Two close friends and keen walkers will be walking 220 miles between 25 castles in Kent to raise funds for Sands, the stillbirth and neonatal death charity and Muscular Dystrophy UK.
Christopher Howard, 66, and David Roberts, 70, will commence their walk on Wednesday 27th April and will finish on Sunday 22nd May 2016, starting and finishing at Whitstable Castle. This is in support of a relative with muscular dystrophy and in memory of a baby grand-daughter that died at birth.
Over the 20 days of walking, they will pass some of England’s finest Castles; Deal, Dover, Sissinghurst, Scotney, Hever, Lullingstone, Rochester, Leeds and Canterbury.
“Kent is a wonderful county, with miles and miles of ancient byways and footpaths, it would be a shame not to use them, especially as we like walking. And better still to feel that we are helping others less able than ourselves to benefit in some small way from our indulgence," says Christopher.
They have a target of £10,000 but have already raised over £5,000 for their chosen charities.
The pair have already ‘road tested’ the unique route they have designed to link some of the finest castles in England. There are a range of walks along the route, with some suiting all abilities and some are wheelchair accessible. Maps include advice to how to get the most out of the walks and heritage sites, along the way.
They are inviting everyone to join them on one of their choice of walks to enable these charities to continue their vital work.
If you cannot walk on any of the days with Chris and David, for £10 you can purchase all of the maps and walk at another time.
Carolyn Bray, Fundraising Manager at Sands said:
“I met Chris and David last year when they were both still test-walking the Kent’s Castles route and I was touched by what truly lovely gentlemen they are; I can’t stress enough how in awe of the incredible amount of time and effort that they have put into and organising this event.
“It’s such a unique way to raise vital funds and awareness of both the beneficiary charities and we can’t thank them enough for their commitment and efforts. Sands relies almost solely on the generosity of out supporters.”
Anneke Liefting, Regional Development Manager at Muscular Dystrophy UK said:
“It has been an absolute pleasure supporting and getting to know Chris and David over the past 9 months. Their passion for both charities as well as walking has truly inspired me. The amount of time and energy the both of them have put into organising this walk and gathering donations has shown that is has definitely payed off. I cannot wait to walk with them on parts of their walk and support them to reach their target.”
For more information please email Chris and David on walkingkentcastles8@gmail.com.
To join them please visit https://www.uk-sands.org/get-involved/events/2016-03-07/walking-kents-castles or www.musculardystrophyuk.org/events/walking-kents-castles.
If you don’t want to take part, but would like to sponsor Chris and David, you can do so on by visiting their VirginMoneyGiving page.
ENDS
Notes to editors
80% of proceeds will go to Muscular Dystrophy UK, towards research into Limb Girdle muscular dystrophy, and 20% to Sands, the stillbirth and neonatal death charity.
For further information, please contact the Sands press office on 020 3598 1959 or media@uk-sands.org.
Walking Kent’s Castles – Itinerary
Please see below for an estimated itinerary for Chris and David’s walk. Please only use as an approximate guide.
