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After a record-breaking year, Walk the Wight is back for 2024 on Sunday 12 May 2024.
Last year, Walk the Wight raised a phenomenal £460,000 to support Island people with Mountbatten’s expert 24/7 care – and now, they need your help to do it all over again! With multiple routes to suit all ages and abilities, Walk the Wight offers something for everyone – including the very popular Schools Walk.
Schools Walk (Freshwater to The Needles – 4 miles): The Schools Walk starts at HF Holidays, Freshwater Bay House, Freshwater, PO40 9RB, at 11am (check in from 10am) and finishes four miles later at The Needles Park, Alum Bay New Road, PO39 0JD. Under 16s must walk with an adult when taking part in the Schools Walk. One adult is free, but if you’d like to bring more people to walk with you, they will need to register on the day for a suggested minimum donation of £10 per adult and £5 per child. All children who take part will receive a medal at the end.
How to get there: On the day, you and your child can travel for free on any Southern Vectis bus when you show your child’s walker number (additional passengers will be charged at the usual rates). Departures from Newport Bus Station to the start line are at 9.15am, 9.45am and 10.15am, while departures from the finish line to Newport Bus Station start at 1pm and then run every 10 minutes until 7pm. There is also a shuttle service from Alum Bay car park to the schools start line from 9.30am - 11.45am. There is no parking at Freshwater Bay, so please park in the designated parking field at Alum Bay from 9.30am and jump on the event shuttle bus to the Schools Walk start.
How to register: Head to Mountbatten. org.uk/swtw to register for free and join your school team! When you’re signed up, you will receive an email with a link to your online fundraising page, as well as a paper sponsorship form to print at home. Your printed fundraising pack, walker number, as well as any merchandise (if you have ordered them) should be delivered to your home within two weeks! You can register your child online for a postal fundraising pack until 18 April at 9am. After this date, you will still be able to register them online, but they will not receive their walker number or fundraising pack in the post; this may be collected from the Freshwater start line on the day.
Top fundraisers: Mountbatten will be rewarding its top fundraisers! Walkers who raise more than £500 by 12 April will receive a special keepsake and be invited into the hospice for a VIP Walk the Wight reception ahead of the event. Simply email fundraisingiow@ mountbatten.org.uk with a picture of your sponsorship form or a link to your fundraising page by 1pm on 12 April to show how much you have raised.
Meanwhile the school that raises the most in sponsorship overall will win a special trophy.
The main walks: Walk the Wight also offers four other routes, from the picturesque Full Walk, between Bembridge and The Needles, (26.5 miles) to the wheelchair and pushchair-friendly Flat Walk, between Sandown and Shide, (8 miles). To find out more and register, head to Mountbatten.org.uk. Online registration for all walks closes at 9am on Thursday, 9 May, however, you can still register on the day for a suggested donation of £20 per person. Checkpoints are located along each route, offering toilets, water points, food traders and lots of entertainment.