Frequently Asked Questions

Birmingham Wellness Walk is £10 for adults, under 18s are free.

There's no minimum sponsorship for taking part in a Wellness Walk but we suggest you aim for £150. The more you raise, the more lives you’ll be changing.

There MAY be a limited number of places available for on the day registration on Sunday, 2 July. These places will be £15 per adult and £5 per child.

Please arrive at 9am for the first start wave at 9.30am if you wish to do this.

The Birmingham Wellness Walk starts and ends in City Centre Gardens. Look for the sea of blue t-shirts, your fellow Wellness Walkers!

The Birmingham Wellness Walk is 10km* long and takes you through the city centre of Birmingham before returning to City Centre Gardens.

*Please note the route is subject to change.

The walk is a loop from City Centre Gardens. The route incorporates the famous Birmingham canals, the Chinese Quarter, the Bullring, the beautiful Chamberlain Square and back to City Centre Gardens for a well deserved finishers medal.

You’re walking 10km*, and the weather could be cool or changeable, so leave the Crocs and flip flops at home. You’ll need a good pair of comfortable flat boots, trainers or shoes, with cotton socks.

A detailed route map will be provided closer to event day but find an image of the route on the homepage.

There will be an accessible toilet unit at City Centre Gardens and our walk route is step free route allowing for wheelchairs, buggies and mobility scooters to be used. There is also the opportunity to make a short cut at various points to allow for those who wish to decrease the route length to do so.

Assistance dogs are welcome and if a walker is unable to take part in this event without the additional assistance and support of a carer on the route, the carer is not required to pay for a registration - please email wellnesswalk@diabetes.org.uk if you require a carer code.

There is a PA system with a microphone on the event site, used for announcements and to play music. We don’t have an induction loop on our event sites, but printed information sheets covering event FAQs can be found at the Registration Tent. All essential event information, including timings and directions, will also be sent in advance to all participants and volunteers.

If you are new to exercise, or have any medical conditions which could be adversely affected by it, please check in with your doctor before you start training.

10km* will take at least a couple of hours to complete, therefore you may need to complete some training to feel fit and confident to complete it. Please check out our resources page for tips on walking and training.

We also have lots of information on the Diabetes UK website which will help you get moving and exercising safely or download a free guide to Moving More.

If you have diabetes, looking after your feet is vital, please check out the Diabetes UK website.

There’s lots of ways to get to City Centre Gardens, but make sure you check your route beforehand and leave plenty of time. The what3words location of the venue inside the park is: ///face.cups.poker

Please note: We want to make sure our events are as environmentally friendly as possible and the Birmingham Clean Air Zone is now live - therefore, we encourage you to use public transport if you can.

From Birmingham New Street Station: A 12 min walk (0.6 miles) along Stephenson Street, Pinfold Street, through Chamberlain Square, across Centenary Way and Centenary Square and into City Centre Gardens.

Please note: Paradise Circus multi-storey car park is closed for re-development. If driving to the event, please find another local alternative such as Paradise Car Park. Access to the car park is from Great Charles Street Queensway just as the road turns onto Summer Row. Take the left lane marked ‘Paradise parking’ and follow the signs down the ramp to access the car park.

Use postcode B3 1DE on your Sat Nav to help locate the car park. 

The first wave of walkers sets off at 9.30am. Then waves set off at 10am and 10.30am.

Your start time is in your welcome email, so arrive in plenty of time to get ready to walk. Can’t find it? Just email wellnesswalk@diabetes.org.uk and we can confirm it for you. Your start wave will also be sent out to you again in advance of the event as a reminder.

Of course. Please email wellnesswalk@diabetes.org.uk with what you want to change it to. We have a maximum number of people we can have at each time, so to make sure we can help, please get in touch as soon as possible.

A positive attitude, your best mate (please ensure that they also register), your dog (please keep your dog on a leash) and a motivational playlist are all optional but there’s a few items to make sure you have a good day.

We’ll be walking 10km*, so we’ll be spending at least a couple of hours in the Great British weather. Make sure you wear comfortable clothes and shoes, and check the forecast in advance. July can be –blistering hot – a hat and sunscreen – or wet and chilly – a couple of extra layers, and a waterproof jacket.

We’ve got drinking water, but please bring a filled bottle with you. And pack a couple of your usual snacks to keep you going. Please bring your diabetes kit with you as well, in case needed.

If you sign up before 12 June , you will be sent your event number and your Wellness Walk t-shirt a couple of weeks in advance of the event. Please wear these on event day.

if you sign up after 12 June, please come and collect your t-shirt and number on event morning from the registration tent.

You'll receive your exclusive finisher’s medal when you get back to City Centre Gardens.

Yes, they are more than welcome! It might be a bit far for little legs, so older kids will enjoy it more. Please email us at wellnesswalk@diabetes.org.uk if you need to amend the number of children coming compared to those already signed up at registration.

