Three Towers Hike

Last updated
Three Towers Hike
ThreeTowersHike-iHike.png
LocationBerkshire/Oxfordshire
CountryEngland
Date1978-
WikiProject Scouting fleur-de-lis dark.svg  Scouting portal

The Three Towers Hike is a Scouting-organised, downland hiking competition held annually in early spring, covering footpaths in West Berkshire and South Oxfordshire. It is organised by a team of scout leaders from Reading Central, Loddon, Taceham Hundred and Pang Valley Scout Districts, all of which are within the Scout County of Royal Berkshire of the Scout Association.

Contents

It is a competitive event, without an overnight camp (although teams must be equipped to bivouac if the conditions are severe enough to warrant it). It was first held as a senior event (Walkers over the age of 18) but now includes three other age groups.

Scheduling

The hike usually takes place on the second or third Saturday in April, but this may vary depending on the timing of Easter. The event accepts registration from 1 November the previous year. Following Covid the first return of the event is scheduled for 14th October 2023.

History

The first Three Towers Hike took place during the 1970s, when only the Senior event was available. Originally based around the North and West of Reading, the hike gets its name from the three large water towers that were passed.

In the 1980s the route was significantly altered to include more rural paths in West Berkshire and South Oxfordshire.

Since its beginning, the Hike has run every year with few exceptions, the most notable being in 2001 due to Foot and Mouth concerns and 2020-3 due to the Covid Pandemic.

Officially not against the hike rules at the time, one team on the 2002 Junior Event swam across the River Thames during the race after finding themselves several miles up stream of the nearest bridge. The team then went on to complete the event but were later disqualified and a new hike rule was added to prohibit this in future.

Events

The Hike currently comprises four different competitions, each of different lengths and following a slightly different route. The competitions are identified below.

Discontinued events

Routes and checkpoints

Hike route summary Three Towers Hike - route summary.jpg
Hike route summary

The hike does not prescribe a specific route for hikers to use. It publishes a series of checkpoints from which a navigation exercise will deduce the best route to take. In most cases there is usually one obvious path, however, there are some sections where a choice can be made by the navigator.

Event records

Records [1] do not include times before 2003.

Classic

CategoryTimeTeam/HikerYear
Fastest Team09:134 Years in the Making (63rd Reading)2015
Fastest All Female Team11:03Jenny and the Pacemakers2014
Fastest Individual (Full team didn't complete)11:04Callum Godding (63rd Reading)2010
Slowest Finishing Individual19:07Andrew Harvey, David Marshall2010

Explorer

CategoryTimeTeam/HikerYear
Fastest Team06:20It's all Callum's Fault (63rd Reading & 1st Finchampstead)2014
Fastest All Female Team09:30Team 121 (Loddon District)2007
Fastest Individual Female07:20Charlotte Judge2014
Fastest Individual (Full team didn't complete)09:01Ryan Guerin2011
Slowest Finishing Individual14:49Steven Milan, Jessica Paine2003

ScoutPlus

CategoryTimeTeam/HikerYear
Fastest Team05:54The Royal Academy Of Callum (63rd Reading & 1st Finchampstead Scouts)2013
Fastest All Female Team07:46No Name Yet (1st Reading YMCA Scouts)2011
Fastest Individual (Full team didn't complete)08:48Tanita Webb2010
Slowest Finishing Individual12:18Kieran Tarry, Graham Mott2010

Scout

CategoryTimeTeam/HikerYear
Fastest Team04:13Alexander Smith, Sam Moors, Dylan Jealouse, Joshua Taylor (1st Finchampstead)2014
Fastest All Female Team04:46The Muppets (1st Burghfield and Sulhampstead)2012
Fastest Individual (Full team didn't complete)04:51Mark Mills2003
Slowest Finishing Individual12:06Annie Jackson, Joseph Knight, Lee Dickinson2010

Jubilee Plus

CategoryTimeTeam/HikerYear
Fastest Team03:14Fiona Judge, Simon Hasler, Helen Hasler2013
Fastest All Female04:40Samantha Sale, Jenny Whitfield, Tracey Hand2013
Slowest Finishing Team06:27Dawn Garlick, Wendy Polden, Rachel Fitz-Desorgher, Jan Honey2013

Marketing and branding

The Three Towers Hike has adopted the Scout Association's branding style including the use of the SerifBlack font family in Scout Purple and Green. Its self-developed i.Hike brand has raised the event's visibility and is now recognisable as part of the hike's identification.

Tagline

The Three Towers Hike's tagline is "Outdoors, Challenge, Adventure". This was created to convey the core values of the competition.

See also

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References

  1. "Three Towers Hike 2012". www.hike.org.uk. Archived from the original on 2012-02-27.