The Sleep Walk FAQs

The main Sleep Walk 2021 event is taking place physically on Saturday 3 July. Or you can take part in the virtual Sleep Walk ‘Your Way’ at any time that suits you between Saturday 3 July and Sunday 11 July.

This year the physical Sleep Walk will have two start and finish locations, one at Torre Abbey Meadows in Torquay and the other at Paignton Green. For the virtual event, you can take part ‘Your Way’ at any location to suit you.

This year, the Sleep Walk’s theme is superheroes! The event promises more fun and laughter than ever as you take on a Marvel-ous sponsored walk, unleashing your superhuman fundraising powers in raising much-needed funds for the hospice!

All our wonderful Sleep Walkers will receive a free superhero cape to wear on the day and this can be accessorised with a fun mask or headband, or even with full fancy dress!

This year we have created a Sleep Walk shop where you can buy a Sleep Walk t-shirt, hoodie, or even a tote bag!

You can order from The Sleep Walk Shop when you register to the event, or by logging in to your dashboard at https://register.enthuse.com/ps/event/SleepWalk2021/entryLink

You can also order directly on our supplier’s website at www.ohmcharities.org.uk/shop/rowcroft-hospice

Orders need to be placed before 20^th June for you to receive your items before the Sleep Walk event. As orders are sent directly from our supplier, items will not be available in Rowcroft’s high street shops or for collection at the hospice.

We are very excited to be back to a physical event this year, but to ensure the safety of everyone at the event we’ve made some adaptations to the original event. To maximise social distancing, we have created two start and finish points on a looped five-mile route with staggered start times (waves) running throughout the day. The event this year is completely outdoors with one-way systems in place and we’re paperless to reduce contact points. There will be plenty of hand sanitiser available and hand washing stations next to the toilets – we’ll be regularly cleaning contact points too.

You will be required to wear a face mask or visor at the start/finish points due to being a bit closer to other participants, staff and volunteers, but these can be removed for the event warm up and while you are walking along the event route.

We ask you to arrive ready to walk and bring your own bottle of water. Due to the number of waves, it’s very important this year that you arrive no more than five minutes before or after your check-in time!

While we’re doing everything we can to make The Sleep Walk 2021 as safe as possible, we recognise that many participants enjoyed the option to take part virtually in 2020, so the ‘Your Way’ option to take part in The Sleep Walk at a time and place to suit you remains for 2021!

This year’s route has been adapted so that the event can be delivered in the safest way possible for our participants, volunteers and staff.  It’s a five-mile looped route with start and finish points at either end, giving you the choice to start in either Paignton or Torquay. Participants walking ten miles will complete two laps of the route.

Paignton Green

From Paignton Green, you will walk through Parkfield and on to Preston Green before briefly heading into Preston along Seaway Road. You’ll then walk through Hollicombe Park and along the seafront into Torquay. You’ll cross Torbay Road and go through the Torre Abbey Meadows start and finish point.

Torre Abbey Meadows

From Torre Abbey Meadows, you will stroll through the beautiful gardens, across the spiral bridge to walk along Torquay sea front and around the marina. From there you will walk out of Torquay following the seafront and into Hollicombe Park, and you’ll continue to Preston Green and then through the start and finish point at Paignton Green.

This year the familiar favourite Lights of Love will feature in Hollicombe Park with an added twist for daylight participants and this year it’s going to be super!

To ensure we follow government social distancing guidelines, we’ve had to increase the number of waves at this year’s event. When registering you will be able to choose your own check-in time – it’s very important that you arrive at the check-in point on time.

Your check-in time is when you will be scanned in to start the event.  To help us maintain social distancing please aim to arrive at the event no earlier than five minutes before your check-in time.  If you arrive early we may have to turn you away, so please wait nearby before approaching the event.

Please do not arrive any later than five minutes after your check-in time. We appreciate that being late can’t always be helped and we will do everything we can to accommodate you, but due to the increased importance of timings this year, we may not be able to accept you into the event if you arrive late.

Once checked-in, there will be a short event briefing and warm-up before heading out on to the course.

All girls and ladies aged over 8 can take part in the physical Sleep Walk event, no matter what your fitness level. All those aged 8-15 years must walk with an adult aged 21 or over at all times, who is a registered participant.  This adult can be responsible for up to three 8-15-year-olds on the day.

Participants taking part in the ‘Your Way’ virtual event can be of any age, and we advise that children walk with a responsible adult.

The average walking speed is three miles an hour, so we anticipate it will take approximately 1 hour and 40 minutes to complete the five-mile route and 3 hours and 20 minutes to complete ten miles.

Due to government restrictions, we are not planning to offer on the day sign-ups this year.

Unfortunately, we are unable to offer this facility this year.

Sponsorship can be paid in by:

Online fundraising page: Pages connected to Rowcroft Hospice will automatically be paid to us.

Online: Go to www.rowcrofthospice.org.uk/sponsorship

By card: Call 01803 217450, 9am – 5pm, Monday – Friday

Bank transfer: Pay your cash in at your bank or online using the following details: Name: Rowcroft House Foundation Ltd. Account no: 05977703 Sort code: 55-70-01 Reference: SW followed by your walker number

By cheque: Please make cheques payable to Rowcroft Hospice and send them with your sponsorship form(s) to: Freepost RTKK-UJRJ-XBKS, The Rowcroft Sleep Walk 2021, Rowcroft Hospice, Avenue Road, Torquay, TQ2 5LS

There is no designated car park for the event this year, but there are many public car parks nearby, and there are great public transport links to the start and finish venues.

