The Olympic Flame continues to make its inspirational journey around the UK, with a further 119 torchbearers carrying the Torch 133 miles on Day 12 of the 70-day relay. The Torch travelled through 22 communities on the twelfth day of celebrations, starting at Queen’s Park suspension bridge in Chester where it was carried by aspiring badminton player 16-year-old Jennifer Moore.
Along the route from Chester the Flame passed by a number of iconic sites, including the Pontcysllte Aqueduct and Llangollen Canal where it travelled on a canal boat carried by 41-year-old Joanne Gregory.
One highlight of Day 12 was when the Flame reached Much Wenlock in Shropshire. John Simpson, the Vice President of the Wenlock Olympian Society, took part in a photo opportunity at the De Coubertin Oak within the grounds of William Brookes School.
In 1890, Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic movement, visited Much Wenlock. It was here that Dr William Penny Brookes had established the Wenlock Olympian Games in 1850. During Coubertin’s visit a tree was planted in his honour on the Linden Field, the site of the annual Games. This tree has become known as the “Coubertin Oak”.
Olympic bronze medallist Alison Williamson, who is set to compete for Team GB for the sixth time later this summer, carried the Flame in Much Wenlock. It then travelled on to World Heritage Site, the Iron Gorge, in the afternoon, before arriving in Stoke-On-Trent at the end of another successful day.
Find out more about the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay Presenting Partners.