In July 1975, following a year five finishing party in Swanley, four 16-year-old St Mary’s lads boarded a coach at Victoria station and headed north to Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

 The boys – Pete Linnett, Andrew Carmichael, Tony Damer and Phil McCarthy – were making their way to the northern start of the The Pennine Way with the intention of walking south over the following two weeks:

 Pete recalls: “It was a blisteringly hot summer and the going was tough. Illness hit the party and took its toll.  Four set out but only two made it to the end.”

 The four friends had often discussed doing the walk again and last month, some 46 years after the first trek, they did so.

When the group met on the train platform in Edale, Derbyshire last month, it was the first time they had met as a whole group for 44 years. Their intention was to walk the first four days of the Pennine Way in celebration of their mid 70s adventure.

This time the weather was rather grim as they embarked on the 63-mile south to north walk from Edale to Cowling. But things got better as they caught up with their lives since leaving their old Sidcup alma mater.

Pete told InOmnibusLabora: “The weather improved after the first day and the walking was very pleasant and convivial. Evenings were spent in the bars and restaurants of various hostelries along the trail, reminiscing about old times at school and the original Pennine Way trip, even though memories of the first trip were hard to recall clearly. There was plenty of laughter and enjoyment.”

The trip was such a success that Pete, Andrew, Tony and Phil are planning the next stage of the Pennine Way in the spring of 2022. Who knows? They may even finish it before not too long.

Phil of course is an inveterate walker and he has been featured a couple of times on this site. Check out his books Rome Alone and The Dusty Roads of History here. They document the two extraordinary walks he has undertaken for charity.

• On Saturday 23rd October, no fewer than 21 old St Mary’s boys from the 1970 intake are meeting for an evening reunion dinner at the Boot and Flogger wine bar at London Bridge. It should be quite an event. We hope to be able to bring a couple of pictures from the evening.