JustGiving: The easiest way to collect sponsorship is via your JustGiving Wellness Walk fundraising page. If you've fundraised in this way, you don't need to do anything - all funds will automatically be transferred to us. You can find a link to this page in your 'Registration Confirmation' email.

Make a donation online

Cheque: Please make your cheque payable to Diabetes UK. Send it with your sponsor forms, or a covering letter with your name and address on, to: Birmingham Wellness Walk, Diabetes UK, 126 Back Church Lane, London E1 1FH.

Credit/Debit Card: Our Supporter Care team are waiting to take your donation by phone. You can call them on 0345 123 2399 Monday to Friday between 9am and 6pm. Make sure you say you’re making a donation towards your Birmingham Wellness Walk sponsorship. 

Thank you for walking with us.

Throughout your walk, you’ll get the chance to take part in wellness moments. You'll learn how to walk mindfully or you'll have the chance to listen and dance to music. There will be the opportunity to rest and recharge your batteries as well as celebrate your achievement with a finishers medal at the end.

All those who sign up after 12 June should collect their event numbers and t-shirts on event morning in our registration tent. Please head to 'event pack pick up'.

Of course. Please swap for your preferred size on event day.

There's no minimum sponsorship for taking part in a Wellness Walk but we suggest you aim for £150. The more you raise, the more lives you’ll be changing.

Yes! We are looking for enthusiastic and energetic volunteers to help at this event for the morning, for the afternoon or for the whole day.

How can you get involved?

• Help us set up in the morning and prepare for the big day and welcome walkers. This could include helping hand out event t-shirts, route maps or answering questions.
• Help us throughout the day, supporting our team in City Centre Gardens as we set off walkers
• Cheer our supporters as they come back from their walk and hand out their well deserved medals
• Help us pack down at the end of the day

In return for your help, we will provide:

• Our love and affection
• A Birmingham wellness walk t-shirt
• Snacks, tea/coffee and water
• Finishers medal

Please email wellnesswalk@diabetes.org.uk to register your interest in volunteering

If you’re having problems with your page, don’t worry, just get in touch with us at wellnesswalk@diabetes.org.uk

This is where you can keep track of your fundraising and training for the walk. You can personalise it by adding your photo, your story and adding journal updates. And it’s where you’ll start earning virtual badges for your amazing fundraising efforts! It’s easy to share your profile page with friends and family, so you can show off how you’re getting on and they can support you by making a donation. All they need to do is press ‘Give Now’.

Absolutely! Please send us an email to wellnesswalk@diabetes.org.uk and we will be sure to update this for you. It is important you let us know as soon as possible, so your Birmingham Wellness Walk pack is sent to the correct location.

You certainly can! If you have a JustGiving fundraising page, log in and click ‘edit page’. Then click ‘Account’. This is where you will find your current email address. Remember to click ‘Update’ once you have amended it. If you don't have an online fundraising page, please email wellnesswalk@diabetes.org.uk to tell us your preferred email for communications.

Your profile page is a the quickest and easiest way to get donations from friends and family without any money changing hands, but you can fundraise offline too. You can download a sponsorship form on our Resources page.

Yes you can! When you’ve logged into your page click ‘edit page’. You will be able to see ‘Total Offline Amount (£)’ This is where you can add your offline donations.

Please be aware that this will appear in your main fundraising tally but not in your donation history.

You don’t need to do anything – the money donated onto your profile page comes directly to us.

No problem at all. If you log in to your page, go to ‘edit page’ then ‘settings’, you can cancel your page there. If you click ‘Cancel Fundraising Page’ you’ll be withdrawn from the Birmingham Wellness Walk.

Thank you for all of your support so far!

Register for the Birmingham Wellness Walk and you’re half way there. Head to ‘Edit Page’. From here click ‘Team’ and select whether you would like to ‘Create a team’ or ‘Join a team’.

Your team members will have to register individually and then connect to your team. You just need to share your team name with them.

If you have under 18s joining you, they will need to use your profile page – you can update your story to let your friends and family know.

Here are a few things to try if your page isn’t showing you’re connected to a team:

·       Give it five minutes for your team to load to your page – sometimes it takes a while to load

·       Refresh your profile page

·       Clear your cache. You can find your cache in the ‘history’ of your browser. You only need to clear the last hour or so of your cache history.

No problem at all – it’s very easy to leave a team. When you have logged into your profile page head to ‘edit page’ and then click ‘Team’. You will need to select ‘Leave team’.

For those who selected a size, and registered before 12 June, you will be sent your own Birmingham Wellness Walk t-shirt to wear on event day.

All others, please collect on event day morning from our marquee.

For those who selected that they wished to receive fundraising rewards, Diabetes UK will be sending out special blue Diabetes UK shoe laces to anyone raising £50 or more and a special edition enamel pin badge for those who hit £150 or more. Terms and conditions apply.