Parish Walk
Encyclopedia
The Manx Telecom
Parish Walk (previously known as the Clerical Medical
Parish Walk until 2009, then Scottish Widows
Parish walk upto 2011) is a walking race that takes place on the Isle of Man
each year usually on the weekend nearest to the Northern Summer solstice
. It is the biggest walking event in the Isle of Man.
The Parish Walk is so called because the walk passes through every parish
on the Isle of Man, a total distance of 85 miles (136.8 km). Originally, walkers had to touch the door of each of the seventeen parish churches, but nowadays electronic timing chips are worn. A time limit of 24 hours is given, and there are cut-off times for reaching each stage.
Only a small proportion of walkers are expected to complete the full distance each year. Walkers may drop out at any of the stages, which correspond to each parish, with an official time and distance.
It was not until 1913 that the event took its current form when the Parish Walking Match was organised by the Isle of Man Times and the Manx Sporting Club. Although the outbreak of war prevented a repeat of the event the following year, it was revived in 1923.
in Douglas. Starting from the start line of the athletics track, competitors must complete 1 lap of the 400m track before leaving through the Marathon gates. They then proceed down the TT Access Road before doubling back to the first of the Parish Churches (Braddan). The churches are then visited in the following order;
The finishing line is on Douglas promenade by the War Memorial at the bottom of Broadway.
Manx Telecom
Manx Telecom is the primary provider of broadband and telecommunications on the Isle of Man. It was acquired by Telefónica in , but was sold to two private equity groups in 2010.- History :...
Parish Walk (previously known as the Clerical Medical
Clerical Medical
Clerical Medical is a British life insurance, pensions and investments company founded in 1824.In 1824, Dr George Pinckard formed a committee of physicians and members of the clergy which published a pamphlet called 'Prospectus for the Establishment of a new Assurance Office with Improved...
Parish Walk until 2009, then Scottish Widows
Scottish Widows
Scottish Widows plc is a life, pensions and investment company located in Edinburgh, Scotland, and is a subsidiary of Lloyds Banking Group. Its product range includes life assurance, pensions, investments and savings...
Parish walk upto 2011) is a walking race that takes place on the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
each year usually on the weekend nearest to the Northern Summer solstice
Summer solstice
The summer solstice occurs exactly when the axial tilt of a planet's semi-axis in a given hemisphere is most inclined towards the star that it orbits. Earth's maximum axial tilt to our star, the Sun, during a solstice is 23° 26'. Though the summer solstice is an instant in time, the term is also...
. It is the biggest walking event in the Isle of Man.
The Parish Walk is so called because the walk passes through every parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
on the Isle of Man, a total distance of 85 miles (136.8 km). Originally, walkers had to touch the door of each of the seventeen parish churches, but nowadays electronic timing chips are worn. A time limit of 24 hours is given, and there are cut-off times for reaching each stage.
Only a small proportion of walkers are expected to complete the full distance each year. Walkers may drop out at any of the stages, which correspond to each parish, with an official time and distance.
History
The challenge was seeded by a Manx Sun newspaper article in 1852 entitled "A summer's day Journey" recording a journey taken by the then Coroner, John Cannel, who covered 90 miles in 15 hours on horseback. The following year he followed a similar route, only this time on foot, visiting each of the Island's 17 parishes.It was not until 1913 that the event took its current form when the Parish Walking Match was organised by the Isle of Man Times and the Manx Sporting Club. Although the outbreak of war prevented a repeat of the event the following year, it was revived in 1923.
