London Royal Parks Challenge

Why book with Charity Challenge?

• We are a multi-award winning challenge events specialist with over two decades of professional experience organising and leading challenges worldwide 
• High quality route design that incorporates major landmarks and undiscovered highlights
• Fully supported walking challenge. Checkpoints, walking leaders and support vehicle.
• The very best leaders, who are fully qualified, highly experienced, knowledgeable and fun. They will do everything to help you complete the challenge and have a great time doing it
• Thorough safety management systems in place (Challenge Safe)
• Medal at the finish
• The very highest quality London Royal Parks Challenge on the market!

Level of difficulty

The London Royal Parks Challenge is graded as tough. This is the perfect challenge for participants who are of an adventurous spirit and an open mind, who have taken part in other trekking challenges and now wish to test themselves on a longer route. You can tell your supporters that on your London Royal Parks Challenge you will be:
•    Covering an impressive 45 km distance (that's 3km more than a marathon distance!)
•    Taking on varied terrain, from footpaths to urban roads.
•    Walking between 10-12 hours

Training

The London Royal Parks Challenge is a long, sustained event of up to 12 hours and covers varied terrain. Therefore, it requires a good level of fitness. The ideal training for this challenge is, naturally, walking along similar terrain. However, if you do not have the luxury of living near the great outdoors, then the gym or walking in your local area are good places to start.

Most training should be part of an ongoing lifestyle, but if this is not the case then you should begin training 4-6 months prior to the challenge and gradually build up. Remember to use the clothes, equipment and especially the shoes that you will be wearing on the challenge in order to get them worn in. The more you exercise before the challenge, the more you will get out of it. Also see your Charity Challenge Fitness Training notes.

Group size

Our minimum group size is 20 and groups are typically made up of between 20-40 people. There will be one challenge leader for approximately every 10-15 participants.

On occasion, we may be able to run a challenge with less than 20 people. This may incur a small group supplement. If this happens, it will be communicated before your invoice or fundraising deadline.

Group Management

This is a leader-led challenge and you will be accompanied by our challenge walking leaders at all times.

We employ experienced and fully qualified walking leaders to accompany and lead you. The leaders are first aid qualified and have extensive experience in leading challenges throughout Britain and overseas. They will be ultimately responsible for the running of the itinerary and the safety of your group. They will be carrying full safety equipment and first aid kits with them at all times.

This challenge is designed and run as a team event and we encourage everyone taking part to support each other throughout the trek. This challenge is not designed as a race for individuals. You will be accompanied throughout the day by our fully qualified challenge walking leaders. They are there for your safety and to ensure the smooth running of the event.

We intend to keep the entire group together as much as possible. However, if it becomes necessary to split the group into smaller teams then the leaders will facilitate this. The route will not be marked by event arrows. A support vehicle will be available throughout the day to support anyone who requires it.

Weather

As you know, the weather in the UK can be highly unpredictable and at times erratic, so being prepared is the key! We run UK challenges between March and November, and although the summer months of June-August should be, in general, warmer, sunnier and more stable in terms of the weather conditions, we all know that this isn’t always the case. Please check the weather forecasts to ensure that you bring clothing suitable for all weather, including warm and sunny temperatures as well as wind and downpours.

Terrain

The terrain on the London Royal Parks Challenge is a mixture of footpaths and pavements. There are sections of the footpaths along the river and the Regent’s canal that can be muddy.

Challenge timings

Please note: Precise details and timings will be made available in your Final Details that are sent out 1 month prior to the challenge.

You will need to be at the registration point at 6.30am on the morning of the challenge. The trek will begin at approx. 7am. The total time to complete this challenge should be between 10-12 hours. We will aim to have everyone finished by 6-7pm.

Please note: Whilst we shall do all we can to stick to this finish time, please make sure you book flexible return tickets as delays can happen and we cannot guarantee a precise finishing time or be held responsible for any missed transport.

Getting to and from the challenge

The registration point for this challenge will near the entrance to Bushy Park. This is very near to Kingston Upon Thames train station. You will need to aim to be at this start point for 6.30am.

The challenge finishes in Greenwich Park. We aim to complete this challenge by 6-7pm. There are lots of transport options to get you from Greenwich back into central London.

Please note: We will send you precise instructions about how to get to the registration point, and the timings of the event, one month prior to the challenge. We reserve the right to use alternative registration points and finishing points when necessary.

Accommodation

No accommodation is provided for this challenge. Both Kingston Upon Thames and Greenwich have a wide variety of accommodation options available.

