A record twelve hundred people took part in this year’s Saffery Rotary Walk – undeterred by the bad weather for most of the day.
The 39 mile trek around Guernsey’s coastline has become one of the island’s most popular fundraising events with walkers of all ages and abilities taking part.
Many took on the entire challenge with others forming relay groups with colleagues and friends. There was also the Step By Step Walk where residents of Rosaire Court, were joined by family and friends to walk lengths of the car park to collectively reach their 39-mile goal.
Walk chairman, Simon Milsted said he was particularly pleased that the main event included visitors as well as local entrants.
“We set ourselves the target of welcoming more off-island walkers, and we certainly did that. We were delighted to welcome participants from the UK and as far afield as South Africa – all of whom came to Guernsey specifically to join the Walk. Collectively our blaze of orange shirts certainly brightened up the greyness of parts of the day.”
The walk supports 25 local charities each year.
It starts off on the south coast cliff paths, before walkers take on the coastal roads and paths from Portlet in to town.
This year’s entrants included Mark Prevel who completed an extraordinary personal challenge by running the 39-mile course on Friday before joining the walk on Saturday morning.
Lisa Vizia, Director at event sponsor Saffery Trust, said everyone’s personal story combines to make it a great event.
“The turnout this year was just fantastic – not only from local residents, but also from visitors who travelled to be part of this special day. It’s inspiring to see the event grow each year, bringing people together and making the route accessible for everyone. The atmosphere was incredible, and the coastline looked absolutely breath-taking swathed in orange.”
The first walkers finished at lunchtime with the final finishers reaching the checkpoint at the Liberation Monument at around 22:00.
Rotarian Nigel Dorey led their huge team in preparation and on the day. He said it was great to see the event be so successful again.
“We owe a huge thank you to our incredible volunteers from within and outside our two clubs and to our generous sponsors. Their commitment and energy make this event possible. Special thanks must go to Saffery Trust, who are not only our main sponsor the Walk but also man our Finish Line. Our generous sponsors collectively allow every penny raised by walkers to go directly to our 25 chosen charities.”
With donations still being collected, the Rotary clubs are hopeful that the record numbers of 2025 will set a new fundraising record.
Walkers are encouraged to finalise their sponsorship through their SportsGiving pages or using their paper forms. Sponsor money can be dropped off at Saffery Trust’s office.