Brother Marc Conquers the Viking Way
Bro. Marc Shackleton recently completed the Viking Way, walking approximately 148 miles from Barton-upon-Humber to Oakham while raising money for the Rutland Rotaract Family Support Centre.
Marc began the walk on Saturday 25th July, having travelled to Barton-upon-Humber the previous day, and completed the challenge at Oakham Library at 6pm on 1st August. The route took Marc through the Lincolnshire Wolds, which he described as one of the most picturesque parts of the journey. The walk was completed during particularly warm weather, with temperatures at times exceeding 30°C.
One of the challenges Marc encountered was finding places to replenish food and water along the route. Some of the villages he had planned to use as stopping points were considerably smaller than expected, with no shops or other facilities available. At Normanby le Wold, for example, Marc arrived after walking around 20 miles to discover only a handful of houses, meaning he had to continue to the next settlement.
There were also some welcome encounters along the way. On his third day, Marc arrived in Tealby at around 7am and stopped at The King's Head while waiting for the village to open. While there, he met the owner, Jayne, who chatted with him and kindly made him a cup of coffee. Marc particularly enjoyed the scenery, silence and solitude that came with spending eight days walking the route and being largely disconnected from everyday life.
The physical side of the challenge became increasingly difficult. Marc was carrying a bergen weighing approximately 25–30kg and the hard ground left the bottoms of his feet extremely tender. His bergen also rubbed badly against his lower back during the first day, although adjusting the straps helped with the problem.
By the midway point, Marc had settled into what he described as a "slow and steady but relentless" rhythm, generally beginning at sunrise and finishing around sunset to cover the required distance each day.
Marc was joined by friends from his Dungeons & Dragons group near Buckminster on the penultimate evening, who arrived with a very welcome Domino's pizza. They joined him for part of the following day's walk as far as Greetham. From Greetham, a former Army comrade joined Marc for the final section of the route, accompanying him to the finishing point at Oakham Library.
The walk was undertaken in support of the Rutland Rotaract Family Support Centre, with Marc initially setting himself a fundraising target of £1,000. With the support of friends, family and everyone who donated, Marc exceeded his target and raised a fantastic £1,093 for the charity. Marc said:
"Thank you to everyone who has helped, supported, donated and dragged me through this experience. Your support means more than you can imagine. Especially when everything seems to be going wrong, the temperatures are above 30°C, the pain is slowing the pace, the water has run out and it all seems endless, the support seems to give a second, third and even fourth wind. So thank you, again."
After finishing the walk, Marc said it took around three days to fully recover. He also reflected that the experience had helped him rediscover a level of physical resilience he hadn't needed for several years, while giving him the opportunity to enjoy being largely unplugged for the duration of the journey.
Despite initially describing the walk as a once-in-a-lifetime experience, Marc is already considering completing the Viking Way again next year, this time travelling from south to north. He is also looking for anyone who may be interested in joining him for parts of the route next time, or simply meeting him along the way for a coffee.
Everyone at the Vale of Catmos Lodge No. 1265 would like to congratulate Marc on completing the Viking Way and raising £1,093 for the Rutland Rotaract Family Support Centre, surpassing his original £1,000 target.
A fantastic achievement, well done, Marc!
