Virtual Hike: London Walkopoly

Monday 1 February 2021 - Sunday 28 February 2021

Hike 26.2 miles from Old Kent Road to Mayfair… virtually this February!

Enjoy the perfect lockdown activity to stay healthy and active this February. Pilgrims are delighted to bring you the newest challenge in our popular Virtual Hike series; London Walkopoly!

The challenge?… to walk the equivalent distance between all of the properties of the classic board game (26.2 miles) from, or near to, your own home throughout February. That’s a marathon!

We’ve even thrown in the Electric Company (Battersea Power Station) and the Jail (Tower of London) for good measure – Can you visit all 28 properties and make it to Mayfair?

It’s a fun, unique experience and we’re giving you the chance, wherever you are, to take on this virtual version of the challenge to help raise vital funds for Pilgrims specialist end-of-life care.

During this extraordinary time it is more important than ever to make sure to stay active, exercise and feel connected to one another. Walking is good for us, both for our physical fitness and mental well-being, and you can join our friendly community of Pilgrims Hospice Hikers in our active Pilgrims Hospices Walking and Hiking Facebook group.

It’s tough but achievable; with some training and determination anyone can conquer the Virtual Hike: London Walkopoly. Why not complete the hike with others from your household or ‘bubble’ to make the journey even more enjoyable.

The interactive route map

How it works

To take part in the Virtual Hike: London Walkopoly, simply enter via the ‘Register Now’ button at the top of this page. Once signed up, you’ll receive instructions on how to record your walking activities and track your progress along the virtual route using the award-winning Pilgrims Event App for iOS and Android devices.

It’s free to download from the App Store and Google Play and, along with the free companion app MapMyTracks, will track your walking activities throughout February and update your position along the interactive route map below; so you can see exactly how far you’ve come and how far you have left until you reach Mayfair. You can also like and comment on your teammate’s activities, receive up to date event information, view a detailed route map, and link your JustGiving page to see how your fundraising is going, all in one place.

The challenge runs from 1st – 28th February and all of your walking activities recorded via the Pilgrims Event App during this time will count towards your overall progress along the Virtual Hike route.

You can use any route you like in order to reach your mileage goal. Under the current conditions, we strongly suggest you follow government advice and walk a route that starts and finishes at your home to avoid any unnecessary travel. We would also ask that you do not use the virtual hike to stop at any of our hospice sites, even if you are passing by. The safety of patients and staff is paramount, and your participation in the virtual hike is the best means of showing your support.

So if you have some favourite routes around your local area, then please use those to do your virtual hike. You can break the mileage down into as many days as you need to throughout February. All that matters is you cover the distance. We’re not even going to ask you to verify your mileage, so if you’re a bit over, or under, then that’s fine by us.

Every participant will receive 5 exclusive digital ‘badges’ that they can share as they complete milestones in their journey on social media and elsewhere to show your support for Pilgrims Hospices.

Please note: Only activities recorded using the Pilgrims Event App (MapMyTracks) AND with the activity type of ‘Walking’ and set as ‘Public’ will be included in your progress along the virtual map below. If you wish your runs to count towards your goal, that’s fine, but remember to save them as ‘walking’ activities in MapMyTracks.

Event information

Virtual hike entry: £5

Virtual event tracking requires a free MapMyTracks account.

Raising sponsorship

We need your help to be there for people living with an incurable illness and encourage you to raise as much sponsorship as you can for your challenge! If you raise:

£100 – you will receive a Pilgrims Hospices wristband
£250 – you will receive a Pilgrims Hospices neck buff, the perfect accessory for keeping you warm on cold or windy days and providing shade from the sun on hot days
£500 – you will receive a Pilgrims Hospices technical t-shirt
£750 – you will receive free entry into a Pilgrims Hospices organised event in 2021*

While for many of us ‘doing our part’ during the current health crisis means staying at home, Pilgrims Hospices nurses and support staff are Still Here; Still Caring and are continuing to provide skilled and compassionate end-of-life care for people living with life-limiting illness across east Kent.

By doing your part for Pilgrims Hospices, you’ll truly be making a difference to the lives of our patients. Here’s how:

£10 could pay for a patient’s meals for the day
£25 could pay for an hour of specialist nursing care
£30 could pay for our Community Team to hold a video consultation with a patient in their own home
£45 could pay for a virtual counselling session for an individual coping with the loss of a loved one
£90 could pay for all the medicine needed at one of our inpatient units over 24 hours

Start your fundraising today!

App achievements

Achievements are an exciting new feature within the Pilgrims Event App. During the London Walkopoly, as well as the digital milestone badges along the way, you can now earn badges within the app for completing all kinds of Achievements.

The app will automatically recognise when you have achieved the criteria for any of the badges and add it to the ‘Achievements’ page within the ‘Profile’ area of the Pilgrims Event App, together with the date that you earned it!

Eg. Once you have recorded your first walk during an event, either by MapMyTracks recording or by a manual upload, you will earn the Off the Mark badge.

Full list of walking badges to achieve

Off the Mark: Complete your first walk during this event.
Trailblazer: Complete ten walks during this event.
Walk in the Park: Complete a walk of at least 5 miles during this event.
Off the Beaten Path: Complete a walk of at least 10 miles during this event.
Finding your Stride: Cover at least 25% of the event distance.
On the Right Track: Cover at least 50% of the event distance.
On the Home Stretch: Cover at least 75% of the event distance.
Finisher: Complete the full event distance and cross the finish line.
Backyard Explorer: Log over 10 hours of walking during this event.
Scrapbooker: Upload at least one photo during this event.
Super Saturday: Log an activity on the first Saturday of this event.
Hill Seeker: Climb the height of Ben Nevis (1345 m) during this event.

Resources

*This entry can be redeemed for the following qualifying events: Cycle Challenge, Firewalk, Paws 4 Pilgrims, Pilgrims Way Challenge, Pyjama Walk, Thanet 5k Colour Run, Santas on the Run (one event only).