Great Wild Walks: Frequently asked questions

WWF Great Wild Walks are our series of mass participation sponsored walks, taking place in areas of natural beauty. When you register to take part, we'll send you all the information you need to get you ready for the big day and hit your £150 fundraising target.

We have four events taking place in summer 2024. These are:

Sunday 19th May 2024 at Alice Holt Forest

Saturday 1st June 2024 at Sherwood Pines

Saturday 22nd June at Epping Forest

Saturday 6th July 2024 at Beechenhurst Forest, in the Forest of Dean

It’s really simple! 

1. Sign up to your chosen event

2. Set up your fundraising page and donate to it. By donating yourself, your friends and family will see how important this is to you. 

3. Get sponsored by friends and family to hit your £150 target

4. Join us at your chosen Great Wild Walk to complete our route through beautiful nature and receive your WWF t-shirt and medal!

Great Wild Walks are a family friendly event. Whilst there is no minimum age for this event, the recommended age is 8+ (to be accompanied by a paying parent or guardian).

Attendees over the age of 16 are required to purchase a ticket, and anyone under 16 years old is free of charge.

At each event, you'll be able to choose between a half route (roughly 5 miles) or a full route (roughly 10 miles). Event routes subject to change based on venue specific location and unforeseen circumstances.

You'll be able to collect your WWF t-shirt at our registration tent when you arrive at the event.

You'll then be provided with our wooden eco-medal upon crossing the finish line!

Yes. We'll be sending a digital map closer to the event, so please check your emails.

There will be toilets at the start/finish point at all events.

Please ensure you bring your own water bottle with you, with enough water to get you around the route. There will be additional water available at the start/end point.

Yes. Teas and coffees and some light refreshments will be available to purchase in the event village for all events. We do recommend you bring snacks with you for the walk itself.

Yes – when you register you’ll receive a link to our suite of digital resources. This includes our kit checklist, totaliser poster, social posts and more.

We’ll also be sending regular emails with lots of information and top tips on fundraising, how your funds help and important information about your chosen event.

Your ticket price also includes the cost of a WWF t-shirt, which you’ll be able to collect on the day. And when you finish your Great Wild Walk, you’ll also receive our eco-medal!

Dogs are welcome to attend all Great Wild Walk events. We ask for dogs attending the event to be kept on a lead and under control at all times. Please remember that you are responsible for your dog and its actions for the entirety of your visit.

Yes. If you are no longer able to participate please email fundraising@wwf.org.uk so we can re-allocate your place.

When you register to take part, we ask you to aim to raise £150 for WWF, which does not include your registration fee.

No, we kindly ask you to aim to raise £150 in addition to your registration fee.

When you register you will have the option to create a JustGiving page. This is great for keeping track of your total and sharing with friends and family! Plus, donations are sent to WWF automatically. 

To create your Great Wild Walk Alice Holt fundraising page click here. 

To create your Great Wild Walk Sherwood Pines fundraising page click here. 

To create your Great Wild Walk Epping Forest fundraising page click here. 

To create your Great Wild Walk Forest of Dean fundraising page click here. 

Please note, please also ensure you have purchased a ticket via our website.

If you’ve got cash donations and already have a fundraising page, you can pay the donations into your own bank account and make an online donation via your fundraising page.  

Alternatively, you can choose from the following methods:  

• By enclosing a cheque made payable to WWF-UK with a note you raised the money from Great Wild Walks. Please sent to:  
  WWF Great Wild Walks, The Living Planet Centre, Brewery Road, Woking GU21 4LL  
   
• Call us on 01483 426333 to make payment via phone.  

All donations made from WWF's Great Wild Walks will be used to fund WWF’s work around the world to help protect our amazing planet. If you would like to find out more about the work we do, please have a look at our website.

You'll be able to collect your fundraising rewards at your Great Wild Walk event. Just show the team your JustGiving page at our merchandise area! 

Full terms and conditions: 

You understand that to qualify for a fundraising reward, you must have raised the minimum target amount, as outlined below, by no later than 17:00hrs on the date listed. Late entries will not be considered. All applicable persons will receive the relevant fundraising incentive(s), to be collected on the day at the event they are registered to attend. Fundraising rewards are available while stocks last. The incentive is non-transferable and cannot be exchanged for the cash equivalent. The fundraising targets and applicable rewards are as set out below and are cumulative (so, by way of example only, if your fundraising total is equal to or exceeds £250 you will be entitled to receive all the applicable rewards as set out below). Fundraising totals do not include Gift Aid: 

To qualify for a WWF wooden keyring incentive reward, you must have raised a minimum of £150 (excluding Gift Aid) by no later than 23:59hrs by: 

Great Wild Walk Alice Holt Forest - Friday 17th May 2024 

Great Wild Walk Sherwood Pines - Friday 31st May 2024 

Great Wild Walk Epping Forest - Friday 21st June 2024 

Great Wild Walk Forest of Dean - Friday 5th July 202 

To also qualify for a WWF neck buff incentive reward, you must have raised a minimum of £250 (excluding Gift Aid) by no later than 23:59hrs by: 

Great Wild Walk Alice Holt Forest - Friday 17th May 2024 

Great Wild Walk Sherwood Pines - Friday 31st May 2024 

Great Wild Walk Epping Forest - Friday 21st June 2024 

Great Wild Walk Forest of Dean - Friday 5th July 2024

The Great Wild Walk Alice Holt is taking place on Sunday 19th May 2024. Please arrive at 09:30am and the walk will start at 10am.

