Dorset Walk

The Dorset Walk is a annual event that involves walking 40 miles along the challenging terrain of the Jurassic Coast. The walk starts along the seafront at Weymouth on Friday and finishes at Studland Beach on Sunday.

Links to this year’s and previous walks:

Sign up

What is the
Dorset Walk?

The Dorset walk started in 2009 with 30 students and staff from Ely College. It was going to be a one off.

However, what we stumbled on was something quite special. Over a 15 years later and thousands of participants later. It has become an annual event that introduces and impacts on hundreds people each year.

15 years of success (video)

How it works

  • We walk for 3 days. We start on Weymouth seafront on Friday and the final day’s walking is Sunday where we finish at Studland beach.
  • The total number of miles that we walk is 40 miles, which are more or less spread evenly over the 3 days.
  • School groups arrive Thursday am and leave Monday am – adults and families are welcome to do this. Most non-school participants arrive Thursday PM and leave Sunday PM.
  • We camp at Burnbake Campsite in Corfe Castle for ALL of the nights – WE DO NOT CARRY EQUIPMENT – we transport people to the start and finish each day.
  • The cost is £150 for the weekend, which includes all food, accommodation and a charity t-shirt for each day. If you can’t make all 3 days you can pay £50 a day. Families can book at a reduced rate – please contact us separately for more information.

Participants

THIS IS NOT JUST A SCHOOL TRIP. The event is open to all. We have 50 to 100  non-students/adults/families take part, which really adds to the event! Almost to a person, the people that have taken part have loved every second of it. Please read the Facebook reviews!

It is very physically demanding – many people have described it as the hardest thing they have ever done! Although to help with some perspective, my 8 year did complete it  (he is a machine though).

Schools

If you are planning on joining us, please get in touch as soon as possible. The numbers have gone ballistic this year. For the first time ever I think we may be limiting numbers and putting a final cap on participants.

My long term goal is for 500 plus participants, the current record is almost 300. Indications this year are that we may well go into the 300’s!!

We are able to provide letters, PowerPoints, risk assessments etc. All you need to do is get participants and get them to Dorset!

Sponsors

The costs of the walk are an annual annoyance. To organise and run this trip costs ‘money’ – the £150 charged to each participant doesn’t quite cover the costs, each person taking part costs us about £150+ each. We keep the cost as low as possible to enable as many people as possible to take part. The sponsorship we manage to achieve, obviously prevents the money raised by individuals being used to cover costs. The Holy Grail is to get all costs covered, so that every penny that is raised/paid becomes ‘profit’ that can go straight to our charitable causes.

We ask that all participants work to achieve their own personal sponsorship, examples can be seen on own JustGiving page. The Malcolm Whales Foundation – JustGiving

Lodges

These are available at Burnbake – they are not cheap, they provide a very different experience to the camping provision we offer. They include not only a bed, but … hot-tubs. If you are interested, they do come with a discount if you are involved with the walk. Booking from Monday to Monday seems the most sensible as it’s only slightly more expensive than the weekend, which I don’t think covers all the necessary nights. For more info please contact Burnbake and mention the Foundation.

Bespoke Luxury Lodges in Dorset at Burnbake Forest Lodges & Campsite

Helpers

As the walk has grown, we are more than ever in need for people to come down and help (not walk). The ‘camp’ has become an essential part of the charity event and the people that have given their time to this aspect, have been invaluable. If you are able to support in any way (you don’t need particular skills – just able to offer your time) please get in touch.

themalcolmwhalesfoundation@gmail.com

Sign up to the Dorset Walk