Brilliant day for Rotary walk

The sun shone warmly for all those taking part in the Rotary charity walk.

It was perfect weather for the long trek between Bexhill and Crowhurst, and more walkers than expected took part in this popular summer event which provides everyone with a chance to fundraise for their different causes.

"It went brilliantly," said chairman of the annual Rotary walk, Pearse Carty.

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"We reckon about 250 people took part '“ it was slightly down on last year because I think we were competing with the Race For Life in Hastings, which had a lot of people there. So that affected us a bit, but as we were not expecting so many as a result of that clash, we were very pleasantly surprised. More people than we expected registered on the day '“ and of course, the weather was beautiful.

"We had one walker who we know walked all 15 miles in four hours, which was phenomenal, and lots of walkers were home in six hours. We had one woman who raised something like 740 on her own, which was exceptional, and we had another who made about 635.

"All we do is organise the event, and it is a pound a head which is to help cover costs, and it gives every single walker the opportunity to raise money for whatever they want. We have absolutely no say whatsoever in who they choose, and it is everything from dogs for the disabled to Homecall. We have a lot of big groups in representing charities, and the sea cadets join in every year. It is a really nice mixture.

"It is also very safe from the public's point of view, because it is heavily marshalled by our volunteers and St John's Ambulance at various stages throughout the walk. A number of walkers say how well organised they think it is, and safety is obviously something people need to be assured about.

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"Thanks to The Plough in Crowhurst which welcomed walkers '“ this was a very good pit-stop.

"I'd like to also thank St John's Ambulance which very kindly helped us as usual."

Pearse added: "This is one of our big annual Rotary events and it always gets a fantastic response. We recently also had 88 golfers take part in a day at Cooden Beach golf course, and we raised around 4,300 for the various Rotary charities. What's so nice with the Rotary is that all the funds we get go to local charities, it is rare they leave the area. "They really promote what is actually happening here."

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