Virtual Hike: Isle of Wight Coastal Path

Wednesday 1 July 2020 - Friday 31 July 2020

Hike the entire coastline of the Isle of Wight… virtually from 1st July!

Bringing you the second in our popular Virtual Hike series: Isle of Wight Coastal Path. Decided by our supporters, the challenge is to walk the equivalent distance to the entire length of the island’s stunning coastline (70 miles) from, or near to, your own home throughout July.

As you circumnavigate the island, you’ll visit royal estates, golden sandy beaches, towering coastal cliffs and the sites of historic battles. Hiking from East Cowes ‘around the clock’ to Cowes is a truly memorable experience and 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 July, you will traverse 70 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: Isle of Wight Coastal Path. Why not complete the hike with others from your household or ‘bubble’ to make the journey even more enjoyable.

How it works

To take part in the Virtual Hike: Isle of Wight Coastal 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 Isle of Wight Coastal 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 July 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 the Western bank of the River Medina. 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 – 31st July 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 July. 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’ 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.

The interactive route map

Fun facts about the Isle of Wight

The Isle of Wight is the largest island in England and, at high tide, becomes the smallest English county as well.
Its chalk cliffs are some of the richest with dinosaur fossils anywhere in Europe.
The Isle of Wight has been a popular holiday destination since Victorian times and today receives over twenty times more overseas visitors than its permanent population.
The island’s strategic position in the British Channel has made it an important defensive staging point for many battles throughout British history, including the Battle of Britain (1940), the Spanish Armada (1588) and the Battle of the Solent (1545), at which the Mary Rose, King Henry VIII’s flagship, was sunk off the North-east coast of the island.

Osborne House, Queen Victoria's Residence

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 Isle of Wight Coastal 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 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
£100 could pay for all the medicine needed at one of our inpatient units over 24 hours

Start your fundraising today!