A HOSPICE has replaced its best-known fundraising event after 12 years to breathe new life into its events programme.

Sobell House Hospice in Headington has superseded its Moonlight Stroll with a new series of fundraisers called Light the Night, it announced yesterday.

The Moonlight Stroll has taken place in Oxford every year since 2007, and saw hundreds of people stride through the city at night – often in fancy dress – following an eight or nine-mile route.

The charity’s head of fundraising Dominique Cadiou said: “After doing fantastically well for Sobell House for 12 consecutive years and raising hundreds of thousands of vital pounds for the hospice, we felt it was time to re-imagine the stroll and bring it to life again.

“We’ve changed the route, we’ve changed the name but one thing we haven’t changed is the cause.”

See pictures from the 2018 walk here

And from the 2017 walk here 

Light the Night is also a sponsored nighttime walk, but will take place in three locations during the year: Bicester, Didcot and Oxford.

The Oxford event will be the last of the three, taking place on Saturday, July 20 and will follow a 10-mile course starting and ending in Headington.

Bicester Heritage, on the former RAF Bicester site, will provide the location for the first Light the Night, which is scheduled for Saturday, March 23.

This will be a 5km interactive course peppered with ‘neon zones’, fire shows and entertainment. The course is flat, fully-lit and suitable for people aged 10 and older, costing £15 for adults and £12 for children aged 10-16.

Didcot’s Light the Night will take place in May and also promises a fun-filled 5km course, though an exact date and location has not yet been made public.

Cara Waller, events manager at Sobell House, said: “This is an unmissable fundraising series open to all abilities and best enjoyed with friends and family from all over the county.

“Sobell House cares for patients and families across 80 per cent of Oxfordshire and we wanted to make sure everyone had an opportunity to take part – so we’ve taken Light the Night on the road, and are bringing these events to you.

“We want Light the Night to be fun and inclusive.”

A new website for the fundraisers officially launched yesterday and existing and new supporters have been encouraged to run, walk or jog one of three events to raise money for Sobell House. Registration for Bicester is now open at lightthenight.org.uk.