May 2018

The Five Church Walk 7/5/18 - (originally written on 11th May 2018 for Chilham Parish News).

The weather forecast was that it would be the hottest early Bank Holiday Monday on record. We feared this might put some walkers off, but in fact the total number & the money banked was only slightly down on last year as the following table shows:-

Chilham £2,019 (£2’057) walkers 184 (205)

Godmersham £320 (£415) walkers 32 (32)

Boughton Aluph £1,112 (£949) walkers 84 (82)

Challock £828 (£1,331) walkers 55 (63)

Molash £830 (£800) walkers 83 (77)

Total £5,109 (£5,552) walkers 438 (459)

But numbers only include the walkers who register as the donor, and they often have families (& dogs) in tow, so the actual totals would be much higher than shown. Also the direction of the route indicated by red arrows was the opposite direction to last year which probably affected where some people started, so the figures for each church are not necessarily comparable, and only the totals give a true indication.

Despite the heat which clearly increased the time taken to complete the 16 miles circuit, everybody seemed to be in good spirits and clearly relished the home-made refreshments on sale at each church. So we can count this year’s walk as another great success, with many of the first time walkers wanting to take part in next year’s.

Of course the five churches, also the Pilgrims Hospices and Kent Air Ambulance Trust, have come to count on the Five Church Walk for the distribution usually made in August when tax has been reclaimed on gift aided sums while the churches have already benefitted from takings for refreshments. So thanks to all involved!

Chris Godfrey. Five Church Walk Treasurer