Walk for Life is a runaway success!

Thank you to the 530 walkers who joined us on Walk for Life on Sunday 14 May. The sun was shining as they enjoyed a pleasant stroll along the scenic towpath of the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation between Heybridge and Chelmsford.

This family-friendly event proved popular with walkers of all ages and their dogs with a choice of two distances. The 12km route started at Paper Mill Lock in Little Baddow or those looking for a greater challenge started their 24km hike at Heybridge Basin. Both routes finished at the car park of Teledyne e2v in Waterhouse Lane, Chelmsford.

You can see photos of some of our wonderful walkers here. You can see the drone footage of the event here.

Walk for Life is an important fundraising event for Farleigh Hospice, helping us to provide hospice care free of charge, to people affected by life-limiting illnesses and bereavement across mid Essex. Many people were walking in memory of loved ones who had been cared for by this charity.

Debbie de Boltz, our Fundraising Manager, said, “It was great to see so many people taking part in Walk for Life and enjoying the sunshine and beautiful scenery in support of Farleigh Hospice. It was especially nice to see so many familiar faces taking part – all of them smiling!

“Over the past year, we have seen a greater demand for our care and support with an increase in referrals and 10% more calls per month to our advice line - so thank you to everyone who has collected sponsorship or made a donation. We hope to have raised over £50,000 today which will help Farleigh to continue to be there for local people affected by life-limiting illnesses and bereavement when they need our care and support.“

For information on our upcoming events, including the Splash Out! water-themed obstacle course in Maldon on 9 July, please click here.