The 2009 Event Organising Group
Mike Marsh Chairman	David Pryar Treasurer	Steve Fletcher Secretary	Ray Johnson	Duncan Haslam	Mark Chapman	Sue Whittle	Andy Ryding	Paul Mather District Commissioner	Norman Theaker District Chairman

The "Pike View Hike" was originally conceived way back in late 2000, as the brainchild of 6 Scouters from Bolton: Paul, David, Duncan, Brian, Ray and Steven. We set about planning an incident hike for Scouts, located in the area of Rivington Pike, a local moorland landmark. The event was to be run in April 2001, but sadly we had to cancel just a few months before due to the nationwide outbreak of Foot & Mouth disease.

All was not lost, and we got together again at the end of 2001 and started to plan for the an event in April 2002. After nearly 6 months of planning, comprising of never ending "test walks", setting the checkpoints, organising the support teams, getting Mountain Rescue & RAYNET teams involved, hiring minibuses, and of course, publicising the event to the Scout community, we held the 1st Pike View Hike with 13 teams of 4 Scouts each. Much to our surprise, the event seemed to go quite well! Everyone enjoyed themselves, and we received some fantastic comments from the competitors, and their leaders.

After a short break of 4 months or so, the 6 of us re-grouped and began to plan for April 2003. For this event, we decided to open our doors to a wider audience, and opted to run parallel events for teams of Cubs and Explorer Scouts. These events were named the "Pip Hartley Memorial Hike" (in memory of a Scouter from Bolton), and the "Bibby's Farm Yomp". 17 teams entered across all 3 events, and this time, things ran even smoother than the previous year. Our profile grew too, with entries from Horncastle, Lincolnshire!

Strangely (and much to the annoyance of some leaders), we hadn't yet managed to loose any teams over the course of the weekend.

2004
Again, building on the success of 2002 & 2003, the same 6 organisers came together for the 3rd time, and in April 2004 we ran an event with a whopping 26 teams, some travelling from as far away as Leeds and Lincoln. The good word must be spreading! The weather held off during the 3 hikes (again!). and everyone got back to base safe & well after a VERY long day. The first teams were up for a "kit check" at 7AM, and the last team arrived back at the campsite at 7PM.

2005
To say we were amazed at the response to this year's event is an understatement. 39 teams entered the three events (BFY: 12, PVH: 15, PHM: 12), and they were amongst first ever people to camp at Bibby's Farm Scout Campsite. Having to deal with the masses of mud after two solid days of rain prior to the event made the on-site conditions more than just a little muddy, however!

Having so many teams meant that we had teams on the course from 07:45 until more than 13 hours later - the last teams arrived back at around 21:00 in the evening. The weather made interesting walking too - we've never had to deal with rain on the day in the 3 previous years.

Despite all this, the sweep team was kept fairly quiet considering that there were 168 competitors on the course at the start of the day, with only 10 competitors retiring whilst on route. The standard of navigation appeared to have improved as well!

2005 marked the first time we ran the event from Bibby's Farm and obviously the whole event was a learning exercise for us all over again - getting used to a brand new campsite as well having as a massive increase in entries was a challenge for us all.

2006
A staggering 53 teams entered (BFY: 10, PVH: 23, PHM: 20), with the first Explorer Scout team departing at 06:42 in the morning, and the last Scout team arriving back at 20:03 that night. A total of 11 checkpoints were manned by our volunteers and 232 walkers started the hike.

2007
Yet another fantastic turn out, with now 56 teams competing in the events. The weather was varied but thankfully with a pleasant finish to the day.

The Bibbys Farm Yomp was dominated by teams from nearby Bolton with 20th Bolton South grabbing first and third places, and 25th Bolton South taking second.

In the Pike View Hike 4th Bramhall won comfortably with 25th Bolton South in second and 17th Sale taking third.

The Cub teams partaking in the Pip Hartley Memorial Walk had 25th Bolton South securing first, followed by 33rd Bolton South and 7th Ramsbottom claiming third.

(BFY: 12, PVH: 25, PHM: 19)

2008
With a whopping 60 teams competing in the event this April (BFY: 12, PVH: 26, PHM: 22) our work was cut out, and the sweep teams managed to get a serious workout. With a total of 12 checkpoints we would like to offer all of our thanks to the vast amount of adult support we received.

October was also our inaugural event for the adults, with the aim of letting them know that it's not as easy as the young people pretend. A grand time was had by all and thanks to the "fundraising" ale post hike the aches and pains were delayed for at least a day.

2009
This year saw a massive 72 teams taking part (BFY: 12, PVH: 30, PHM: 30) and the largest event to date. Thankfully the weather was good and only rained in a brief shower. Another lazy year for our sweep teams showing the work that all the competitors put in to the event before hand is not wasted. With 13 checkpoints being manned and supported by volunteers and members of RAYNET we would like to offer our thanks yet again, without this assistance the event could not be run. Also thanks to the BMRT for providing backup and safety checks, for another year.