MOTORISTS on the M61 this weekend may have seen a temporary tented village up on the hillside housing hundreds of scouts from across the North West and beyond who were taking part in the annual Pike View Hike Moorland Challenge Weekend.

The event — now in its 14th year — is organised by Bolton and Farnworth Scouts and based at Bibbys Farm Scout Camp and Activity Centre.

Eighty five teams of four navigated their way around one of three routes in Anglezarke and surrounding moorland areas of the West Pennine Moors – a 15km long route for Cub Scouts who walked with an adult, 21km for Scouts and 25km for Explorer Scouts.

Each route was split into sections by a number of checkpoints where teams completed a task unknown to them before arriving at each checkpoint.

Local scouts from the 25th Bolton did especially well this year with their Explorer Scouts winning the senior event the Bibbys Farm Yomp and their scouts taking joint first and also third place in the Pike View Hike.

The 25th Bolton Scout Group is based at Lostock Parish Church and has a history of success in this and similar events.

Another local team from the 20th Bolton came second in the Bibbys farm Yomp.

The 88th Manchester Cubs won 1st and 3rd places in the Pip Hartley Memorial Walk.

Roy Marston of the Pike View Hike Organising Team said: "The day started with a very early rise and breakfast to be ready for kit inspection by members of the Bolton Mountain Rescue Team and then route plotting.

"The first team left the camp site just before 7.30am, with other teams following at regular intervals.

"Over the next few hours the camp site gradually became deserted as more and more teams left to start their hike aiming for their first checkpoint where they were to carry out their first task of the day. "

Over the three events the range of tasks this year included tying knots in spaghetti, identifying international flags, lighting cotton wool using flints and strikers, crossing a ‘minefield’, finding spoof cub badges among real ones, reproducing a Lego model from memory, matching international scout uniforms to countries, carrying a measured amount of water between check points, finding grid references using Roman numerals, and word wheel anagrams.

Points were awarded which were then added to those gained through the team’s navigation and kit checks to ultimately find the winners.

As well as the young people taking part there were approximately 90 support volunteers filling a variety of roles from checkpoint staff, sweep teams, volunteers who provided the vital radio communications during the event, mini bus drivers, those manning hike control, Bibbys Farm staff, and members of Bolton Mountain Rescue Team.