Fundraising
It is believed that the Parish Walk may be the largest annual fundraising event in the Isle of Man. However, as each participant is left to raise money themselves and for a charity of their own choice, no figures have ever been compiled. The organisers intend to try to assertain a rough figure for the first time in 2011. A section of the on-line application form has been set aside for participants to record the total amount of sponsorship raised along with the charities to benefit and are encouraged to update this after the walk.The Course
The Parish Walk starts at 8am at the NSCNational Sports Centre (Isle of Man)
The National Sports Centre in Douglas Isle of Man is a large multi-sports centre and athletics stadium. The NSC is owned by the Department of Tourism and Leisure of the Isle of Man Government and operated by the Manx Sport & Recreation....
in Douglas. Starting from the start line of the athletics track, competitors must complete 1 lap of the 400m track before leaving through the Marathon gates. They then proceed down the TT Access Road before doubling back to the first of the Parish Churches (Braddan). The churches are then visited in the following order;
- BraddanBraddanBraddan is an elongated parish in the sheading of Middle in the Isle of Man, stretching from the parishes of Michael and Lezayre in the north, bordering on the parishes of German, Marown and Onchan in the middle and bordering on Santon in the south....
Church (2 miles) - MarownMarownMarown is a parish of the Isle of Man in the sheading of Middle. Historically it was in the sheading of Glenfaba.-Parish:Marown has an area of approximately nine square miles and is the only parish on the island that does not border the sea at some point...
Church (4.5 miles) - SantonSanton (parish)Santon is a parish of the Isle of Man. It has an area of approximately eight square miles and is the island's smallest parish, located in the sheading of Middle which is composed of the parishes of Braddan, Marown and Santon. Currently the Captain of the Parish is Donald Gelling.The parish church...
Church (11 miles) - MalewMalewMalew is a parish in the Isle of Man. It is in the sheading of Rushen together with the neighbouring parishes of Rushen and Arbory.Malew parish covers an area from Langness Peninsula and Scarlett up to Foxdale, and includes the villages of Ballasalla, St Mark's and Derbyhaven. The area includes...
Church (15 miles) - ArboryArbory (parish)Arbory is a parish in the Isle of Man. The name is derived from "Kirk Cairbre". It forms part of the sheading of Rushen in the south of the island, and its main settlements are Colby and Ballabeg .-External links:*...
Church (17 miles) - RushenRushenRushen , formerly Kirk Christ Rushen , is a parish in the sheading of the same name in the Isle of Man. The parish is a fishing and agricultural district at the south-westernmost point of the island. The parish is one of three in the sheading of Rushen...
Church (19 miles) - PatrickPatrick (parish)Patrick is a parish in the sheading of Glenfaba, on the west coast of the Isle of Man.-Geography:The parish is a mountainous region including the northern slopes of the South Barrule; Slieauwhallin; and to the west, Dalby Mountain. Glen Rushen is located between Dalby Mountain and the South...
Church (30.5 miles) - St German's ChurchPeel CathedralThe Cathedral Church of Saint German or Peel Cathedral is located in Peel, Isle of Man. The cathedral is the parish church of the parish of German, which includes the town of Peel, and was built 1879-84. It was made the cathedral by Act of Tynwald in 1980...
, Peel (32.5 miles) - Kirk Michael Church (39 miles)
- BallaughBallaughBallaugh is a small village on the Isle of Man in the parish of the same name. It is the only village in the parish.-Village:The village is situated on the main A3 Castletown to Ramsey road about seven miles west of Ramsey...
Church (42 miles) - JurbyJurbyJurby is a parish in Micheal Sheading in the Isle of Man and has, according to the 2006 census 659 , residents.It is largely an agricultural district on the north-north-western coast of the island but also has an industrial park on the old RAF Jurby Airfield.The parish is one of three divisions of...
Church (45 miles) - BrideBride (parish)Bride , named after St. Brigid, is a parish in the Sheading of Ayre and lies in the extreme north of the Isle of Man. The parish lies to the east of Andreas and to the north of Lezayre, bordering the sea to the north and east...
Church (52.5 miles) - AndreasAndreas (parish)Andreas is a parish in the Sheading of Ayre lying in the north of the Isle of Man. It is one of three parishes along with Bride and Lezayre in the sheading of Ayre.-Geography:The parish stretches from Lhen Moar, along the north-western coast to Bride...
Church (55.5 miles) - LezayreLezayreLezayre is a parish in the Sheading of Ayre and lies central and north in the Isle of Man. The parish is bounded by Michael and Ballaugh to the west, Andreas and Bride to the north, the town of Ramsey and the parishes of Lonan and Maughold to the east, and Braddan to the south...
