Four Inns Walk
The
Four Inns Walk is held annually, usually at Easter, over the high moorlands of the Northern
Peak District and takes place mainly in
Derbyshire (with a short diversion into the neighbouring county of
Cheshire), in northern
England. Unlike the
Ten Tors, it is a competitive event, without an overnight camp (although teams must be equipped to bivouac if conditions dictate).
It was first held, as a Scout event, in 1957 but is nowadays open to other teams of experienced hill walkers.
From its start at
Holmbridge, the 45-mile walk visits the 'Isle of Skye' (now derelict), crossing the flanks of
Black Hill and then
Bleaklow to the 'Snake Inn', then over the
Kinder plateau to the 'Nag's Head' in
Edale. The route then wends its way via the
Goyt Valley to the
Cat and Fiddle Inn and finally descends to
Buxton.
The route is usually taken in teams of four, for safety reasons. Three Rover Scouts were killed in the
1964 event, when, travelling lightly laden and without support, they were overtaken by deteriorating weather. An MRC (
Medical Research Council) respiration and metabolism project, devised to identify the metabolic and biochemical basis for this tragedy, was performed during the 1965 event, with young volunteers.
In that year, when the event fell in mid-March, only some 22 of the initial field of over 200 finished (normally about two-thirds of the field finish, in times between 8 and 16 hours).
*
Ten Tors
