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Lyke Wake Walk Club

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Area: Osmotherley
Region: North Yorkshire Moors
County: Yorkshire
eMail: new.club@lykewake.org
Website: http://www.lykewake.org/

Activities:
Walking


Details:
Despite it’s somewhat terminal appearance …………………The Lyke Wake Club Lives on…………………………………………

The Lyke Wake Walk is a forty-mile crossing of the North York Moors from Osmotherley to Ravenscar essentially following the line of the watershed across the moors at its widest point.

Symbolised by its famous Coffin emblem, the walk and Club as set out by the late Bill Cowley in 1955 lives on.

Bill originated the concept of the walk with an open challenge in the Dalesman in August 1955 to cross the moors on foot from West to East within 24 hours. At noon on 1st October that year, 10 men and 3 women set out to perform a crossing reaching Ravenscar around 10.30 the next day. The Lyke Wake Club was born (derived from ‘Wake’ – watching over a corpse, ‘Lyke’ – the corpse itself). Anyone having completed, or even attempted the Lyke Wake Walk will be very familiar with its association with the theme of death! The emblem of the coffin associated with the Lyke Wake walk is no accident – and is, of course, totally appropriate as only those who have completed the walk will be fully aware.

Despite the fact that the Original Lyke Wake Club decided to close in October 2005, a number of current members believed that it is far too early for it to form the filling of a new tumulus on the North York Moors and, in line with current political thinking, formed the New Lyke Wake Club in order to maintain one of Britain’s oldest open challenge walks and the somewhat eccentric traditions of the ‘Wakes’, Degrees and other assorted rituals associated with the Club – as well as have a good time! For further information, please refer to the New Club Website.

New Lyke Wake Club.

The Lyke Wake Club, which is open to all those who have completed a crossing of the Lyke Wake Walk no matter when, collects information about the walk, furthers the interest of those who do the walk and encourages members to learn about the moors, its history and folk-lore. The New Lyke Wake Club has no subscription – membership being achieved by the completion of a crossing on for within 24 hours (entry by trial). The New Lyke Wake Club is run by Committee thus ensuring that the new ideas are always forthcoming and that the administrative workload is spread out over a dozen or so people - and we can actually have lives and even do crossings ourselves.

Wakes (gatherings of Club Members) are held periodically – the traditional dress being black. At these wakes, accounts of crossings are related to the ‘assembled’ - invariably associated with the consumption of good food washed down with appropriate beverage!

Significant funds are raised for assorted charitable causes by means of sponsored crossings organised by various groups.




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