Volunteers needed for Walk the Wight

With Walk the Wight just a few weeks away, Mountbatten is urging Islanders to take part, with the message ‘If you can’t walk it, volunteer.”

Neil Hartley, Mountbatten CEO, said: “I cannot emphasise enough how important Walk the Wight is to us, and to the patients and families under our care.

“If you can help us, either by walking or volunteering, we would be incredibly grateful.”

Various roles need to be filled, primarily route and traffic marshals and support to help with on-the-day registrations, manning water and toilet points, and handing out medals.

Mountbatten is ideally looking for people to commit to six-hour shifts in various locations.

Anyone interested in helping can email tina.groves@mountbatten.org.uk with their name, email address, and phone number. Alternatively, they can call 217349.

The walk is on May 8, and is Mountbatten’s largest fundraising event, in the past raising as much as £300,000. The charity is hoping there will be a late surge in sign-ups after they have been slower than normal.

This year, ‘The Final Stretch’ has been added to the walks, covering the final four miles of the main route, while there is also a fancy-dress competition, with a family ticket to Camp Bestival up for grabs for the winner.

The Final Stretch, from Freshwater Bay to Alum Bay, is one of five walk options available. The main route, from Bembridge to Alum Bay, covers 26.5 miles – though walkers can opt for just the first or second half. There is also a gentler option, an eight-mile Flat Walk along the cycle path from Sandown to Newport.