Bubble Boundary Walk hailed a resounding success

This year’s Rotary Boundary Walk, which took place in a new ‘Bubble’ format due to Covid-19 restrictions, has been declared a resounding success by organisers.

Nearly 200 people took part in the 12-mile charity sponsored walk over three weeks in October, raising more than £7,000 for a range of good causes.

The event takes its name from the tradition of ‘beating the bounds’ - an annual walk around the boundary of the old Maidenhead Borough – and follows the same route.

Usually it sees about 600 participants setting out on a single Sunday in October to walk a fully marshalled route with checkpoints and road crossings manned by Rotarians.

But this year, due to social distancing rules, walkers were given a three-week window to complete a non-marshalled route in ‘bubbles’ of up to six people, such as families or charity groups.

“We were absolutely delighted with how the ‘Bubble’ format worked,” said organising committee chairman Jim Howles. “With the Boundary Walk impossible to run in the normal way, having 200 people still take part and raise so much money for charity in such a difficult year is a fantastic result.

“Lots of charities rely on it as a major fundraiser and we were determined to find a way for it to go ahead despite the restrictions.

“We’d like to say a huge thank-you to all the walkers who took part and to the Louis Baylis Trust and Shanly Foundation for their support.”

The Boundary Walk is jointly organised by Maidenhead Rotary Club and Maidenhead Bridge Rotary Club. They hope that by next year it will be able to return in its usual format but are thinking about introducing a longer window for walkers who are unable to take part in the main event.

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