Walk a Marathon for Sri Lankan Orphans

Event going ahead: Please be assured that this event can go ahead as from the 29th March we can have groups on outdoor activities. More details are in the Before You Go section.



Here’s the opportunity to walk the 25 miles (just short of a marathon!) between Birmingham and Lichfield along canal towpaths and greenways. Don't panic - we know you’re not Eliud Kipchoge, so we won’t expect any sub-2 hour nonsense! Instead we'll take it at a more leisurely pace and expect to take around 8 -9 hours of walking plus a couple of breaks for refreshment along the way.

It’s a pretty flat course and we’re confident that anyone who walks regularly can do it – but it is a challenge!

We are looking for a minimum of 12 people to make the walk worthwhile and we’ll set up an online giving service where people can sponsor your progress. We also plan to have volunteers at the 8 and 16 mile points to refill water bottles and hand out energy snacks.

The Charity: Joy Butler Markham is a retired businesswoman who was so moved by the plight of children who lost their parents in the 2004 Tsunami that she set up an orphanage in Sri Lanka (In Sri Lanka alone that Tsunami killed 35,000 people and left 900,000 homeless!) Since then she has expanded the work to care for children with special needs whose families cannot care for them (or even reject them for cultural reasons) and women and children who have been rescued from a range of challenging circumstances. It is a tremendous achievement and is all carried out with a real heart of love. Joy spoke passionately of her work to Spice at our Corpus Christi Dinner and Richard Coulter knows the charity well (and will be visiting them in November 2019). Importantly, it is a charity where we can guarantee that every penny raised will be spent directly on the needs of the people they serve.

The Charity is called Manacare and registered in the UK - charity number 1108701.

Your Commitment: You will need have the fitness to complete a full day of walking and be prepared to take on this challenge. We would also like you to commit to raising at least £50 in sponsorship for the Charity. We will circulate details of how to do this – either with a sponsor form or online – once we know we have enough people for the event to go ahead.

The Walk: The walk leader will be Richard Coulter. We also plan to have mobile support along the way as required. The route is almost totally canal and river towpath, as we’ll follow the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal and River Tame all the way to Hopwas (a village between Tamworth and Lichfield) and then walk the last bit overland. Once in Lichfield (probably around 7pm), there will be an opportunity of a celebratory drink and photo call. There is then a regular train service back to Birmingham and other transport links.