MORE than 100 people turned out at Tatton Park recently to celebrate the legacy of the Egerton family and help cement its future.

The Tatton Park Charitable Trust and The Egerton Schools’ Foundation organised a ‘Winter Walk’ through the estate on January 17.

Families were greeted at the Knutsford Entrance before embarking on the walk on Saturday afternoon.

The smaller children were given a ‘Winter Walk’ sticker when they reached the cattle grid and the older children continued to the mansion, where they were greeted with hot chocolate and a pass to explore the gardens.

The event helped to give children an idea of what pupils attending Egerton Primary School in Njoro, Kenya, have to go through every day and also raise money for an upcoming project with the sister school.

Alison Hooper, head of Egerton Primary School, said: “It was so special, walking such a long time in beautiful surroundings, enjoying each other’s company – many of the parents said they would definitely do it again.

“Children at the Egerton school in Kenya walk six to eight miles in one direction and our children walked about two thirds of that journey – it helps to give them some sort of understanding.”

The Egerton Schools’ Foundation has recently registered as a charity, allowing it to apply for different grants. Through The British and Foreign Schools Society, the foundation has applied for a grant which will help them develop a library at the Kenyan school and employ a teacher for non-readers and low literacy students.

Not only will the teacher be working with students directly to improve their literacy skills, but will also be training other teachers and engaging with parents and the wider community in the process.

Money raised through the ‘Winter Walk’ will go towards delivering this project. Speaking about the project, Alison said: “It’s really exciting, it’s quite groundbreaking work; nothing like this has happened in that area of Kenya. It is an opportunity to do something that others can learn from and develop.

“A huge thank you to those who came out to support this cause at the Winter Walk. We all had a great time; it was lovely and we were blessed with fabulous weather.”