The Oakhaven Walk 2025 raises a phenomenal £168,700

Participants starting the Oakhaven Walk 2025 at Sandbanks

The Oakhaven Walk 2025 raises £168,700 (and still counting!) for end-of-life care and support

We are delighted to announce that The Oakhaven Walk 2025 has raised a whopping £168,700 (with sponsor money still coming in) to fund the delivery of palliative and end-of-life care and support provided to families throughout the New Forest, Totton and Waterside communities.

The Oakhaven Walk took place on Saturday 17th May 2025, with a record-breaking 665 participants walking to Oakhaven Hospice in Lymington from Sandbanks (approx 26 miles), Mudeford (approx 14 miles) and Barton on Sea (approx 8 miles).

The event attracts walkers of all ages, who enjoy the relaxed and uncompetitive nature of the event. This year’s walkers were blessed with sunshine throughout the day, with a light sea breeze to cool them as they trekked along the spectacular Dorset and Hampshire coastline.

Oakhaven Walk participants starting at Mudeford

Walkers getting ready to start at Mudeford for the 14-mile walk

Jill West, Oakhaven’s Community and Events Fundraising Manager, said: “Support for this year’s Oakhaven Walk has been phenomenal! On behalf of everyone at Oakhaven, I would like to say a HUGE thank you to all the walkers and everyone who supported our fundraising walk. You joined together to make every moment matter for your local hospice and have raised a record-breaking amount in sponsorship.

“A big thank you to our amazing Volunteers, without whom the event could not have gone ahead. You kept our walkers going with your smiles and encouragement, pointing them in the right direction, registering them at checkpoints and handing out refreshments at just the right moment.

“We are grateful also to Land & Wave, the Beachcomber Café and Hoburne Naish Holiday Park for welcoming us, to Rapid Relief and Harvest Fine Foods for providing water and snacks, and to the Oakhaven Kitchen for the delicious sandwiches. Thank you also to everyone at Keyhaven Yacht Club who provided refreshments to participants as they walked past.

“MANY thanks to our event sponsor, Pennyfarthing Homes, whose fantastic support for 2025, 2026 and 2027 is helping to facilitate our planning and underwrite a lot of the event costs, meaning that every penny raised in sponsorship by our walkers will directly support families living in our communities.”

Matt Dukes, Managing Director at Pennyfarthing Homes, was one of those walking to raise money for Oakhaven Hospice. He commented:

“Pennyfarthing Homes is delighted to be able to sponsor such a worthy local cause, providing Oakhaven Hospice with much-needed funds to help run the hugely important Oakhaven Walk. As a family business that has built homes here for over 40 years, our connections with the local community run deep in this beautiful part of England, including with the Oakhaven Hospice. All of us at Pennyfarthing take immense pride in knowing that we are making a difference to this invaluable charity and the people it supports. The Oakhaven Hospice doesn’t just provide end-of-life care, it offers crucial support to the whole family, friends and loved ones – helping to ease the pain during one of life’s most difficult times.”

For over 30 years, Oakhaven Hospice has provided compassionate end-of-life care to patients and their loved ones, both in the hospice and in patients’ homes. The charity supports a community of over 150,000 people across the New Forest, Totton and Waterside. Demand is growing for Oakhaven’s vital services; currently, at any time, around 450 patients plus their families receive support in the Hospice and/or in their homes from the Oakhaven teams, free of charge.

In addition to patient referrals, Oakhaven Wellbeing provides specialist support to everyone in the community who is navigating a life-limiting illness, caring for a loved one or experiencing a loss or bereavement. Last year, there were over 5,600 attendances at the Coates Centre for wellbeing support.

All funds raised by the Walk will help to fund Oakhaven’s day-to-day running costs, which last year amounted to £9 million. With only 11% of funding covered by the NHS, your local hospice relies on the kindness of donations, fundraising, gifts in wills and income generated by its charity shops and home care provider, Oakhaven Care Ltd, to cover the remaining 89% of costs.

Click here to find out more about how you could help Oakhaven with a donation, fundraising or a gift in your will, or contact the Fundraising Team directly on 01590 677773 or fundraising@oakhavenhospice.co.uk.