Thames Hospice

23/08/2026

Our Farnham Common store has now closed its doors.

A heartfelt thank you to all our customers, supporters and volunteers for your loyalty and support. We have loved being part of the local community.

If you have any donations, we would be delighted to receive them at our new, larger store in Gerrards Cross:

📍 12b-12c Pilgrim House, Packhorse Road, Gerrards Cross, SL9 7QE
🕒 Opening hours: Mon-Sat: 9am-5pm Sun: 10am-4pm

22/08/2026

Day or night, support is available.

Thames Hospice’s 24-hour Advice Line is there to provide specialist advice and support when it’s needed, helping patients, families and those caring for someone with a life-limiting illness.

Knowing someone is there to listen can make a real difference. 💙

Find out more:
https://www.thameshospice.org.uk/24-hour-advice-line/

21/08/2026

Hayley visits Sunflower! 🐘

Hayley, our Organisation Development Manager, stopped by Eton Wick to visit Sunflower, one of the beautiful elephants on the TrunksAcrossTheThames trail.

And Hayley has already been busy elephant spotting! Over the weekend, she and her husband Graham downloaded the trail app and spent a lovely couple of hours walking around Windsor town centre, managing to find an impressive 11 elephants!

Hayley said: “I’d really encourage as many people as possible to get out there, download the app or buy a map, and visit as many of the elephants as you can. It’s a lot of fun and it’s really well done.”

Sounds like the perfect way to spend an afternoon! How many have you spotted so far? 👀

21/08/2026

🐘 Making the Elephant Trail accessible for everyone 💙

We believe everyone should have the opportunity to experience the TrunksAcrossTheThames trail, and we’re incredibly grateful to Kate and her family for helping us look at the trail from an accessibility point of view.

Kate, who has cerebral palsy, has been exploring the trail with her family, adapting their journey along the way. From using disabled parking and planning shorter walks to making the most of benches and the kindness of local teams, they’ve found ways for Kate to experience as many of the elephants as possible.

One particularly special moment was visiting Charlie Mackesy’s elephant. Kate pointed to the words “You are not alone”, a message that really resonated with her and something she wants other disabled people to know: you can be part of the trail too.

As Kate puts it:
“You can do the elephant trail whatever your disability… disabled people are all around you; they have done the trail before you and they will be doing the trail after you.”

By sharing Kate’s experience and photos, we hope other people living with disabilities feel encouraged to explore the trail in a way that works for them.

Thank you, Kate, for helping us show that our herd really is for everyone. 🐘💙

20/08/2026

🌻 Meet John – taking on our Half Marathon Sunflower Walk at the incredible age of 98!

John Symmonds is certainly no stranger to a challenge. Over the past three years, he has broken a Guinness World Record as the oldest wing walker, abseiled down the Spinnaker Tower and even taken on a skydive – all to raise vital funds for Thames Hospice.

Now, John is preparing for his next challenge: walking a half marathon at our Sunflower Walk on Sunday 13 September.

But behind every challenge John takes on is a very special reason. 💛

John will be walking in memory of his beloved wife, Ann, who was cared for at home by the Thames Hospice team during the final weeks of her life.

“I shall be walking in memory of my wonderful wife, Ann, who was able to spend her last weeks at home, thanks to the amazing palliative care team from the Hospice. I will be forever grateful for their constant care and support.”

By taking part in Sunflower Walk, you'll be helping Thames Hospice continue to provide compassionate care and support to local people and their families when they need us most.
And John has a message for anyone thinking about joining him:

“I would encourage anyone to take part in the Sunflower Walk. There are distances to suit all abilities and it will be an incredible experience to walk with so many people from our local community.”

🌻 Join John on Sunday 13 September.
Choose from our 2.5K, 10K or Half Marathon routes and walk together for Thames Hospice.

👉 Sign up today: https://www.thameshospice.org.uk/sunflower-walk

20/08/2026

Ready to make your trail adventure even more ele-fantastic?

Our brand-new Passport & Sticker Book is the perfect companion as you discover all 30 of our elephants and around 60 mini-elephants across the trail!

🔎 Find each elephant
🖼️ Match their sticker to their passport
⭐ Give each elephant your very own stomp rating
📖 Fill your passport as you complete the trail

And there’s a special reward waiting at the end! Once you’ve found all the elephants, present your completed passport to receive a ‘stomp stamp’ showing you’ve officially completed the trail!

Get yours today on our online shop or in our Trunks stores:
https://www.thameshospiceshop.org.uk/trunks-merchandise/trunks-across-the-thames-elephant-passport-sticker-book

Grab your sticker book, get exploring and see how many trunks you can track down! 🐘

19/08/2026

The herd is here…and Ross Kemp TV is a fan!🐘💚

Looking for something brilliant to do this summer?
Come and explore Trunks across the Thames - a free art trail bringing over 90 spectacular elephants to the streets of Windsor and Slough.Discover incredible artwork, uncover the stories behind each elephant and make some memories along the way.Come and join the herd!

🐘 SummerInWindsor SummerInSlough

18/08/2026

The much-loved Thames Hospice Sunflower Walk returns on Sunday 13 September 2026, raising vital funds to ensure that Thames Hospice can provide compassionate care to those who need it, both now and in the future. 🌻

Last year, the Sunflower Walk welcomed over 700 walkers and over 90 wonderful volunteers, helping us raise an incredible £68,000! 💚

If lacing up the walking boots and tackling the walk isn’t for you, but you’d still like to be a part of the event, we would love the help of some kind volunteers to support us as Route Marshals

• Route Marshals will be needed from 8:30am onwards, with the event expected to wrap up around 3pm
• Route Marshals will be stationed at a point in either Bray, Dorney, Boveney or Windsor
• You’ll be needed to cheer along our wonderful walkers and keep them on the right path
• We advise you bring camping chairs, snacks, and perhaps a good book to entertain you until the walkers make it to your point

If you’d like to volunteer as a Route Marshal to support the Thames Hospice Sunflower Walk, please email [email protected],uk

Thank you so much for your support🌻💚

18/08/2026

Behind the scenes of TrunksAcrossTheThames 🐘📸

If there’s one person who has collected a LOT of elephant selfies this summer, it’s Jess, our Trunks across the Thames Project Manager!

From months of planning and preparation to seeing the trail come to life, Jess has been working behind the scenes to help bring our herd of incredible elephants to the local community.

Reflecting on seeing all that hard work come to life, Jess said:

“My favourite part about getting this trail live has been seeing trail-goers out and about admiring our elephants, taking selfies, having powerful conversations, and hearing so many wonderful stories about how Thames Hospice has had such a positive impact on so many people’s lives within our community.” 💙

And, of course, when you’re out and about checking on the trail, it would be rude not to stop for a selfie… or two… or twenty! 📸🐘

Here are just a few of Jess’s snaps with the herd and now we want to see yours!

📸 Have you taken a selfie with one of our elephants?

Share your favourite Trunks across the Thames selfie in the comments and tell us which elephant you found. We’d love to see your adventures with the herd! 🐘💙

17/08/2026