Virtual Hike: Hadrian’s Wall Path

Monday 1 June 2020 - Tuesday 30 June 2020

The Virtual Hike: Hadrian’s Wall Path has now concluded. Congratulations to everyone who has taken part in the challenge and helped to raise vital funds for Pilgrims Hospices during these difficult times. Together, our virtual hikers walked a collective 6,732 miles throughout June and raised more than £12,000 for hospice care. Whether you completed the full 88 miles or simply made it to one of the many virtual landmarks along the way, you all deserve to feel immensely proud of this achievement.

To commemorate all of those who managed to finish to full 88-mile challenge during June, we’ve launched the Virtual Hiker’s Hall of Fame! Check out the page to see your Map My Tracks username alongside other finishers.

View the Virtual Hike Hall of Fame

Hike the historic Hadrian’s Wall Path… virtually from 1st June!

Introducing the first in our brand new Virtual Hike series: Hadrian’s Wall Path. The challenge… to walk the equivalent distance to the length of the ancient Roman fortification (88 miles) from, or near to, your own home throughout June.

Hiking from coast to coast along Hadrian’s Wall is an iconic experience on many walker’s bucket list. Long revered as one of the UK’s best hiking trails, we’re giving you the chance, wherever you are, to take on this virtual version of the challenge without the travel expenses! Over the month of June, you will traverse 88 miles and help raise money for end-of-life care in east Kent.

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: Hadrian’s Wall Path. Why not complete the hike with others from your household to make the journey even more enjoyable.

Victrix Roman Soldier, Heddon-on-the-wall

How it works

To take part in the Virtual Hike: Hadrian’s Wall Path, 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 Hadrian’s Wall Path 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 June 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 Wallsend. You can also like and comment on your teammates 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 – 30th June 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 lockdown 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 June. 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 exclusive digital ‘badges’ as they complete milestones in their journey that can be shared 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.

The interactive route map

A brief history of Hadrian’s Wall

Hadrian’s Wall was built by the Roman army on the orders of the emperor Hadrian following his visit to Britain in AD 122 and served as the north-west frontier of the Roman empire for nearly 300 years. The fortification was built to defend Roman occupied Britain from the ‘barbarian’ Scottish Picts and crossed northern Britain from Bowness-on-Solway in the west to Wallsend on the River Tyne in the east.

While most of the wall was constructed on stone, the eastern 30-mile section was in turf. The stone wall stood up to 15 feet (4.6 metres) high and was 10 Roman feet (3 metres) wide, wide enough for there to have been a walkway along the top, and perhaps also a parapet wall. The remains of the once mighty wall is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the Hadrian’s Wall Path, which runs alongside, became a National Trail in 2003.

Event information

Virtual hike entry: £5

Virtual event tracking requires a free MapMyTracks account.

We would encourage you to raise as much sponsorship as you can for your Hadrian’s Wall Path challenge! If you raise:

£50 – you will receive a Pilgrims Hospices wristband
£100 – you will receive a Pilgrims Hospices keyring or pin badge to wear with pride
£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 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
£100 could pay for all the medicine needed at one of our inpatient units over 24 hours

Start your fundraising today!