OVERNIGHT weather conditions, which saw thick mist and a drop in temperatures, put paid to the chances of a record number of finishers in the Scottish Widows Parish Walk.

It was thought that there might be a record number of finishers earlier in the day when more walkers reached Peel than ever before, with 1098 getting to the checkpoint outside Peel Cathedral.

There were also record numbers through every parish church from Michael to Lezayre, at which point some predicted that as many as 200 might be able to cover the entire 85 miles to the finish.

Conditions during the race were initially very good, particularly at the start, and once the heat of the sun disappeared in the early evening it made life much better for the hundreds of walkers still out on the 85 miles course.

Huge crowds took advantage of the warm weather conditions to encourage the walkers, with big numbers spotted at Rushen, Peel, Kirk Michael, Andreas, Ramsey and the Liverpool Arms Hotel as well as all along the route.

But the overnight weather conditions were not the best for those who would be taking up to 24 hours to get to the finishing tape on Douglas promenade.

As it went dark it turned colder and a thick mist threw its cloak over the Isle of Man, resulting in difficult conditions which saw 52 walkers retire between Lezayre and Maughold and another 24 by Lonan.

Eventually, a hardy 159 walkers managed to complete the distance - the third largest number of finishers in history behind 2009 (187) and 2006 (163).