Fire Walking is the act of walking barefoot over a bed of hot wooden coals. A combination of pine, ash and oak is burnt and then broken down into a smooth red hot path of embers.

The Fire Walk lane is between 15-20ft long, and 2-3ft wide.

Fire Walk takes place at St Wilfrid's Hospice, Eastbourne, Broadwater Way, BN22 9PZ. 

During the course of the burn down, the temperature of the fire reaches over 600 degrees Celcius, and when it comes time to walk on the coals the fire lane will be burning at a core temperature of over 200 to 300 degrees Celcius.

The Fire Walk will be run by Time4Change; a training and events company based in Nottingham. For over three decades their instructor, Cliff, has safely guided thousands of people from all walks of life over hot coals, and is recognised as the most experienced fire walking instructor operating in the UK and Europe.

Each participant will take part in a mandatory training seminar before being given the opportunity to walk across the hot coals. T4C's approach is very simple; they believe human beings learn best through a combination of humour, metaphors, experiences and experiments, and the seminar reflects this. In essence, they explore and experiment with the psychological, emotional and physical consequences of adopting a given belief system. 
It is important to bear in mind that there is no illusion or trick to fire walking. No special materials are used, and you are not hypnotised or put into any altered state of consciousness.

For any further questions on this, please contact us at fundraising@stwhospice.org

There are multiple theories as to why it is possible to walk barefoot over a bed of hot coals without injury. At one end of the spectrum, we have a scientific explanation based upon the principles of heat conductivity and thermal insulation. Many of these reports focus on both the poor conductivity of wooden coals in terms of heat transfer to the skin and the short contact time between the sole of the foot and the hot coals themselves.

On the other hand, the lack of a definitive 'physical' explanation for why fire walking is possible leaves room for a more 'non-scientific' understanding.

Source: https://www.t4c.org.uk/

Once you have bought your ticket and registered for the event, you can edit your fundraising page will have been created for you during the registration process. Update your story on your page, and share with friends and family to start raising funds!

You'll also find some fundraising resources within your dashboard, to assist you with your fundraising.

In the weeks running up to the event, you will receive emails from us, with all the information you will need before the event day.

Early bird prices (£25 per person) ends on Monday the 17th of February.

From the 18th of February, the price of entry will increase to £18 per person.

Participants must be a minimum age of 16. Anyone taking part in this event between the ages of 16 and 18 must have approval from their parent or guardian.

Fire Walk is a St Wilfrid's Hospice fundraising event, so that we ask that participants take part with the aim and committment to collect sponsorship and raise funds for hospice care.

Your entry fees help us to cover the costs of putting on the event; meaning that the funds you raise will help us to deliver more hospice care.

We encourage all Fire Walk participants to try to raise a minimum of £175, and we will give you plenty of support along the way to help you achieve this.

To help you raise your goal of £175, we will send you encouraging emails along the way. Within your dashboard, you'll find downloadable graphics with you can use on your social media platforms, as well as other resources to help you reach your goal.

You can get in touch with the Events Team if you have any questions or need more fundraising support, by calling 01323 434241 or emailing us at fundraising@stwhospice.org.

Yes, you can also raise funds offline with the use of a sponsorship form, which will be sent out with your welcome letter. You can also download and print more forms from your fundraising page dashboard.

You will be able to hand in your sponsorship forms and cash donations at the event on Saturday the 29th March.

We ask that all Fire Walk participants aim to get their sponsorship money to us by Thursday the 30th of May 2025.

We will of course still accept donations given to us after this date, but so that we can announce a final total raised for the event in early June, it would be much appreciated if you could get all funds to us by the end of May.

There are various ways you that you can send us your offline fundraising:

Debit/Credit card: Pay over the phone or in person (by appointment) at the hospice

Cheque: Please make cheque payable to St Wilfrid's Hospice Eastbourne and post or deliver to the hospice at the following address: Fire Walk, St Wilfrid's Hospice, 1 Broadwater Way, Eastbourne, BN22 9PZ. Please include your full name and address with your cheque to ensure that we can acknowledge your support.

Cash: Please call 01323 434241 to let us know that you're coming in to make your donation - The Fundraising Team are at the hospice Monday - Friday 9am to 5pm. 

Bank Transfer:

Account Number - 00810312
Sort Code - 20-27-91
Account Name - St Wilfrid's Hospice (Eastbourne)

Please email fundraising@stwhospice.org or call 01323 434241 to let us know you're making a donation via bank transfer so that we can acknowledge your support.
Please use your surname as a reference so that we can match you with your donation.

Online: stwhospice.org/donate - Make sure to include a reference to your name and Fire Walk, so that we can thank you properly.

We will have qualified first aiders present at the event, who will be able to provide first aid to any participant who sustains an injury whilst taking part in the event, or if they suddenly become unwell.

In the instance of a more serious injury, 999 will be ocntacted and the instance will be escalated to the emergency services.

In the case of an injury to any participant, it is always helpful for us to have an emergency contact name and number of the person you would like us to call. You will be asked for this during the registration process, so please do provide this information.