The address of the venue is: Alice Holt Forest, Bucks Horn Oak, Farnham, GU10 4LS

Please use this What Three Words reference to find the event village location (///compound.boost.evolution)

You can also visit the Alice Holt Forestry England webpage for information on how to travel.

Travel time from nearby major towns and cities

London – 2 hour drive, 2 hour train  

Southampton – hour drive, 2 hour 20 train  

Guildford – 40 min drive, 90 min train  

Crawley – 1 hour 20 drive, 2 hour 30 train/ bus 

Portsmouth – 45 min drive, 2 hour train/ bus 

Please arrive at 09:30am and the walk will start at 10am.
Please note, if you arrive after 10:45am you will be able to complete the walk using a digital map provided but there may no longer be marshals on route.

We encourage everyone to take public transport to our events but understand some individuals will need to drive.
There is parking available at Alice Holt forest for around 450 cars. Please note, spaces are limited and parking charges may apply on the day.

The Great Wild Walk Sherwood Pines is taking place on Saturday 1st June 2024. Please arrive at 09:45am and the walk will start at 10:30am.

The address of the venue is: Sherwood Pines, Kings Clipstone, Nottingham, NG21 9JL

Please use this What Three Words reference to find the event village location (///maple.glimmers.love)

You can also visit the Sherwood Pines Forestry England webpage for more information on how to travel.

Travel time from nearby major towns and cities

Nottingham – 45 min drive, 1 hour 30 train/ bus 

Derby – 50 min drive, 2 hour train/ bus 

Leicester – 1 hour 15 drive, 2 hour train 

Manchester – 2 hour drive, 2 hour train/ bus 

Sheffield – 1 hour drive, 2 hour train/ bus  

London – 3.5 hour drive, 3 hour 45 min train 

York – 1 hour 30 drive, 2 hour 30 train/ bus 

Please arrive at 09:45am and the walk will start at 10:30am.
Please note, if you arrive after 11:20am you will be able to complete the walk using a digital map provided but there may no longer be marshals on route.

We encourage everyone to take public transport to our events but understand some individuals will need to drive.
There is plenty of parking available at Sherwood Pines. Please note, parking charges may apply on the day.

The Great Wild Walk Alice Holt is taking place on Saturday 22nd June 2024. Please arrive at 09:30am and the walk will start at 10am.

The address of the venue is: Chingford Plain, Bury Road, Greater London, E4 7AZ

Please use this What Three Words reference to find the event village location (///moral.mice.saints)

Where possible, we encourage participants to utilise public transport or car share to lessen your environmental footprint. 

By train 

The nearest overground station is Chingford Station. Trains depart from Liverpool Street Station and only take 30 minutes and will take you directly to the entrance of Epping Forest. The event site is an 8 minute walk from Chingford station. 

By car 

For those coming by road, the district is bisected by two motorways, the M25 and the M11 and there are a number of exits. For the north of the district use junction 7 M11, south use junction 4 M11, east use junction 5 M11 (southbound only) and west use junction 27 M25. 

By bus 

There are a number of buses that go to Epping Forest such as the 20 and the 397. We recommend downloading the Citymapper app which will give you up to date transport routes for how to get anywhere in London. 

Travel time from nearby major towns and cities

London – 1 hour 20 drive (from central), 1 hour 20 train (central) 

Chelmsford – 30 min drive, 1 hour 20 bus 

Southend – 1 hour drive, 1 hour 30 train/ bus 

St Albans – 1 hour drive, 1 hour 30 train/bus 

Dartford – 45 min drive, 1 hour 45 train/ bus 

Luton – 1 hour drive, 2 hour train/ bus 

Please arrive at 09:30am and the walk will start at 10am.
Please note, if you arrive after 10:45am you will be able to complete the walk using a digital map provided but there may no longer be marshals on route.

We encourage everyone to take public transport to our events but understand some individuals will need to drive. 

There is a pay and display car park at Bury Road car park, using the RingGo payment platform. Please note the maximum stay is 6 hours.  

For more information on parking at Epping please visit https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/things-to-do/green-spaces/epping-forest/car-parking-at-epping-forest  

The Great Wild Walk Forest of Dean is taking place on Saturday 6th July 2024. Please arrive at 09:30am and the walk will start at 10am.

The address of the venue is: Beechunhurst Forest, Speech House Road, Coleford, GL16 7EL

Please use this What Three Words reference to find the event village location (///snoozing.equipment.nooks)

You can also visit the Beechenhurst Forestry England webpage for information on how to travel.

Travel time from nearby major towns and cities

Oxford – 1 hour 45 drive, 3 hour train/ bus 

Bristol – 50 min drive, 2 hour 30 train 

Cheltenham – 45 min drive, 2 hour train 

Cardiff  - 1 hour drive, 2 hour 45 train 

Gloucester – 40 min drive, 1 hour 30 train 

Worcester – 1 hour drive, 2 hour 40 train 

Please arrive at 09:30am and the walk will start at 10am.
Please note, if you arrive after 10:45am you will be able to complete the walk using a digital map provided but there may no longer be marshals on route.

We encourage everyone to take public transport to our events but understand some individuals will need to drive.
There is parking available at Alice Holt forest for around 400 cars. Please note, spaces are limited and parking charges may apply on the day.