700+ stride out for Rowcroft’s ‘The Big Tackle’

More than 700 participants took part in Rowcroft’s eight-mile walk and fundraising event ‘The Big Tackle’ on Saturday 9 March 2024, raising nearly £90,000 for the hospice.

The event saw walkers from across South Devon assemble at Torquay Rugby Club before embarking on a scenic walk around Torbay and returning to the club for a pint, pasty and an epic game of Six Nations rugby between England and Ireland. Despite the typical British weather (it was atrocious!), it was an incredible day full of smiles, laughter, tears and camaraderie.

The Big Tackle 2025 - Register your interest

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Your support is vital

Last year’s Big Tackle brought together 600 participants who raised over £90,000 for the hospice!

That’s enough to fund around 3,600 hours of care during home visits by Rowcroft nurses as they deliver tailored specialist support to patients and their loved ones across South Devon. This year, we’re hoping to raise even more. Bring it on!

Every penny raised makes such a difference:

£10 – could provide breakfast, lunch and dinner for a patient in our Inpatient Unit, ensuring they receive nutritious hand-cooked meals during their stay.

£15 – could pay for half a day’s travel for our Hospice at Home team, so they can deliver specialist care and support to patients at home in their last two weeks of life.

£30 – could offer crucial support to two bereaved people and provide three bereavement sessions so they are not alone in their grief.

Get involved

Volunteers are massively important to the smooth running of this event and we’re looking for more people to help out as either venue volunteers or course volunteers. We promise to look after all our volunteers with food, snacks, drinks and general positivity as our way of saying thank you…  If you’d like to support us as a Big Tackle volunteer, please register here.

For more information, please see our frequently asked questions, terms and conditions, or take a look at our fundraising pack.

Luke's story

“While it was so traumatic to say goodbye to Mum, I’m eternally grateful to Rowcroft for giving Mum the opportunity to be at home with the family one last time,” says Luke from Paignton, whose late Mum Lyndy was cared for by Rowcroft’s Hospice at Home team.

“The Hospice at Home team came to the house day and night, staying with Mum to keep her as comfortable as possible, enabling her to spend her final days in the place where she had lived for 40 years – a home full of happy memories. For my Dad, it meant so much to have Mum at home. He could lie next to her on the bed, and we were all there for her too.

“I’ll be forever thankful that she was surrounded by her family when she passed away. There couldn’t be a better way to die.”

Luke (pictured right) with baby daughter Emilia, mum Lyndy and brother Sam.

Our Sponsors

We’d like to say a massive thank you to the Torquay Rugby Club for hosting our event, and to our fabulous sponsors  WBW Solicitors, Torbay Clearance Services and Bays Brewery for supporting The Big Tackle. 

The Big Tackle Gallery

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