While the majority of competitors in the K2B and Coniston to Barrow walks are from Cumbria itself, some come from much further afield to take part.

There is always a sizeable turnout from other parts of the country, but there are even some who come from as far as Spain to participate, writes committee member Mark Curwen.

Sener Submariners have been doing exactly this for the last seven years.

Surely the first question to ask is how do a group of people from Spain find themselves traipsing through the Lake District every May?

As with many so businesses, the link starts with BAE, when in 2006 Sener started supplying the company with its CAD/CAM/CIM tool.

This connection resulted in Sener staff visiting the area regularly, often for months at a time and in some cases years.

While over here, they started walking in the Lake District in an effort to pass the time and it was not long before the Barrovians in the yard found out and started pushing them to enter the Keswick to Barrow.

Speaking on behalf of the Sener Submariners team, Fernando Sanchez explained how the Spanish walkers have become a key part of the group.

He said: “For the last seven years the Sener Submariners team has had Spanish representation, from three to six walkers at various times.

“We have all completed it at least once however currently Rodrigo Fernandez leads the way as he will be completing for the sixth time.”

When asked about the attraction of the event Fernando is full of praise for both the area and the event.

He said: “There are many things we love about the event, the way the community comes together and the strong feeling of solidarity during the event itself is amazing.

“You should all be so proud to participate in such a day.

“The scenery and landscapes of the Lakes are truly beautiful and a pleasure to walk through however the chance to raise so much money for charity is the main reason for all of us.

“It is astounding to see how much is raised for so many amazing good causes every year.”

As the group do not have deep roots in the area like many of those who participate in the K2B, they do not walk for a specific charity, instead they are happy for their money to go into “the pot” knowing that it will find its way to local, deserving communities.

One advantage Sener have over most of their fellow walkers is they get to train in a much warmer climate, something they take seriously.

“All of us know that to walk such long distances we have to train accordingly, and touch wood so far we have all completed injury free as a result,” he said.

“We did have a scare once though when one of our team took a tumble.

“We stopped at the first aid point and even though he looked a little pale we were shocked when the first aider checked his pulse and said his heart had stopped beating.

“A quick check again and thankfully our friend didn’t just look alive but definitely still was.”

With Sener’s connection to the event now firmly established they have this year decided the natural progression was to be involved in sponsoring the event. As Fernando points out “A few years ago the walk celebrated its 50th anniversary in the same year our software FORAN did the same, so in some ways we feel connected. Long live the walk.”