AROUND 500 women walked out on a ‘Silver Spectacular’ to mark the 25th anniversary of Weldmar.

At the stroke of midnight on Saturday, the women took to the streets on Weymouth taking on one of three routes, which all included the popular seafront, with the choice of 5mile, 6.5mile or 10mile routes to complete.

Matt Smith, Director of Fundraising and Marketing for Weldmar Hospicecare said “This year was a very special Midnight Walk for us.

“We’re celebrating 25 years of Hospicecare throughout Dorset, in which time we’ve cared for over 20,000 patients.

“We wanted to remember as many of those patients as possible this year and our Midnight Walk seemed a fitting event to do just that.”

All the walkers were treated to live entertainment prior to the walk as well as a photo booth, a delicious BBQ and much more.

A fun warm up session was led by Jo Thomson before walkers were set on their way.

Many women were proudly displaying the names on the back of their t-shirt of who they were walking in memory of.

Once walkers returned to the college, they were treated to a well deserved bacon roll, drink and goodie bag, plus the announcement of the grand total raised from the 2019 event.

It is believed that £44,000 has been raised this year which will go towards supporting patients who are facing one of life’s most difficult journeys throughout Dorset.

Tania Christopher walked the five mile route on what was both her 25th birthday and her hen night, with mum Lindy and sister Louise.

It was her first Midnight Walk and she said, “It’s a really fun event, a great atmosphere, and for a really good cause.

“I work for Charminster Stores and Post Office and we’ve sadly lost a number of customers, who were looked after by Weldmar”.

Mr Smith said “Since our first Midnight Walk in 2007, this event has raised over three quarters of a million pounds for our care and tonight has presented another amazing total. Fundraising is challenging at the moment, more people are needing our care than ever before and we need to raise enough money to be here for everyone who needs us. This event demonstrates the importance of our services and we are extremely grateful to all the walkers and our continued supporters.”

Weldmar would also like to thank the main sponsor, Weyline Taxis, all the volunteers and the walkers for making the 2019 event a success.