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3 EVENTS , 1 WEEKEND

The Three Towers Hike™ is a down-land footpath competition hike organised by Reading Central District Scouts with the assitance of neighbouring Taceham Hundred and Pang Valley districts. It normally takes place over the third weekend of March each year. The event is sponsored by Cotswold Outdoor.

The Three Towers Hike operates a series of concurrent events catering for different age groups. These are the 'Scout', 'Explorer' and 'Classic' events.

The first Three Towers Hike took place during the 1970's, long before many of today's competitors were even born. 2003 was the hike's 25th anniversary.

Only a few years have missed an event; most recently in 2001 when Foot and Mouth plagued the countryside and again in 2006 due to non-availability of resources.

The hike gets its name from its early days when the route passed three large water towers including Emmer Green in northern Reading. Today, Tilehurst Water Tower is the most noticeable and is the only remaining tower visible on the route!

The Hike is a team event with each team comprising 3 persons. Teams are usually constructed from hikers who are members of either a Scout group or another youth club or sports association. We accept entries from Scout and Guide groups, cadet forces, rambling clubs and local authority groups.

There are a number of different categories that walkers can be awarded trophies in. Trophies, certificates, badges and prices are awarded on the following Sunday morning

Classic Event

The Classic event (previously known as the Senior event) covers, depending on the exact route taken, a distance of 43-45 miles (about 70km) around the Berkshire countryside to the west of Reading in sections on the downs.

The Classic Event is the 'main' event for the serious walker and starts at breakfast time on the Saturday. Hikers have to walk 70km passing 15 checkpoints.

The event is open to anyone over 16 including older Explorer Scouts, members of the Scout Network, Leaders and Scout Fellowship. The event is also open to walkers who are not members of the Scout Association, for example, members of the Long Distance Walking Association, participants on the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme, Army and Air Cadet units, and groups of individuals who are just interested in hiking.

Explorer Event

The Explorer event covers a distance of some 28 miles / 45 km . This was introduced in 2003 and has proved to be popular.

The Explorer Event is the 'intermediate' event and starts mid-morning. Hikers have to walk 42km covering the latter two-thirds of the Classic event route. The event is primarily aimed at Explorer Scouts over 13½ but under 18 years.

Scout Event

The Scout event (previously known as the Junior event) is a scaled down version of the hike covering a distance of about 15 miles / 24km running concurrently with the main Hike event and is intended for younger people.

The Scout Event is the 'younger' event and starts after breakfast. Hikers have to walk 24km covering the first one-third of the Classic event route. The event is exclusively for Scout section members of secondary school age Scouting in Berkshire.