Sign ups for Eastbourne's Starlight Stroll share their stories

The five-mile sponsored walk along Eastbourne prom takes place on Saturday September 9 and is an opportunity to walk beside the sea and under the stars while remembering a loved one.

Carra Barrow is taking part to remember her grandad, Bob Harper. She said: “He was a very kind man who achieved so many wonderful things in his long life. I’ve chosen to raise money and walk in his honour to help St Wilfrid’s as they helped us in the last few days of my grandad’s life, and also with the pain after losing him. As a family we couldn’t have done it without the support. We found the staff to just be amazing.”

Mark Hyde will be thinking about his late wife, Susannah, during Starlight Stroll. “Sue spent the last few days of her life at St Wilfrid's. It was the only place that she felt she was special and not a number during the whole time she was sadly fighting cancer. The hospice let me sleep there so I could be close to Sue during her last days.”

Starlight Stroll starts at Princes Park, follows a route along the prom and up to the Italian Gardens near Holywell. Here, people can lay a lantern to remember someone they loved who is no longer with us, or just reflect on the work of the hospice. Walkers then return to Princes Park to collect their medal and refreshments.

Senior Events Fundraiser, Beth Hillier, said: “Starlight Stroll is our flagship event and there are many people like Carra and Mark who take the opportunity to remember someone special. It’s a very moving occasion and we are very grateful to everyone who takes part or gives sponsorship money. A big thank you also goes to our sponsor, Clarke Roofing Southern Ltd, for their support of this event. All money raised will help provide end of life care and support and enable the hospice’s services to continue.”

St Wilfrid’s Hospice provides free hospice care for people with life limiting illness and their families in Eastbourne, Seaford, Hailsham, Uckfield, Heathfield and Pevensey and the rural areas in between. With costs to run the services at £18,000 a day and only 30% of funding coming from government, every penny counts.

For more information, visit stwhospice.org/event/starlight-stroll-2023/ or contact the hospice fundraising team on tel: 01323 434241 or email: [email protected]