Determined care home residents have put their best foot forward to help raise nearly £3,500 for the Salisbury Hospice Charity.
Over 168 days, sponsored walkers at the city’s Braemar Lodge completed enough routes around their garden and nearby Victoria Park to match the entire distance from Salisbury to their namesake village of Braemar, 500 miles to the north in Aberdeenshire.
The campaign echoed a similar 500-mile charity walking initiative they completed five years ago.
This time round, various routes were mapped out at different lengths with a running total collated and displayed on a poster in the Stratford Road home’s reception. Wheelchair-users also did their bit, assisted by staff or family.
Resident and keen walker Kay Callow said: “I have loved walking my whole life, and this opportunity to walk the miles for the hospice gave me purpose and extra impetus to keep my walking going.”
Home Manager Jackie Cash said: “Many residents echoed Kay’s words, that it gave them the incentive to get out and about in the garden, enjoy the fresh air and view the different plants and birds which, of course, changed over the 168 days.
“Residents also got to know the garden space around our new extension well, with vegetable and fruit growing in the greenhouse, summer house, fountains, plants and trees.”
The walking initiative was part of a year of fundraising for the hospice throughout 2025 which included community events such as an Easter raffle and a summer garden party.
Kay had the honour of presenting a giant cheque representing the year’s total of £3,461.53 to Louise Compton, Corporate Fundraiser for Salisbury Hospice. The sum is the most the home has ever raised in a single charity campaign since it opened in 2007.
Louise said: “It has been a pleasure to work with the residents and staff at Braemar Lodge care home over the past year. I have truly admired the dedication of everyone involved in these fundraising efforts, as well as the strong sense of community that is evident throughout the home.
“I would like to thank all who have supported these activities, including the families and friends of the home.
“It is thanks to the support of individuals and organisations like Braemar Lodge that the hospice is able to provide care and compassion to so many people in the community. On behalf of everyone at the hospice, thank you.”
In summer 2021, Braemar Lodge residents completed a similar 500-mile walking target to raise £500 for Salisbury-based social enterprise The Pantry Partnership.