Church (61.5 miles) - MaugholdMaughold (parish)Maughold is a village and parish in the Isle of Man. It is named for Maughold, the island's patron saint.The village of Maughold lies on the coast some three miles from Ramsey, with mountainous terrain on its landward side. The parish includes most of the North Barrule, the second highest hill on...
Church (67 miles) - Lonan Church (78.5 miles)
- OnchanOnchanOnchan , is a village in the parish of Onchan on the Isle of Man. It is at the north end of Douglas Bay. Although administratively a village, it has the second largest population on the island, after Douglas, with which it forms a conurbation....
Church (83 miles) - Finish, DouglasDouglas, Isle of Manright|thumb|250px|Douglas Promenade, which runs nearly the entire length of beachfront in Douglasright|thumb|250px|Sea terminal in DouglasDouglas is the capital and largest town of the Isle of Man, with a population of 26,218 people . It is located at the mouth of the River Douglas, and a sweeping...
(85 miles)
The finishing line is on Douglas promenade by the War Memorial at the bottom of Broadway.
Past Winners
| Year | Name | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | Stan Cleator | 19.50.30 |
| 1961 | Henry Harvey | 17.10.17 |
| 1962 | Henry Harvey | 16.25.40 |
| 1963 | Joe Brown | 17.04.09 |
| 1964 | Henry Harvey | 16.21.06 |
| 1965 | No Race | |
| 1966 | No Race | |
| 1967 | Albert Johnson | 15.54.51 |
| 1968 | Leece Kneale | 16.05.52 |
| 1969 | Ian Hodgkinson | 17.11.25 |
| 1970 | Dudley Seddon | 17.21.49 |
| 1971 | Graham Young | 15.43.12 |
| 1972 | Derek Harrison | 16.19.15 |
| 1973 | Derek Harrison | 16.36.04 |
| 1974 | John Dowling | 16.40.07 |
| 1975 | Ted Warner | 18.49.52 |
| 1976 | John Cannell | 17.28.12 |
| 1977 | Steve Gardner | 19.11.01 |
| 1978 | Murray Lambden | 16.19.37 |
| 1979 | Derek Harrison | 15.20.51 |
| 1980 | Derek Harrison | 16.13.10 |
| 1981 | John Cannell | 16.15.11 |
| 1982 | John Cannell | 15.59.33 |
| 1983 | John Cannell | 16.31.38 |
| 1984 | Derek Harrison | 16.10.17 |
| 1985 | Willie Corkill | 16.29.31 |
| 1986 | Willie Corkill | 17.03.45 |
| 1987 | Willie Corkill | 16.58.33 |
| 1988 | Martin Lambden | 17.12.01 |
| 1989 | Charlie Weston | 18.17.55 |
| 1990 | Gordon Vale | 17.55.10 |
| 1991 | Charlie Weston | 17.46.58 |
| 1992 | Graham Young | 16.38.27 |
| 1993 | John Cannell | 16.11.11 |
| 1994 | John Cannell | 16.13.46 |
| 1995 | Brian Ashwell | 16.37.47 |
| 1996 | Lee Cain | 17.26.29 |
| 1997 | Chris Flint | 17.36.40 |
| 1998 | Richard Brown | 15.59.44 |
| 1999 | Chris Flint | 17.07.46 |
| 2000 | Peter Kaneen | 16.59.54 |
| 2001 | Robbie Callister | 16.59.27 |
| 2002 | Robbie Callister | 16.34.30 |
| 2003 | Peter Kaneen | 15.26.07 |
| 2004 | Robbie Callister | 15.26.31 |
| 2005 | Robbie Callister | 15.24.24 |
| 2006 | Sean Hands | 14.47.36 |
| 2007 | Robbie Callister | 15.36.47 |
| 2008 | Jock Waddington | 15.44.43 |
| 2009 | Jock Waddington | 15.45.56 |
| 2010 | Jock Waddington | 15.18.06 |
| 2011 | Jock Waddington | 15.01.48 |