Paignton Green

The closest car park is Victoria Long stay car park with 551 spaces

The 122 bus route stops at Paignton Green and Paignton train station is just a ten-minute walk away.

Torre Abbey Meadows

The closest car park is Abbey Park but as it only has 28 spaces, we recommend parking at either Torre Valley Long stay car park with 150 spaces or Shedden Hill Long stay car park with 258 spaces.

The 12 and 22 bus routes stop at Torre Abbey Meadows and Torquay train station is just a five-minute walk away.

The event is for ladies and girls only.

Yes, of course! Please ensure that they have registered too – everyone is welcome.

In previous years, we have supplied free water to the event in thousands of single use plastic water bottles. This year to help The Sleep Walk event become more sustainable, we’re asking you to bring along your own bottle of water which you will be able to refill at taps along the Sleep Walk route.

Due to coronavirus restrictions, we’re reducing the number of contact points at the event. Unfortunately, this means that there will be no bananas or sweet stops along the route. But fear not, when you return, you’ll still be rewarded with a free bacon or egg bap and a hot drink. As snacks won’t be available along the route, we advise you to bring your own snacks and sweets on the day if needed.

We will make every effort to help with specific requests and reallocate you to the same wave as your friends, however this year it’s very important that we do not run over capacity for each wave. Therefore, if all the slots on a wave have been allocated, we may be able to move you together.

You can log into your Sleep Walk dashboard at https://register.enthuse.com/ps/event/SleepWalk2021/entryLink  and change your wave time (if there are places available), transfer your place to someone else, buy from The Sleep Walk Shop or ask us to resend any of the Sleep Walk emails we’ve sent you.

From 21 June, we’ll be sending out event packs containing your walker number, cape and everything you need for the day. If you still haven’t received your event pack by 28 June, please get in touch.

Connecting a fundraising page to Strava isn’t required for this year’s event. If you’re taking part in the virtual Sleep Walk, all you need to do is let us know that you have completed your distance (we’d love to see any photos from your walk too!)

Unfortunately, this will not be possible as it would require a collections license. We have a license, but it does not cover participants collecting donations from the public at the event.

We are so sorry to hear that. You can log into your Sleep Walk dashboard at https://register.enthuse.com/ps/event/SleepWalk2021/entryLink and transfer your place to someone else (this option is available up until Sunday 20 June).

Unfortunately places are non-refundable but your fee will be used by Rowcroft to help provide comfort, support and specialist care to around 2,500 patients and their loved ones across South Devon each year.

Creating a fundraising page is now easier than ever! Once you have registered to the event, you will be asked to create your fundraising page. Just add your fundraising target and profile picture. You will then be given a link to your fundraising page to share with your friends.

If you prefer, JustGiving and Facebook are two popular alternative options to create a fundraising page, so here are some handy tips to set them up:

JustGiving

Go to www.justgiving.co.uk

Click ‘Get Started’

Log in / create an account

Click ‘create your page’

Select ‘Rowcroft Hospice’ as your charity

Select ‘organised event’

Personalise your page with photos and text

Facebook Donate

Sign into Facebook and click ‘Fundraisers’ in the left menu of your News Feed.

Click ‘Raise Money’ and select ‘Non-profit/ Charity’ and select ‘Rowcroft’.

Make sure you include your name and the name of the Rowcroft event in the name of your fundraiser. e.g. Jill Hill’s Rowcroft Sleep Walk Fundraiser

Click ‘Create’ and you’re ready to share.

Please let us know that you have set up a Facebook fundraising page by emailing donorbase@rowcrofthospice.org.uk.

Some of our ladies have already done this via our Facebook page – it really is fantastic to see people coming together to support each other while supporting the hospice at the same time! You can find the event on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/events/169036398430217 – why not create a post to introduce yourself and say hello!

Unfortunately, due to coronavirus restrictions we are not currently planning to have any face painting at this year’s event.

We’d be really grateful if you could send the cheque in, along with your other sponsorship as soon as possible. We can then bank it and allocate the funds to your final sponsorship total. Just send the cheque to: Freepost RTKK-UJRJ-XBKS, The Rowcroft Sleep Walk 2021, Rowcroft Hospice, Avenue Road, Torquay, TQ2 5LS

Visit www.rowcrofthospice.org.uk/sponsorship; you can either pay by debit or credit card.

As long as you have selected Rowcroft as your chosen charity, the funds will be automatically transferred into our account.

Please email our database team on donorbase@rowcrofthospice.org.uk to unsubscribe to any marketing emails, or click the link at the bottom of your last email. Please note that once you have registered, you will still receive important information that is relevant to your entry via email whether you have opted out of marketing or not.

Please email events@rowcrofthospice.org.uk to log any missing items.

After the event, we’ll publish all of the wonderful images from the day on our Rowcroft Hospice Facebook page. Just search for Rowcroft Hospice on Facebook and like the page if you haven’t already!

We are sorry your merchandise has a fault.  Please call 01803 217450 and arrange for your item to be swapped with a new one.