The right path

In this case, it is the spirit of endurance and self-sacrifice exemplified by more than 500 hardy souls who embarked on

the 62-mile Trailtrekker walk across the Dales. From Skipton, up Malham Edge and Penyghent, and across Langstrothdale and Wharfedale, they walked by day and night, attempting to finish the trek within 30 hours and raise hundreds of thousands of pounds for Oxfam in the process.

There were, of course, compensations for the gruelling effort involved, namely the unsurpassed beauty of the Yorkshire countryside on a weekend which, for the first half of the walk at least, offered warm and dry conditions.

There may be a host of pressing problems facing the world, but here was evidence that, in spite of a grave economic crisis, the people of Britain, far from letting their charitable instincts be stifled, will instead pack up their rucksacks and press on regardless.