Sidmouth Does Wear a Hat Week seafront charity walk set to take place later this month

A walk along Sidmouth seafront is set to take place later this month to raise money for a brain tumour charity.

The multi-length walk is open to everyone and will take place on Saturday 26 March from 9am to 4pm on Sidmouth Esplanade. It comes as part of the fundraising and awareness week 'Sidmouth Does Wear a Hat Week', designed to raise money for charity Brain Tumour Research.

The event was first held in 2019, and has become the town's way of supporting two local women who both have brain tumours.

Charlotte Reid, 21, was diagnosed with a craniopharyngioma tumour seven years ago and is 'battling daily' with its side effects. Despite breaking her ankle recently, she is keen to help fundraise this year by baking cakes and will join the walk in a wheelchair.

Charlie Gwillim, 30, was running her own business, Devon Embroidery, when she went blind in her right eye three years ago. Her cancerous, incurable anaplastic astrocytoma was operated on soon after, and in 2019 she was undergoing radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

The walk

The aim of the charity event is to collectively walk 1,560 lengths of the Esplanade - which the Sidmouth Does Wear a Hat group has calculated to be the equivalent monetary value in steps of a year's brain tumour research.

To take part, you can get a record card from Sidmouth Sailing Club and begin. At each end of the seafront members of Girl Guiding Sidmouth District will be there ready to put stickers on your card.

There will be small rewards for walking 10, 20 or 30 lengths, and the running total of everyone's collective lengths of the seafront will be on display.

Bradleys Estate Agents, Kyle Baker Photography and LED Sidmouth Leisure are supporting the event.

Sidmouth Does Wear a Hat Week Committee Member Alexa Baker said: "You could do a few [lengths] in the morning, pop to the shops and come back and do a few more or you could walk in a family group or as a relay. It would be great to see members of clubs/schools/friends come along and challenge themselves.

"Wearing a hat or fancy dress is encouraged - there will be hats available to take for a walk!

"Alongside this challenge we will be collecting in the town from 9am till 1pm and from 2pm we will be in Sidmouth Sailing Club serving cream teas, with stalls including Bold Girls Wear Hats books written by local author Janet Dowling and a raffle with prizes that were kindly donated by local businesses in 2020 before the pandemic overtook events."

You can read more about Charlotte Reid's story on her Facebook page here.

If you would like to donate, click here to visit their JustGiving page.

There will also be collection buckets available on the day. To get involved with collections, you can contact Alexa Baker via email at [email protected].

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