Kent Charity Trek
Take on the challenge of walking either 25km or 50km along the North Downs Way in Kent! Starting at Fort Amherst, your route will take you along the North Down’s Way where you will be able to take in the beautiful Garden of England. Throughout your trek, you’ll be supported with regular marshal points and water, snack and first aid stations.
Rising Sun is proud to be a Bronze Partner of the 2025 Kent Charity Trek, organised by Kent Search and Rescue.
Date: Saturday 17th May 2025
Location: Chatham/Maidstone
Fundraising: £55 sign-up fee, and raise as much as you can
Kent Charity Trek Route
Whether you choose the 25k or 50k trek, you’ll experience some of the finest landmarks and countryside the Garden of England has to offer.
25km Route
Starting at Fort Amherst, Britain’s biggest Napoleonic Fort, to the Norman Cathedral and Rochester Castle, you’ll follow the winding River Medway to reach the top of the North Downs with spectacular views over the southern part of the country. As you hike around Blue Bell Hill, and the mystic Kit’s Coty, you’ll enjoy some spectacular scenery before starting your final incline to reach your finish line at to the top of the White Horse Wood Country Park.
50km Route
After a short break at the White Horse Wood Country Park, you’ll take in the breath-taking views over the North Downs as you pass the remains of Thurnham Castle. You’ll trek through the lovely village of Charing, before reaching the picturesque grounds of Eastwell Manor where you will cross the finish line. You can also complete the second half of the route as a stand-alone 25km route.
You can view the route maps here:
Take part for Rising Sun
You can register for a Rising Sun place on the hike for a registration fee of £55 and then raise as much as you can to support families experiencing domestic abuse.
As a Bronze Partner, Rising Sun will receive 70% of all your fundraising and 30% will go to Kent Search and Rescue, a charity themselves who are hosting the event to support local charities across Kent.
Every £25 that you raise for Rising Sun could pay for a woman to receive a specialist 1:1 counselling session to help them rebuild their life after experiencing domestic abuse.
Hiking for survivors of domestic abuse
Each year we must raise £1.7m to provide all of our services free of charge to those who need us most across Canterbury, Ashford and Folkestone & Hythe. By raising sponsorship for your Kent Charity Trek you can ensure victim-survivors are listened to, believed and can access the specialist services they need to live safely and rebuild their lives.
Your fundraising could help us:
- £10 could stock a bag of necessities for a woman fleeing domestic abuse
- £25 could pay for a woman to attend a specialist 1:1 counselling session
- £30 could pay for a child to attend a supported activity day during the school holidays
- £50 could pay for a young people to receive a specialist 1:1 counselling session
- £60 could pay for a woman to attend our supportive weekly drop-in café for ten weeks
- £200 could pay for a woman to attend a 10-week support group to rebuild their life
Frequently Asked Questions
It’s great to hear that you’d like to hike the Kent Charity Trek for Rising Sun, thank you so much.
To hike for Rising Sun, you will need to register through the Rising Sun portal using the link below.
There is a £55 registration fee to pay upon sign up, and then we kindly ask you to fundraise as much as possible for your 25km or 50km challenge!
When fundraising for Rising Sun, please follow our Fundraising Terms and Conditions.
In the run up to the event, you will receive everything that you need to know directly from Kent Charity Trek. In the meantime though, you can find out the key information via the links below:
Thank you so much for fundraising for Rising Sun through the Lydd Half Marathon, we’re so grateful for your support!
JustGiving: If you’ve opened a JustGiving page, this money will be sent directly to Rising Sun on a regular basis. There’s nothing more you need to do!
Cheque/Cash: If you’ve fundraised by collecting cash or using a sponsorship form, you can either transfer the funds via bank transfer or by posting us a cheque for your totalled amount. You can make a cheque payable to Rising Sun Domestic Violence and Abuse Service and post it to: PO Box 1229, Canterbury, CT1 9TZ.
If you’d like to transfer funds by bank transfer, please call the fundraising team on 01227 452852 or email us on fundraising@risingsunkent.com and we’ll let you know the necessary details.
When fundraising, don’t forget to ask your generous friends & family to Gift Aid their donation to help us raise an additional 25% from their donation, at no cost to themselves!
Many employers offer a match funding scheme, this means that they will match your fundraising efforts. Therefore, if you raise £100 for Rising Sun, they’ll also donate £100 to Rising Sun – equalling £200!!
When taking part in a fundraising event, it’s always worth asking your employer if they offer a match funding scheme to help you increase your fundraising.
Absolutely!
To help you spread the word about your incredible fundraising efforts for Rising Sun, you can download one of our branded sponsorship forms to share with your friends, family and colleagues.
Please be sure to ask your kind supporters to tick Gift Aid to raise an additional 25%!