About W4N

Walking4Norfolk fundraises for the Walking4Norfolk Fund for Unpaid Carers which is managed by the Norfolk Community Foundation.

Our Mission

James Bagge founded Walking4Norfolk in 2018, inspired by the 100,000 unpaid carers in Norfolk who provide selfless support to ill, older or disabled family members, friends or partners. His fellow team members are Christopher Lloyd Owen, who is in charge of the Challenge coordination, and Anna Kasket, who manages design and publicity.

These ‘unsung heroes’ are thought to save local authority and NHS services in Norfolk £500 million a year, but they face many challenges and can become isolated without help. The money we raise funds projects run by a number of extraordinary local charities dedicated to alleviating the plight of Norfolk’s unpaid carers.

We support carers’ organisations by means of grants bestowed by the Norfolk Community Foundation

Unpaid carers are the devoted and selfless souls who care for their loved ones at home, saving the public purse hundreds of millions a year. They include young carers (under 18) who are looking after a family member at the same time as pursuing their studies, juggling their caring duties with life as a child or teenager.

Unpaid carers receive nothing for what they do.

The Walking4Norfolk Fund is managed by the Norfolk Community Foundation (NCF) and provides grants to organisations offering projects to support unpaid carers, providing respite from their significant day-to-day caring commitments.

Past Challenges

• May 2021: Norwich to Paris challenge. 40 teams of five each walked the equivalent of the distance between Norwich Cathedral and Notre-Dame de Paris, 375 miles, supporting local Norfolk charities.

• November 2020 Lockdown 2.0 Coast2Coast Challenge – 180 miles. In teams of two we took on a virtual Wainwright Coast to Coast from St Bees Head in Cumbria to Robin Hood’s Bay on the North Yorkshire coast.

• May 2020 LEJOG Lockdown Challenge – 970 miles. A ‘virtual walk’ undertaken by eight teams of eight walkers (and some on bicycles) from Land’s End to John O’Groats (‘LEJOG’), raising £23,000 for Norfolk charities supporting young carers affected by the national lockdown; and over £45,000 for all four charities chosen by our teams of walkers.

• September 2019 Norwich to Walsingham – 37 miles. A three-day group walk raising £15,000 for Norfolk charities supporting unpaid carers.

• April-June 2018 ‘Modern Pilgrimage’ to Santiago de Compostela – 1500 miles.  A solo walk by James Bagge, starting at King’s Lynn, and raising £70,000for Norfolk charities supporting unpaid carers.