Unofficial Beer Walk goes down a treat

BRAVEHEARTS: fancy-dress walkers get into the party spirit

DETERMINED followers of Saddleworth’s famous Beer Walk kept its spirit alive with an unofficial 11-mile jaunt round the pubs at the weekend.

The original event, organised by Saddleworth Round Table, was scrapped two years ago after 38 years of fund-raising. in 2011 alone it had raised £40,000.

The cancellation followed abuse by walkers who claimed to be riasing money for charity but pocketed it themselves. The escalating cost of a police presence was another factor.

at the weekend a team of beer walk fans led by Justin Brown and his sister Angie encouraged other locals on Facebook to join in once more, to build on their success of the first unofficial walk last year.

Justin (44), a joiner from Delph, said: “It was a great success and I think the event will snowball and keep on growing every year.

“There was absolutely no trouble — everyone came for a good time. They were all locals and we plan to keep it that way. We don’t want any troublemakers.”

Dave MacDougall, former chairman of the Saddleworth Round Table Beer Walk committee, said: “The walkers are to be congratulated. We hope the official walk will come back in the future — but in a different format.”