What To Expect

KEY INFORMATION

When and where: Saturday 20th July 2024. The event will start and finish at St John's Church Waterloo, close to Waterloo Station (73 Waterloo Road, London SE1 8TY), with each group setting off individually between 6-7pm.

During the event: You can choose between a 9.5 mile or 13.1 mile (half-marathon distance) pre-planned route around central London. Walkers will take part in groups of 2-6 people, so come along with a friend or with a bigger group of family/friends (you can take part individually too, we'll sort you out with a group).

Fundraising: Everyone taking part will be raising funds for Streets of London, to help people experiencing homelessness. We encourage each adult participant to aim at raising £150 in fundraising if they can, so that as many homeless people as possible receive support.

To ensure that the event achieves its purpose of generating much-needed donations, we ask each participating adult to set up their own fundraising page on JustGiving and to have raised at least £50 on it by 3 days before the night walk, which will then qualify them to take part in the event.

Registration: Everyone taking part in the Night Walk will need to register for the event in advance (you will not be able to register on the day). To help cover essential event costs, there is a £15 registration fee. The number of places available is limited and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. Registration will close at 11.59pm on Sunday 14th July 2024 (if there are any places remaining).

You will need to be at least 10 years old by the day of the event to take part. Anyone under 18 will need to be accompanied by a responsible adult who is at least 21 years old. For everyone's safety, each group will need to have at least 2 adults in it.

You can find more detailed information about the night walk below and in the FAQs section.

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9.5 mile route:

13.1 mile (half-marathon distance) route:

The Route

Both the 9.5 mile and 13.1 mile routes include many of the capital's most recognisable landmarks, so you'll have the chance to be a tourist for the night! Highlights along the route include Buckingham Palace, the Houses of Parliament, The Tower of London, Tower Bridge, St Paul's Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, Trafalgar Square, The Gherkin, The Shard and many more of the city's best known-sights. The 13.1 mile route includes the re-developed Battersea Power Station, Tate Britain, US Embassy and MI6 (Secret Intelligence Service) headquarters too.

You will be able to access the route on your mobile phone through Google Maps, so you can see where you are in real time. We'll send participants a link to the detailed map in the run-up to the event. You will also be able to download a PDF version in advance (which you can print too if you wish), so you have a copy safely stored in case of any connectivity problems etc. (NB: We would encourage you to bring an external battery pack / portable charger to ensure that your phone has enough battery life for the whole event.)

A Group Event

To make for a great experience and to ensure everyone's safety, walkers will take part in groups of 2-6 people, so come along with a friend! It's also an ideal opportunity to get a gang of family or friends together for a fun evening out that's also making a difference.

If you're signing up as a pair but would like to walk as part of a bigger group, just let us know and we'll arrange it!

If you'd like to take part as an individual, that's fine too - at registration we'll ask you if you think you're a faster/medium/slower walker and we'll try to match you up with 3-5 others of a similar walking pace who have signed up individually.

Timings

Please arrive from 6pm onwards. The start time for the event will be between 6-7pm (a staggered start, with each group setting off individually). We'll get you checked in (so we know who's out there on the course), give you each a Streets of London t-shirt to walk in, and then once your whole team is assembled at the venue and ready to go, you'll be ready to set off!

Sunset will be at 9.05pm that evening, so you'll start the event in daylight, be able to enjoy the sunset, then finish in the dark for the full Night Walk experience!

How long the Night Walk takes you will depend on the speed of your group, but the 9.5 mile route is likely to take most walkers roughly 3.5 hours plus any time for rest stops. If you're walking this shorter route, we would recommend starting closer to 7pm, to ensure that you finish in the dark for the full night-walk effect.

The longer 13.1 mile route will take most walkers roughly 4.5 hours (between 3.5 - 5.5 hours, depending on walking speed) plus any time for rest stops. If you're walking this distance we would suggest starting closer to 6pm so you avoid finishing too late. We anticipate that most walkers will have finished the event before midnight.

We ask everyone to check back in again at the end of the event (when you return to start point), to make sure that everyone's safely accounted for. The venue will close at 1am, but if anyone is still out on the course at that point, we'll be following up with anyone who has not checked back in by then, so please be ready to respond to a message when we're in touch with you, so we know that you're okay.

Fundraising Target & Minimum

We're holding the Night Walk to raise as much money as possible for the homelessness projects we support, so we ask each person taking part to raise money for Streets of London, to support the charity's work. We encourage each adult participant to aim at raising £150 in fundraising if they can, so that as many homeless people as possible receive support. A big thank you in advance for your fundraising efforts!

To ensure that the event achieves its purpose of generating much-needed donations, each participating adult will need to set up their own fundraising page on JustGiving and have raised at least £50 on it by 3 days before the night walk (by 11.59pm on Wednesday 17th July), which will then qualify them to take part in the event. Participants can choose to top up any shortfall themselves if required, to reach this minimum amount.

When setting up your fundraising page on JustGiving, please be sure to use the same e-mail address that you used to register for the event on Eventbrite, so that we can match you with your page. Thanks!

There is no fundraising requirement for children taking part in the event.

Registration

Everyone taking part in the Night Walk will need to register for the event in advance. To help cover essential event costs, there is a £15 registration fee (non-refundable). The number of places available is limited and places will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. Registration will close at 11.59pm on Sunday 14th July, if there are any places remaining by then.

Age Restrictions

Practicalities

Toilets & rest stops - You will be able to use the loos at St John's Church Waterloo at the start of the event and again at the finish. You can also make an optional rest stop there if you want to (at roughly 4.5 miles on the shorter route and 8 miles on the longer route), where you can take a break, use the loos and refill water bottles. Additionally, you will find a number of other good places for rest stops/loo breaks along the route marked on the Google map (eg at Battersea Power Station, the Royal Festival Hall, etc), and lots of pubs and restaurants along the route will be open too, if you're caught short.
Staying hydrated - Each walker should bring a refillable water bottle with them. Bottles can be filled at the start, at the optional rest stop and also at any of the public water refill points that you'll find along the route (three of these are marked on the map).
Food & Snacks - The charity will provide a snack-bar to take with you but we would encourage you to bring a sandwich and/or your favourite snacks along with you too, if you would like to, so you can have supper on the move or while stopping for a rest break.
First Aid - A professional First Aider will be on hand, ready to come and help if required.
Emergency telephone number - Each group will have an emergency number they can call to reach the charity team in case of any medical issues or any other difficulty they may need help with during the event.

If you'd like to join us, click the link below to sign up now!

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For answers to Frequently Asked Questions and for further information about the event, have a look at the other pages in this section (see links on the side-bar).