The Pathfinder March is an annual 46-mile (74 kilometre) long-distance walk around the County of

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The most common route is now recognised as Pathfinder Way Long distance walk. The March, which currently draws about two hundred and fifty to three hundred participants, is held to perpetuate the memory of the famous

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

Pathfinder Force The Pathfinders were target-marking squadrons in RAF Bomber Command during World War II. They located and marked targets with flares, which a main bomber force could aim at, increasing the accuracy of their bombing. The Pathfinders were norma ...

(8 Group) from the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Recent years have seen it become an international event with members of the US Air Force and Army, Canadian Air Forces (members of 405 Sqn - one of the only two remaining operational Pathfinder Force Squadrons) and the Danish, French and German Armed forces, although it was not possible in 2020 or 2021. The event starts and finishes at Royal Air Force Wyton, and is scheduled for the closest Saturday to the Mid-Summers Day. Due to the strenuous nature of this event, and the weather conditions a number of participants do not complete the course, although the percentage of finishers is increasing. There have also been more and more runners taking part The route has been modified since the Pathfinder March was first introduced in 1997, and no longer crosses the airfield as it is active during the event. Instead, the route now tracks from Warboys west to the village of Kings Ripton, before heading south and the RAF station. The route is signposted with way marker signs displaying the silhouette of a mosquito aircraft and is open all year as the Pathfinder Long Distance Walk.

The route

Entrants have 20 hours to complete the full 46 mile course. Walkers set off at 0400 hrs, whilst those wishing to run the distance start at 0800 hrs to allow time for the check points to be put in place at later stages of the route. All participants are encouraged to keep to the times set for the various stages of the course, otherwise they will not complete the course and be forced to retire. The route encompasses

RAF Wyton Royal Air Force Wyton or more simply RAF Wyton is a Royal Air Force station near St Ives, Cambridgeshire, England. The airfield is decommissioned and is now home to the Joint Forces Intelligence Group. History Flying station Wyton has be ...

Godmanchester Godmanchester ( ) is a town and civil parish in the Huntingdonshire district of Cambridgeshire, England. It is separated from Huntingdon, to the north, by the valley of the River Great Ouse. Being on the Roman road network, the town has a lo ...

, Graveley Airfield, Graveley,

Papworth Everard Papworth Everard is a village in Cambridgeshire, England. It lies ten miles west of Cambridge and six miles south of Huntingdon. Running through its centre is Ermine Street, the old North Road (now the A1198) and the Roman highway that for ...

Elsworth Elsworth is a village and civil parish in South Cambridgeshire, England, 9 miles northwest of Cambridge and 7 miles southeast of Huntingdon. At the 2011 census, the population was 726. It was one of only two sites in Cambridgeshire to be cov ...

Childerley Childerley, also known as Great Childerley and Little Childerly, was a small rural village in the county of Cambridgeshire in the East of England, United Kingdom. The population is included in the civil parish of Caldecote. Village history Chil ...

Dry Drayton Dry Drayton is a village and civil parish about 5 miles (8 km) northwest of Cambridge in Cambridgeshire, England, listed as Draitone in the Domesday Book in 1086. It covers an area of . History The ancient parish of Dry Drayton formed betwe ...

Oakington Oakington is a small rural Anglo-Saxon village north-west of Cambridge in Cambridgeshire in England, and belongs to the administrative district of South Cambridgeshire. Since 1985 the village has formed part of the parish of Oakington and Westw ...

, Oakington Airfield,

Longstanton Longstanton is a village and civil parish in South Cambridgeshire, England, north-west of Cambridge city centre. Longstanton occupies . Longstanton was created in 1953 from the two parishes of Long Stanton All Saints and Long Stanton St Michae ...

Bluntisham Bluntisham is a village and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 2,003. Bluntisham lies approximately east of Huntingdon. Bluntisham is situated within Huntingdonshire wh ...

Colne Colne () is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England. Located northeast of Nelson, north-east of Burnley, east of Preston and west of Leeds. The town should not be confused with the unrelated Colne Val ...

Somersham Somersham is a village and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England. Somersham lies approximately east of Huntingdon and north of St Ives. Somersham is situated within Huntingdonshire which is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire as ...

Warboys Warboys is a large village and civil parish in the Huntingdonshire district of Cambridgeshire, England, north-east of Huntingdon. Geology Igneous diorite rocks are located around 171–217 meters below ground at Warboys. Discovered in the ...

, Warboys Airfield,

Kings Ripton Kings Ripton (traditionally King's Ripton) is a village and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England. Kings Ripton lies approximately north-east of Huntingdon. Kings Ripton is situated within Huntingdonshire which is a non-metropolitan district ...

before finishing back at RAF Wyton. There are 8 Check Points for participants to report to and have their walkers/runners cards punched. A small section of the Ouse Valley Way is used on the Pathfinder March.

References

* {{cite book , last =Sugden , first =Gavin , title =A Walkers Guide to the Pathfinder March , year =2001 , isbn =1-900511-71-1

External links

Pathfinder March official website
Royal Air Force Challenge walks Culture in Cambridgeshire