Food and drink

The following meals are included in the cost of this challenge:

• A packed lunch will be available to you during the day.
• At each checkpoint (approx every 2 hours) there will be water and checkpoint snacks available.

We would advise that you also bring some of your own preferred snacks to keep you going during the day.

Please ensure you have had a substantial breakfast before arriving and that you arrive with your water bottles already filled.

Clothing and equipment

Equipment of good quality and durability could make the difference between a fantastic challenge experience and an uncomfortable one. For this challenge, waterproof and well-worn in boots or walking shoes will be indispensable. The terrain can be uneven at times, so it is vital that you use boots or walking shoes with good grip. A full kit list for this challenge can be found here.

Once you book you will have access to kit discounts with our partners OutdoorHire and Cotswold Outdoor

Toilets

There will be several points throughout the day when public toilets will be available. Your leaders will make you aware of when these toilet stops will take place.

Money

During the challenge, there are limited opportunities to spend any money. We will be trekking through busy urban areas of London and will pass plenty of shops, however we do need to keep to our timings so breaks will be limited to a few checkpoints where water and snacks will be provided by our support vehicle. We would advise you should need no more than £20.00, excluding your joining and returning home travel costs.

Safety

Charity Challenge considers the safety of all of our participants and staff to be a top priority, and as such we have set up Challenge Safe, one of the most advanced and thorough safety management systems in the industry. Challenge Safe formalises our ethos when it comes to safety, and brings together the procedures and risk management strategies that we use to audit all aspects of our challenges, from vehicles to accommodation to the challenge activity itself. Your welfare is absolutely paramount!

Here are a few important points that you should be aware of:

• Don’t underestimate the difficulty of an urban challenge. 45km is a tough and challenging distance
• Walking a marathon (plus!) distance means you will be walking for approximately 10-12 hours so you should ensure your training has been tailored towards this
• Despite this being an urban challenge you should still make sure that you have all appropriate clothing and kit

Emergencies

Your leadership team is trained to deal with emergency situations and will be carrying mobile phones and radios in case the emergency services need to be contacted. The event is not run as a race and you will never be encouraged to walk at a pace ‘beyond your ability’. There will always be a wide variety in people’s walking abilities which will be carefully managed by the leader team. This team will keep the group together for maximum safety and set a sensible pace for all to achieve this challenge within the planned time frame. Should you find yourself unable to continue for any reason, then our support team, including our support vehicle, will be able to assist you coming off the challenge. 

Pre-Existing Medical Conditions

We do not professionally vet your medical details. Please assess for yourself whether you are fit and able to take on the challenge. Please review the detailed Trip Notes and itinerary to get a better idea of what is involved. Please speak to your doctor or specialist if you have any concerns about taking part. If you think that there are things we can do to make the challenge more accessible/comfortable for you, it is your responsibility to let us know, and we will then let you know if we can accommodate your request.

Medical Support

First Aid qualified staff will be provided with the medical details that you give on your booking form but please note that they are on the challenge to support with medical matters related to the challenge environment and terrain itself, i.e. heat/cold and so on. They will deal with any incidents and accidents (cuts, sprains, breaks and so on). They are not intended to continue any ongoing specialist medical care that you receive in the UK for pre-existing medical conditions, and should not be assumed to have any professional experience of your specific medical condition.

If you have any specific needs around pre-existing medical conditions, you should discuss these with your family doctor or specialist in advance and then discuss any advice given by them with the challenge leader.

Insurance

We don’t offer insurance for our UK trips, as any medical emergencies would naturally be covered through the NHS. Therefore, the main thing that you will not be covered for is cancellation. You can see our cancellation policy within our terms and conditions here. If you wish, you could look into your own policy that covers cancellation for travel within the UK.

Responsible Tourism

Charity Challenge believes that all of it’s challenges, whether in the UK or overseas, should have a positive impact on the communities we visit. 
In the UK we would encourage all participants to consider booking an additional nights accommodation in the area they are visiting so that they can fully enjoy their challenge experience. Many of our challenges are set in beautiful areas of the UK so why not turn your challenge into a weekend away and go out for a celebration meal in a local pub or restaurant.

For more details about our responsible tourism policy then please click here.

Keeping Safe post-Covid

This challenge is planned to start running in 2021 when we hope that we will live in a ‘post-Covid’ world. Please rest assured that Charity Challenge will continue to monitor all of the latest advice from both the government and local authorities and will ensure that all of our safety systems are up to date.

We produced a ‘Covid-19: Keeping you safe on your challenge’ document to outline what we were putting in place across all of our UK challenges. This document can be read here. We will be updating this document to reflect the restrictions that are put in place in 2021.

Booking with Confidence