Miglia Quadrato The End of an Era
Sadly, 2019 saw the running of the very last Miglia Quadrato, the fifty-ninth event. At the beginning of 2020, preparations were well underway for that year’s event, which would have been the sixtieth. Agreement had been reached with all the relevant authorities, paperwork completed and fees paid. A new map had been produced and drafting of the route had commenced. [Traditionally we have referred to a ‘Route Card’ although the relevant Act decrees that there must be no set route. However, each competitor will traverse their own route and so the use of the term ‘route’ is justified.] Then covid-19 struck and, even before lockdown was imposed, we immediately decided the only responsible course was to cancel the event. At that stage we were – for the reasons discussed below – debating whether this was to be the Final Miglia Quadrato or whether that might be the following year. In anticipation, we had begun devising a special celebratory ‘final’ route card that would have been both especially challenging and a tribute to the history of past events that spanned seventy years. After the first cancellation, we felt we should publicise the next event as the final one. Alas, that was not to be. It was difficult to be sure when we might next be able to run the Miglia. With great reluctance, UHULMC, having devised this unique event way back in the 1950s and run it in almost every year since, has reluctantly concluded that it is no longer viable to continue running the event in a manner that would honour its traditional past. Over the past seventy plus years, the City has changed considerably. Our event requires competitors to travel by vehicle, regularly stopping to search for clues. It is our responsibility that this is done in a manner that does not adversely affect other road users or people living or working in the City. We have strived to ensure cars may be sensibly and legally stopped close to clue locations. With the increased parking and traffic restrictions (with 24 hour enforcement) this has become ever more difficult. Many crews are finding it easier to park a vehicle and move around on foot – contrary to the fact that it is a ‘motoring’ event. Unattended vehicles are sometimes seen as a security risk, which is why in past years we required a crew to remain in sight of their transport. Parking locations is not the sole issue: road closures, building and construction works (which are concentrated upon weekends) combine to make motor competition difficult and overly frustrating. Planning for these is a logistical nightmare – we take account of all scheduled closures and diversions, but often these overrun or are extended at short notice. Then there is the increased nightlife, which has also resulted in many difficulties - with competitors sometimes trapped by other traffic, especially those near various night clubs. The introduction of ULEZ has been detrimental to those competitors with older vehicles. City life has also changed - residential areas are growing and severely limiting the areas in which we can operate - this is not just the larger residential properties but the upper floors of many smaller commercial premises that are occupied and curtail nearby activities. We have always been very conscious of the need to avoid disturbing residents and our long experience of the City has aided this: we know where caretakers may sleep, where bedrooms front a wall with enticing inscriptions, which pubs are inhabited. Torches shining through windows can be disturbing and alarming. We have needed to judge how far competitors may search, where they might misread a map … Some seemingly innocuous buildings can be sensitive in other ways – we have needed to be aware of where security guards might be on high alert. Many roads are very busy thoroughfares and we have tried to minimise the need for competitors to traverse them, certainly not requiring them to stop and hunt. Many apparently open areas are actually privately managed and so must be avoided unless permissions have been sought. It has been ever more difficult to find a start location that can host a significant number of vehicles. There has also been increasing red tape in organising such an event and this has compounded our difficulties. All that is logistical – but what of the clues? Every year it is harder to find new or novel clues that meet our criteria. Sadly, we have had to relax and adapt these – no longer are all clues historic or truly interesting! We pride ourselves in rarely revisiting a clue in the medium or difficult categories. But we also have to consider the distribution and to have clues in each category spaced around the usable areas of the City. Hopefully, this web site will be updated in the future with tales of earlier years so people may understand how the City has changed, how the Miglia Quadrato evolved. We have had to recognise - albeit with considerable reluctance - that the City is no longer able to host an event such as ours with the numbers of entries we need for it to flourish. It would not have survived so long without its loyal entrants – we are grateful to them all for their support. Thus, it is that we say Farewell to the Miglia Quadrato. We hope there are many fond memories of the event in its heyday. It is with great sorrow we made this decision and know many will be disappointed. We are truly sorry to disappoint you and can assure you our own disappointment is tinged with genuine sadness. Hopefully, it is not the end for our involvement with the City - it is still a great place to explore, although on foot it is so much easier. Thus, we are hoping to resume our sister event - the Londinium Pedo - in the near future. Leave the car at home and give it a try - we are sure you will enjoy it and find a similar challenge. The Committee, UHULMC 2024
