Walk the Wight expects 8,000 walkers

Mountbatten Isle of Wight expects about 8,000 people to take part in Walk the Wight on Sunday, May 10. (mountbatten.org.uk) The charity said online registration stays open until 9am on Thursday, May 7, at £15 per person. People who miss that deadline can still sign up on the day for £20. (mountbatten.org.uk) The event returns with five routes, including the full 26.5-mile walk from Bembridge to Alum Bay, a 12.5-mile first half, and a 14-mile second half. Mountbatten says the routes are designed for different ages and abilities. (mountbatten.org.uk) Walkers who register online before the deadline can collect their packs on Saturday, May 9, from Mountbatten's Newport hospice on Halberry Lane between 9am and 4pm. The pack includes a walker number, fundraising materials and a commemorative medal at the finish. (mountbatten.org.uk 1) (mountbatten.org.uk 2) Walk the Wight is Mountbatten Isle of Wight's biggest fundraiser of the year. The charity said the event raises around £500,000 annually toward the £10.5 million it needs each year to fund services for Island families. (mountbatten.org.uk) Mountbatten said 85 per cent of its care is delivered in people's homes, with the rest provided through its inpatient unit and day services at the John Cheverton Centre in Newport. The charity said it reaches 70 per cent of deaths on the Isle of Wight, compared with a national hospice average of about 30 per cent. (mountbatten.org.uk) The walk began in 1991, when Bill Bradley and Frank Stevens organized a team-building crossing of the island for 25 colleagues from H.W. Moreys. Mountbatten says the event has since become an Isle of Wight fixture. (mountbatten.org.uk 1) (mountbatten.org.uk 2) Last year's event raised £515,000, according to Mountbatten's July 2025 update, topping the previous year's £500,000 running total. This year's turnout target shows how central the walk remains to the hospice's local fundraising model. (mountbatten.org.uk)