Families raise £50,000 for Ashgate Hospice as Superhero Night Walk attracts 1600 participants

More than 1600 people supported the event at Queen’s Park in Chesterfield where they completed one mile and three-mile routes.

The charity’s Superhero Night Walk saw children and adults dressed as their favourite heroic characters including Wonder Woman and Captain America.

Many were walking in memory of people who had been cared for at the hospice which needs to raise £11million each year to provide its services.

Among them was four-year-old James Masterson and his dad, Liam Masterson. They walked for James’ grandma, Jo Holmes, who died on Ashgate’s Inpatient Unit last year after being diagnosed with uterine cancer. They raised £105 for the hospice and completed the walk last year too.

Liam said: “Ashgate were really welcoming and warm. They made what was a horrible time feel tolerable. They looked after us and we’re so grateful they were there.”

Hannah and Sarah were also completing the walk in memory of their mum, Lucy Bodoano, who died in the hospice in 2013 from pancreatic cancer.

Alongside them were Sarah’s children Frank, 8, and four-year-olds Elliot and Ralph. “This is how we feel connected to Ashgate,” said Sarah. “The kids have been very excited to take part.”

Each child who took part in the event, which was sponsored by Motan Colortronic Ltd, received a superhero cape and glow-in-the-dark mask to wear along the route.

Families also enjoyed live entertainment, singers, dancers, stilt walkers and bubble displays throughout the evening.

The Superheroes Night Walk raised more than £50,000, with sponsorship money still to come in.

Charlotte Buttterworth, head of fundraising at Ashgate Hospice, said: “Every pound raised helps us continue providing specialist care and support to patients and the people important to them when they need us most.”

Ashgate Hospice’s Superhero Night Walk will return again next year, with details of the 2026 event to be announced soon.