Horsham's Annual Riverside Walk

Horsham’s Annual Riverside Walk

On Saturday the 15 July, Paddington Bear™ helped to start almost 250 walkers of all ages on this year's 13-mile Riverside Walk. The famous bear is the mascot of Action Medical Research and walkers had been asked to donate to the North Parade-based charity. Money raised is now known to be around £1,200 and will go to help fund medical research to beat diseases that devastate the lives of many children. Community Fundraiser for Action Katia King said: “We were absolutely delighted to be chosen as this year’s charity to benefit from the Riverside Walk, especially as Horsham is our home town! “On behalf of Action I’d like to thank the Horsham Town Community Partnership for organising this family event and also everyone who donated their time, energy and funds so generously.” Many children (and some adults) shared cuddles with Paddington who was helping to raise funds for Action Medical Research, his favourite UK charity. A Treasure Hunt kept smaller children ‘on their toes’ looking for clues, with a medal awarded at the end. 

The first refreshment break at Chesworth Farm supplied cold drinks and an opportunity to freshen up although temperatures were not too hot. During the lunch stop at Warnham Nature Reserve, a small band kept walkers entertained and many took the opportunity of sitting in the shade provided by the large tents of the 1st Roffey Scout Group. The third stop for refreshment was at New House Farm café where many enjoyed a piece of cake and a drink while sprawling on the grass.

Any tired walkers were returned to their cars from agreed points shown in the event programme, by a free minibus supplied by Horsham District Community Transport.

Jane Apostolou, chair of the organisers, Horsham Town Community Partnership (HTCP), commented on the good humour and energy of all the participants, even at the end of the day and thanked all the volunteers and helpers for making it such a success.
"We are looking forward to seeing the entries for the photographic competition. The winner’s pictures will be displayed in the library during the week of the 5th August", she added.

(L to R: Katia King, Paddington Bear, Frank Talbot)

Frank Talbot, from Horsham, was the event’s top fundraiser having collected more than £800 in memory of his wife Jocelyn.

About Paddington Bear:
For almost 60 years, British-born writer Michael Bond has been delighting children and families all over the world with his stories about Paddington, the bear from Darkest Peru famous for his love of marmalade. Paddington is popular with both children and adults who feel affectionate and warm towards him and the charm and humour of the Paddington stories is the key to their enduring popularity.

Paddington’s adventures have been adapted several times for television and at the end of 2014 Paddington made his debut onto the big screen. The movie, produced by Studiocanal, part of the international content and media group Vivendi, is the best-selling non-Hollywood family movie ever released. A second Paddington movie, Paddington 2, is set to launch globally at the end of 2017.
In 2016, Vivendi took full ownership of the Paddington brand worldwide, with the exception of the classic publishing rights.

In recognition of Paddington’s extraordinary popularity and success, Michael Bond was awarded an OBE (Order of the British Empire) from the Queen for services to children’s literature in 1997 and a CBE (Commander of the British Empire) in 2015. In June of 2017, Michael Bond passed away leaving a legacy of one of the best loved children’s characters in the world, 15 Paddington Bear novels,  countless other formats, and a world-wide merchandising programme.  2018 marks the 60th Anniversary of the first book, A Bear Called Paddington, published by HarperCollins in 1958.
Follow Paddington on Twitter at @paddingtonbear
Like Paddington’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/PaddingtonBear/

©P&Co. Ltd./SC 2017
Licensed on behalf of Studiocanal S.A.S by Copyrights Group
Action Medical Research is a leading UK-wide charity saving and changing children’s lives through medical research. For 65 years we’ve helped pioneer ways to prevent disease and develop treatments benefiting millions of people. Our research has helped to beat polio in the UK, develop ultrasound in pregnancy, fight meningitis and prevent stillbirths. But we urgently need to develop more new treatments and cures for sick babies and children and we can’t do it without you.
Join our fight for little lives today.
Charity reg. nos 208701 and SC039284.