27 workers from the Vodafone office in Beacon Hill Office Park, Cafferata Way, Newark, walked from Lincoln Central Station to Newark Castle to raise funds for Beaumond House Hospice Care

More than £1,000 has been raised for charity as 27 office team members took part in a ‘great but hard going’ walk from Lincoln to Newark.

Members of the Vodafone office team walked 17.5 miles from Lincoln Central Station to Newark Castle to raise funds for Beaumond House Hospice Care last Wednesday (May 14).

The team, based at Beacon Hill Office Park on Cafferata Way, met at the train station at 9.30am and set off, with a support car, down Lincoln’s high street, along Newark Road to the Witham St Hughes roundabout before going past Swinderby, Collingham, and Winthorpe, ending at the grounds of Newark Castle.

Carl Johnson-Gash, the design and experience operations lead, who came up with the idea, said that despite the weather being perfect, the last mile got tricky as people’s legs were getting sore and blisters were appearing.

He added: “But still, we powered through. I think everyone just wanted a good sit-down at the end!”

Natalie Butler, Vodafone’s charity lead at the Newark site, filled her car boot with water, energy drinks and snacks to keep the team going all the way.

Nira the dog also provided encouragement in the support car, which Carl said to have been ‘a real boost’ for the whole team.

The team decided to raise funds for Beaumond House due to the work they do for the community and how they support end of life for any illness, palliative care and support for families and friends, at no cost.

Carl added: “It’s way more than any of us were expecting, and the number keeps on going up.

“So we are beyond happy!

“I think there is real pride with the whole team that we got past what we intended.”

In September, the team is looking at doing a similar event, however, with a different route.

“We think with the success of the day, more people will want to get involved and maybe people from other sites might join us, so more potential to raise some money,” the design and experience operations lead added.

A few members of the Vodafone team will be running the Newark half marathon for Care After Combat.