Big-hearted walkers wore sunny smiles and vibrant pink T-shirts as they strode through the city’s streets on Friday (11 July), celebrating precious memories of much-missed family members and friends, while raising funds to support the compassionate care St Luke’s Hospice Plymouth delivers.
The St Lukes charity’s annual, family-friendly Midnight Walk attracted an incredible 1,125 entrants taking on a choice of four routes – 2.5, five, 7.5 and 13.5 miles (the equivalent of a half marathon) – making it accessible for people of all ages and levels of fitness.
As evening fell on a roasting hot day, participants gathered in the Fan Zone at Plymouth Argyle’s Home Park stadium from 7pm, ready for the challenge ahead. On the backs of their official T-shirts they wrote the names of lost loved ones they would be honouring on the walk, many of whom were cared for by St Luke’s nursing teams at the end of their lives.
Some embellished their outfits with cowboy hats, flashing bunny ears, boas, garlands and headdresses, while some opted for full-on fancy dress. A lively musical warm-up led by RT Fitness Clubbercise added a fun festival atmosphere to the poignant but uplifting event, sponsored once again by Plymouth business Michael Spiers.
This year the three longer routes created a colourful parade through Central Park and down to the Hoe, via Western Approach and Millbay, as sunset approached. While the 13.5-milers completed a circuit that took them through the city to Embankment and back to their starting point via Derriford roundabout, the five and 7.5 mile entrants looped back up to Argyle and beyond via Armada Way and North Cross. Setting out last, the 2.5-mile walkers swung right out of Home Park, marching up Outland Road to Manadon Roundabout before retracing their steps.
Crossing the finish line, each entrant received an official medal, plus hearty thanks from St Luke’s team of organisers and volunteers, acknowledging their contribution to secure the future of the hospice’s vital end-of-life services, caring for patients and their loved ones at home and at their specialist unit at Turnchapel.
For Helen Platten, her sister Nicola Shell, and their young daughters Molly Platten,10, and Rosie Webb, seven, it was a particularly poignant evening as with each step they remembered taking part in Midnight Walk with their mum, Lynne, two years ago.
That time they were walking the shortest route together to remember husband, dad and granddad Pip Shell, who was cared for by St Luke’s before his death in 2022. They never dreamt that Lynne would receive the hospice’s compassionate care just a couple of years later, both at home and at the specialist unit.
“Mum was a supporter of St Luke’s even before Dad was ill because they cared for our Nan,” said Helen. “She was so happy that she could be with my dad all the time when he was at St Luke’s; she never left his side. It’s really important for us to keep that link, and both Mum and Dad have a leaf on the Memory Tree at St Luke’s at Turnchapel.”
for more information visit: https://www.stlukes-hospice.org.uk/midnight-walk/
