Bridgnorth Lions Walk 2017: Hundreds take part in charity trek - with pictures and video

The 51st annual event, this year renamed the Bridgnorth Lions Walk, was no exception, and not even the wet and windy start to the day could keep 630 walkers from enjoying the fantastic atmosphere at the starting line.

Beginning at Bridgnorth High Street, participants dressed up as dragons, mimes and a whole host of other wacky creations as they travelled to Cleobury North, up the Brown Clee and back through Ditton Priors for the home stretch.

Some of them had travelled from as far as Australia, America, Germany, and Italy to take part in an event, which regularly raises more than £100,000 for charity.

While some of them were raising money for national groups fighting dementia or cancer, more than a third of those taking part were collecting for something a little closer to home – Rupert’s Revenge.

Named for Rupert Beckett, a six-year-old pupil at Castlefields Primary School in Bridgnorth, the charity was set up to help fund treatment in America for his rare form of cancer.

The 200 strong group of supporters is the largest team in the walk’s history, and among those fundraising on the day was Dana Power, more recognisable as Puffina the Dragon.

“Rupert thinks the cancer inside him is a crocodile, which is why I’m carrying a crocodile for 22 miles,” he said. “We’ve got to stop the croc.”

But it was not the inflatable crocodile catching people’s attention – it was the 6 and a half foot tall, full dragon body suit.

As the 61-year-old walked to the starting point, he was stopped over and over by people – especially young people – looking to take selfies with him.

He said: “This is a local event, and it’s a brilliant atmosphere. It’s far tougher than a marathon.

“I usually wear the suit for Asthma UK, but people come to expect the dragon suit here in Bridgnorth. It’s where I do all my training. I’ll have to be careful not to run today!

“The attention is brilliant. The kiddies love Puffina.”

Puffina the Dragon was lucky she was not spotted by George Buckley’s knight.

The 53-year-old former memory service nurse dressed up in a knight costume to raise money in the fight against Parkinson’s disease.

“There’s eight of us walking and we just want to raise as much money as we can,” George said.

“I saw the devastating effect Parkinson’s can have on families. It’s great to get the awareness out there and raise funds for a good cause.”

Charley Roberts, from Telford, was part of Cirque du Sore Legs – a team of three dressed as mimes and taking on the Bridgnorth Walk for the first time. They were raising money for Dementia UK.

She said: “We had to come up with a team name and we thought Cirque du Sore Legs would be funny – because we knew we were going to end up aching.”

It was the first year that the Bridgnorth Lions Club have run the Bridgnorth Walk, and president Peter Parker said he hoped it would continue for many years to come.

“It was a fantastic, marvellous day,” he said.

“We’re really delighted with the turnout. Personally I’m blown away by the amount of helpers, supporters and volunteers who have been involved. Without them we’d be dead in the water.”

Although the first year had been something of an experiment for the Lions, Peter said he was happy with how things had gone and that he already has ideas for how to improve next year’s walk.

“We had no experience at all of running this walk,” he said.

“The Lions helped in the past at a water station along the route – we’ve never been involved in the High Street or at Ditton Priors. We’ve learned a huge amount.

“As a Lions club we’ll sit down in the next couple of weeks and go through every aspect and start to plan for next year.”

Peter said that their primary objective for their first Walk had been to ensure the safety of everybody taking part.

“The road closure aspect, from Bridgnorth to Cleobury North, has been a huge success,” he said. “It really reduced the level of traffic.

“Our primary objective was to safety, and that seems to have worked.

“Overall, we knew the day was going to be manic and it was. We’ve coped, and now we’re excited for next year.”

Peter said the number of people getting involved on behalf of Rupert’s Revenge was “unbelievable”.

A seven mile juniors course starting and finishing at Ditton Priors also took place.

Around 165 young people took part in the walk.

Reporter Mat Growcott was there to see the walkers off.