|
No. |
Date |
Description |
Miles Appox |
Estimated duration |
Drop off point Grid Ref |
|
|
|
All walks start at 10 am. |
|
|
|
|
1 |
Wed 27 April |
Whitstable Castle to Reculver Castle* |
8 |
4h |
Castle car park TR 113 671 |
|
2 |
Thur 28 April |
Reculver Castle to Richborough Castle |
12 |
6h |
Reculver car park TR 226 692 |
|
3 |
Sat 30 April |
Richborough to Walmer Castle via Sandown and Deal Castle and on to St Margarets Bay* |
13 |
6.5h |
Castle car park (EH) TR 322 598 |
|
4 |
Sun 1 May |
St Margaret’s Bay via Dover Castle to Battle of Britain War Memorial |
10.5 |
5h |
St Margaret’s Bay car park TR 368 444 |
|
5 |
Mon 2nd |
Battle of Britain War Memorial to Lympne Castle via Castle Hill and Saltwood Castle |
10.25 |
5.5h |
Memorial car park TR 245 380 |
|
6 |
Tue 3rd |
Lympne Castle to St Mary’s Church Kenardington via Warehorne |
12.5 |
6.5h |
Castle car park TR 118 346 |
|
7 |
Thur 5th |
St Mary’s church Kenardington to Sissinghurst Castle |
14 |
7h |
Church car park TQ 974 320 |
|
8 |
Fri 6th |
Sissinghurst Castle to Scotney Castle |
10 |
5h |
Castle car park (NT) TQ 808 383 |
|
9 |
Sat 7th |
Scotney Castle to Brenchley with loop to Castle Hill |
8.7 |
4.5 |
Castle car park (NT) TQ 686 351 |
|
10 |
Sun 8th |
Brenchley to Tonbridge Castle |
7.6 |
3.5h |
Village car park TQ 679 471 |
|
11 |
Tue 10th |
Tonbridge Castle to Hever Castle via Chiddingstone Castle |
10 |
5h |
Castle car park TQ 588 465 |
|
12 |
Wed 11th |
Hever Castle to St Mary’s Church at Sundridge Place |
9 |
4.5h |
Castle car park TQ 475 451 |
|
13 |
Thur 12th |
St Mary’s church at Sundridge Place to Eynsford Castle via Lullingstone Castle |
9.75 |
5h |
Church car park TQ 486 549 |
|
14 |
Sat 14th |
Eynsford Castle to Cobham |
10 |
5h |
Village Hall car park TQ 543 658 |
|
15 |
Sun 15th |
Cobham to Cooling Castle |
9.5 |
4.5h |
The Leather Bottle car park TQ 669 684 |
|
16 |
Mon 16th |
Cooling Castle to Rochester Castle via Upnor Castle |
7 |
3.5h |
St Jame’s Church Cooling TQ 753 758 |
|
17 |
Tue 17th |
Rochester Castle to Allington Castle |
10 |
5h |
Castle riverside TQ 740 687 |
|
18 |
Thur 19th |
Allington Castle to Harrietsham via Leeds Castle |
11 |
5.5h |
Castle car park TQ 748 576 |
|
19 |
Fri 20th |
Harrietsham to Eastwell Manor |
12 |
6h |
Harrietsham station car park TQ 866 529 |
|
20 |
Sat 21st |
Eastwell Manor to Canterbury Castle via Chilham Castle* |
13 |
6.5h |
Eastwell Manor TR 015 475 |
|
21 |
Sun 22nd |
Canterbury Castle to Whitstable Castle* |
9 |
4.5h |
Rosemary Lane car park TR 145 574 |
*Accessible walkways suitable for powered chairs. The walks were tested in October 2015
ROUTE 1: Whitstable to Reculver Castle
ROUTE 3: This walk is accessible from Deal seafront to Sandown Castle, Deal Castle and Walmer Castle
ROUTE 20: It is accessible from Chilham Castle as there are lanes and roads to go along. From Chartham Church it's all footpaths /tracks but powered chair friendly.
ROUTE 21: This walk is accessible from Kent College Events car park and Main car park where there are disabled toilets and tea/coffee will be available from the College Chapel from 10.30am on Sunday the 22nd of May ONLY.
(EH) - English Heritage (NT) - National Trust
Events
Whitstable Castle will be waving them off on Wednesday 27th April at 9:45am.
Deal Castle have the Ashford Concert Band playing around noon on Saturday 30th April.
Leeds Castle will be having a BBQ Banquet Thursday 19th May, 3pm to 7pm. Tickets £15 from R&B Star Electrical.
St Alphege Church in Whitstable will be hosting a charity concert Saturday 21st May at 7:30pm.
Kent College Canterbury are hosting morning refreshments in the Chapel Sunday 22nd May at 10:30am.
Then back at the start, Whitstable Castle will host a Welcome Home Mad Hatter’s Tea Party at 2pm.