"Since the first walk I would estimate that at least 700 pupils have participated; many of them for the third and fourth time.

I chose the location not only because it is such a beautiful walk but also because of the flora and fauna along the route. It is also extremely safe and has a very useful spot at about the five mile mark which is very convenient for our picnic.

Two of our school staff drive there to meet us armed with containers of iced water, refreshments and plasters!

For the most part we have been extremely lucky with the weather and have only had one complete washout. About three years ago we had torrential, driving rain from the start to the finish.

Interestingly this didn't put people off and they were just as keen to participate the following year. Other years I have been more concerned about the heat; but again the walk is ideal because much of it is leafy and offers protection from the sun at its hottest.

It also forms part of the pupils' education when we are able to teach sensible precautions, like insisting on hats and high protection sun cream as well as the necessity to take on plenty of water. So far so good we haven't had any casualties.

I feel it is important to encourage pupils to tackle the walk, many are afraid that they may find it too difficult but are encouraged by displays of photographs from previous years.

It is also good for them to appreciate how lucky they are to live in such a stunningly beautiful part of the world. Then there is the real reason behind it; to encourage our pupils to consider others less fortunate than themselves and to raise money to support their favourite charity.

Each pupil has to pledge to raise a minimum of £5 for their chosen charity. Many raise much, much more. We have a few pupils who have single - handedly raised in excess of £150 for a charity that they are involved in and one case this year where one of our pupils, Sian Butler raised almost £900 for the chemotherapy day unit in Shrewsbury having just completed a course of treatment at the centre.

This is an amazing achievement and Sian worked extremely hard to encourage her family to help her in collecting sponsorship. We are very proud of her achievement. Sian has suffered from arthritis so it was even more impressive that she was so willing to have a go."

Article by Siân Harris