Miglia Quadrato The End of an Era
Sadly, 2019 saw the running of the very last Miglia Quadrato, the fifty-ninth event. At the beginning of 2020, preparations were well underway for that year’s event, which would have been the sixtieth. Agreement had been reached with all the relevant authorities, paperwork completed and fees paid. A new map had been produced and drafting of the route had commenced. [Traditionally we have referred to a ‘Route Card’ although the relevant Act decrees that there must be no set route. However, each competitor will traverse their own route and so the use of the term ‘route’ is justified.] Then covid-19 struck and, even before lockdown was imposed, we immediately decided the only responsible course was to cancel the event. At that stage we were – for the reasons discussed below – debating whether this was to be the Final Miglia Quadrato or whether that might be the following year. In anticipation, we had begun devising a special celebratory ‘final’ route card that would have been both especially challenging and a tribute to the history of past events that spanned seventy years. After the first cancellation, we felt we should publicise the next event as the final one. Alas, that was not to be. It was difficult to be sure when we might next be able to run the Miglia. With great reluctance, UHULMC, having devised this unique event way back in the 1950s and run it in almost every year since, has reluctantly concluded that it is no longer viable to continue running the event in a manner that would honour its traditional past. Over the past seventy plus years, the City has changed considerably. Our event requires competitors to travel by vehicle, regularly stopping to search for clues. It is our responsibility that this is done in a manner that does not adversely affect other road users or people living or working in the City. We have strived to ensure cars may be sensibly and legally stopped close to clue locations. With the increased parking and traffic restrictions (with 24 hour enforcement) this has become ever more difficult. Many crews are finding it easier to park a vehicle and move around on foot – contrary to the fact that it is a ‘motoring’ event. Unattended vehicles are sometimes seen as a security risk, which is why in past years we required a crew to remain in sight of their transport. Parking locations is not the sole issue: road closures, building and construction works (which are concentrated upon weekends) combine to make motor competition difficult and overly frustrating. Planning for these is a logistical nightmare – we take account of all scheduled closures and diversions, but often these overrun or are extended at short notice. Then there is the increased nightlife, which has also resulted in many difficulties - with competitors sometimes trapped by other traffic, especially those near various night clubs. The introduction of ULEZ has been detrimental to those competitors with older vehicles. City life has also changed - residential areas are growing and severely limiting the areas in which we can operate - this is not just the larger residential properties but the upper floors of many smaller commercial premises that are occupied and curtail nearby activities. We have always been very conscious of the need to avoid disturbing residents and our long experience of the City has aided this: we know where caretakers may sleep, where bedrooms front a wall with enticing inscriptions, which pubs are inhabited. Torches shining through windows can be disturbing and alarming. We have needed to judge how far competitors may search, where they might misread a map … Some seemingly innocuous buildings can be sensitive in other ways – we have needed to be aware of where security guards might be on high alert. Many roads are very busy thoroughfares and we have tried to minimise the need for competitors to traverse them, certainly not requiring them to stop and hunt. Many apparently open areas are actually privately managed and so must be avoided unless permissions have been sought. It has been ever more difficult to find a start location that can host a significant number of vehicles. There has also been increasing red tape in organising such an event and this has compounded our difficulties. All that is logistical – but what of the clues? Every year it is harder to find new or novel clues that meet our criteria. Sadly, we have had to relax and adapt these – no longer are all clues historic or truly interesting! We pride ourselves in rarely revisiting a clue in the medium or difficult categories. But we also have to consider the distribution and to have clues in each category spaced around the usable areas of the City. Hopefully, this web site will be updated in the future with tales of earlier years so people may understand how the City has changed, how the Miglia Quadrato evolved. We have had to recognise - albeit with considerable reluctance - that the City is no longer able to host an event such as ours with the numbers of entries we need for it to flourish. It would not have survived so long without its loyal entrants – we are grateful to them all for their support. Thus, it is that we say Farewell to the Miglia Quadrato. We hope there are many fond memories of the event in its heyday. It is with great sorrow we made this decision and know many will be disappointed. We are truly sorry to disappoint you and can assure you our own disappointment is tinged with genuine sadness. Hopefully, it is not the end for our involvement with the City - it is still a great place to explore, although on foot it is so much easier. Thus, we are hoping to resume our sister event - the Londinium Pedo - in the near future. Leave the car at home and give it a try - we are sure you will enjoy it and find a similar challenge. The Committee, UHULMC 2024