THE host of an award-winning podcast is set to start a 180-mile sponsored walk in Wickham this summer.

Former controller of BBC Radio 1 and host of the Folk on Foot podcast Matthew Bannister will start his trek from the Wickham Festival on Friday, August 18 and finish two weeks later on Friday, August 18 at the FolkEast Festival in Suffolk, with the walk in aid of the charity Help Musicians.

Matthew will take the stage on the opening Thursday night of Wickham Festival at the end of Show of Hands’ headline set to tell the audience about the walk starting from the site the following morning. Wickham Festival organiser Peter Chegwyn said: "We are honoured that Matthew has chosen to start his Big Walk at Wickham. It’s a great thing to do and a fantastic cause and I hope it raises a lot of money and awareness.

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"We have a brilliant crowd at Wickham and I am sure they will turn out in their numbers to give Matthew a good send-off and some donations. It will be a wonderful way to start what promises to be another terrific event for us. I am just sorry Matthew won't get to see much of it as he will be walking while we are all enjoying fantastic music and hopefully the sunshine.”

The route will take him from the rolling countryside of Hampshire’s Meon Valley to a finish line in the grounds of Suffolk’s glorious Glemham Hall where the FolkEast festival is staged, traversing Berkshire, Greater London, Hertfordshire and Essex en route.

Matthew said: “The lockdowns may be a distant memory, but the problems faced by musicians haven’t gone away. Many are dealing with mental or physical health issues or financial hardship and Help Musicians and its sister charity Music Minds Matter do a brilliant job of supporting them to build secure careers in what can be a very challenging and precarious industry.

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“That’s why I’ve decided to tramp 180 miles across the South East of England to raise money and awareness. Music and musicians have been vital throughout my life, raising my spirits when I was down, helping me to celebrate important moments and bringing me joy every single day.

“This walk is a small way of saying thank you.”

For more information about the sponsored walk, visit folkonfoot.com/bigwalk.