A BASINGSTOKE father will take on a 25-mile hike with a group of friends to raise money for the hospital’s neonatal unit.

Dave Stewart-White, 52, along with friends Ryan Ingram, 52, Andy Butler, 41, and Ethan White, 20, will hike across the South Downs on April 20 to raise funds for the Basingstoke and North Hants Hospital special care baby unit, a charity which Dave says is close to his heart.

Dave said: “As someone who has personally experienced the impact of their work helping both my sons when they were born five and six weeks early, I am grateful for what they did in those first weeks of their lives, and I am doing what I still can to support their work.

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Basingstoke Gazette: Dave, Ryan, Andy, and Paul

“I felt it was time to give back again and do what I can, along with a group of my oldest friends, and eldest son, to get through it.”

The group has a goal of £1,500, which will go towards providing ‘vital resources and equipment for the hospital’ including breast pumps, which the hospital says are desperately in need with four required for the unit.

Dave says the idea came about from the group, as well as their friend Paul Jackson, 45, after they got together to take on the MacMillan Thames Path Marathon Hike, which he says, ‘got their bond back that had drifted slightly after Covid’.

The group has also previously walked from London to Brighton together.

In addition to raising money for the hospital, Dave says the walk is equally about raising awareness about men’s mental health, as he says walking has helped him ‘immensely’.

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He continued: “As blokes, we’re still seen as having to be strong and in control, but I and friends have struggled with various battles and it needs to be seen more, it’s okay to not be okay.

“Walking with your friends can transform how you feel. Even an hour or two a week will make a huge difference. The camaraderie and memories built over the years in the mountain climbs or long hikes we’ve completed together cannot be underestimated.”

The group has currently raised £262 out of their target, to support their walk, visit justgiving.com/page/chalky-1701243568182.