150-mile walk to raise funds for Dobcross Silver Band’s National Finals trip

A DEDICATED team is putting their best feet forward over 150 miles to raise money for Dobcross Silver Band’s trip to Cheltenham for the National Finals.

Band President John Holden came up with the idea of doing the sponsored walk around Dovestone Reservoir, in Greenfield, to tie in with the band’s 150^th anniversary this year.

He will be part of a team of 12 stepping out on Sunday, August 10, hoping to complete the challenge in six hours.

Money raised will help to cover the band’s costs for the National Finals in September, which include a £450 entry fee, around £2,000 for a coach, and other expenses.

John, who completed a similar walk in 2022 when the band also qualified for the Finals, explained: “We were thinking about raising money for the band’s trip to Cheltenham so I said I would do a sponsored walk again.

“I thought I wanted to do it slightly differently this time. The band is 150 years old this year so I came up with the idea to do a 150-mile walk.

“One member of our team does a lot of running so he said he will run five laps.

“I have looked at the weather forecast and it’s meant to be about 23-24 degrees but hopefully not too hot!”

Dobcross Silver Band qualified for the National Finals after winning the 3^rd Section at Blackpool, coming top out of 18 bands.

John aims to raise around £1,000 to £1,500 to help cover the band’s costs. His 12-mile sponsored walk in 2022 raised more than £1,200 for the band’s trip to the National Finals.

He said: “Sponsorship is going really well and we’ve had a lot of donations from regulars and friends.”

John was steward at Dobcross Band Club, on Platt Lane, for 39 years until he retired in 2023, and he still helps out with the cellar for a few hours a week.

The Band Club was recently named Greater Manchester CAMRA’s Club of the Year and has qualified for the ‘National Club of the Year’ award, to be announced in November.