The Great Southern Walk
This stunning walk through Kent’s beautiful countryside is organised by Rising Sun alongside our close community partner, the Prince of Wales Youth Club. Featuring two distances- the full 15 mile route takes you high on the Kent Downs, and the fun 5 mile route along the River Stour – 100% of ticket sales goes directly to the charities.
Take part in the best hike in Kent, with an energetic warm up to start, fully marked and marshalled routes, special celebrity guest to hand out medals and the most delicious food and drink stalls to enjoy when you finish!
Date: Sunday 13th September 2026
Location: Just outside Canterbury
Tickets: Full 15 mile walk – £20 / Fun 5 mile walk – £15. Under 16’s walk free! Check website for Early Bird offers!
Ticket sales will open in 2026. Please sign up for news at The Great Southern Walk’s website (bottom of page)
Kent Charity Trek Route
Whether you choose the ‘Full 15’ or the ‘Fun 5’ you’ll be sure to experience some of the most beautiful countryside in Kent.
15 mile Route
The challenging 15 mile route (24 km) starts and finishes on the outskirts of Canterbury, and takes you through Larkey Valley Wood; 107 acres of ancient woodland, passes the hidden gem hamlets of Garlinge Green and Pope Street, crossing the beech woods of Denge Wood, with the 17 century Eggarton Manor and the Neolithic long barrow at Julliberrie Downs to admire. Hikers will also follow sections of the beautiful Stour Valley Walk across open rolling hills and along riversides. Most of the route lies within the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
5 mile Route
The 5 mile walk takes you along the River Stour and its water meadows. It passes Tonford Manor, with the remains of a 15th century gatehouse and climbs the embankment which until 1947 used to carry the Elham Valley Railway on its way to Folkestone, giving fine views of Canterbury city. The youngsters will be happy with the stop at Toddlers Cove, the children’s playground, before following the Great Stour back to the start.
Take part for Rising Sun
You can book your place at The Great Southern Walk’s website. 100% of all tickets sales go directly to the two charities and funds raised are split equally.
Every step you take through Kent’s beautiful countryside supports survivors of domestic abuse through Rising Sun and young people at Prince of Wales Youth Club.
You can ask your friends and family to sponsor your trek challenge, and raise even more funds for the two charities!
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.
Ticket sales will open in 2026. You can also contact us for further details.
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 The Great Southern Walk 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 take part in The Great Southern Walk for Rising Sun, thank you so much.
To hike for Rising Sun, you can buy tickets for the Full 15 or the Fun 5 walks at The Great Southern Walk website.
If you are planning to raise sponsorship, 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 The Great Southern Walk. 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 Great Southern Walk, 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%!