Burley Explorers joined scouts from across Wharfedale who completed this year’s annual Torch Race up Otley Chevin.

The Torch Race is a fell race run in a relay from Otley town centre to the top of the Chevin and is competed for by Scouts and Explorers across Wharfedale. The winning team is the first team to ‘break’ the flag at the top.

All sections are inspected in uniform with The Burley Explorers and 1st Ben Rhydding Scout Troop being declared the joint smartest 

The Torch Race was first held in 1935 as part of the celebrations of the Silver Jubilee of King George V and Queen Mary. It was carried on that occasion by the Scouts of Otley from the Jubilee Clock in Otley to the summit of the Chevin. It was then used to light the Beacon on the Surprise View, which was one of a chain throughout Britain to celebrate the Jubilee.

After the 1935 celebrations, the torch was presented to the Scouts of Otley, and in May each subsequent year, the Scouts have arranged to hold a relay from the town centre to a flagpole placed on the site of the original beacon

http://www.ilkleygazette.co.uk/news/16231931.Scouts_light_Beacon_in_torch_race/