Record number of walkers for Boundary Walk 2025
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On Sunday 7th October a record breaking 618 walkers participated in the 13-mile Maidenhead Boundary Walk, organised jointly by Rotary in Maidenhead.
The sun shone over the walkers and collectively they raised over £22,000 for 46 different charities. As a result of the success of the event an additional £3,000 was able to be donated to two nominated charities – Thames Valley Hospice and Age UK Berkshire. It was a privilege to welcome our local MP Joshua Reynolds and the Mayor of RBWM Mandy Kaur Brar and representatives from the chosen charities to set the walkers off. Our Maidenhead Rotary club provided many of the marshals on the route to keep participants on track, and Past President Matthew Burdett managed to run the entire 13 miles. This event continues to go from strength to strength after 43 consecutive years. It really shows the power of a local community coming together to make a positive difference. |
Brunel's Sounding Arch, one of the many interesting points on the route
Past President Matthew at the Bray river crossing
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Makindu Dental Project team on the towpath by the river
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Club member Gurdip Bahra and his team, who raised £2,540 for Makindu Dental project and Chachoki Eye Camp, club charities now in their 16th year.
2024 Boundary Walk commemorated the 90th anniversary of the Borough of Maidenhead’s Boundary Stones
Ann Darracott of Maidenhead Civic Society holds a sixpence and a small bag while Eddie Piekut of Maidenhead Bridge Rotary holds the model mace and the mini certificates that include an explanation of what a sixpence is.
In 1934 the Borough of Maidenhead ordered 48 boundary stones to be placed round the newly expanded boundary of Maidenhead, today 31 stones remain and the search for others continues.
In 2024 the Rotary Clubs of Maidenhead and Maidenhead Bridge, who organise the annual Boundary Walk, with support from Maidenhead Civic Society, organised a special event to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the boundary being marked. The organisers repeated what was done when the boundary was walked in 1963 when participating children were given a souvenir sixpence as part of a 'Beating the Bounds' ceremony. Ninety children who participated in the 2024 Boundary Walk on Sunday 6th October, |
received a small bag containing a sixpence and a numbered certificate that included images of the 1934 sixpence, bearing the head of the then King, George V and an explanation of what a sixpence was. This coin was part of the Imperial system that was replaced by the Metric System in 1971. These coins were collected thanks to publicity in the Advertiser and the Civic Society newsletter and the generosity of those who donated the sixpences.
The annual event sees hundreds of walkers raise thousands of pounds in sponsorship as they retrace the traditional 13-mile path of the old Maidenhead Borough, or a shorter family friendly 2.5-mile route. Preserving the Maidenhead heritage Earlier in 2024, with some careful planning, a Boundary Stone embedded in a garden patio was moved to a place nearer the actual route of the walk. This left two other stranded Boundary Stones to preserve. One of them – Boundary Stone 18, was in use as a step in the garden of a private house. Due to its location and limited pavements on the nearby roads, there was no convenient place to re-erect this stone safely. So, it was going to be be temporarily housed in the Maidenhead Heritage Centre. Mace matters To help publicise the 90th anniversary of the 1934 placement of the Maidenhead Boundary Stones, a full-size facsimile of the 1604 Maidenhead Mace used on the previous 'Beating on the Bounds' has been made. This small 32.5 inch long mace was traditionally used to tap each boundary stone to keep the evil from our boundaries. |
Interactive info board tells Boundary Walk story
Maidenhead Rotarians with the Boundary Walk information board at Boulters Lock