Search

  • Visit & Contact
  • The Mill
  • Online Shop
  • Log In
  • My Account
  • Log Out

Your local charity in Lancashire

Patrons: Sir Bill Beaumont, Sir Duncan Nichol, Dr Lynne Livesey, Dr St John Crean, Mark Lawrenson and Tisha Merry

Donate
  • Care we provide
    • We help patients and families have quality of life, to the end of life.

    • Column
      • Back
      • the work of the charity is only possible because of the support it receives from the local community.

        Care at the hospice
      • Caring for people at home
      • Medical Outpatient Clinics
      • Lymphoedema clinic
        • Lymphoedema in babies, children and adolescents
      • Referrals and discharge
    • Column
      • Support for carers & family
      • Bereavement and Remembrance
      • Befriending service
      • Compassionate Communities
      • Covid-19 updates
  • Support us
    • Our care is only possible because of the support we receive.

    • Column
      • Back
      • The work of the charity is only possible because of the support it receives from the local community.

        Fundraise for us
        • Organise a fundraiser
        • Give money raised
        • Join in a hospice event
        • Global Adventure Challenges
      • Donate
        • Donation Form
        • Make a monthly donation
        • Make a one-off donation
        • Donate money raised
        • Pledge Gift Aid
      • Play the lottery
        • Lottery terms and conditions, legal information and advice
        • Join our lottery
        • Lottery results
        • Gift cards and wedding favours
        • Update your details
      • Wills
      • 1985 Business Club
    • Column
      • Charity shops
        • Find your nearest shop
        • Donate to our shops
        • Online Shop
      • Volunteering
      • Enter our raffle
      • Yellow Ribbons
  • Events
  • About us
    • We are an independent, local charity working in Central Lancashire.

    • Column
      • Back
      • Our purpose
      • Our team
      • Job vacancies
      • Knowledge Exchange
      • Resources for all
    • Column Two
      • The Mill cafe
      • Room hire
      • Give feedback
      • Lancashire and South Cumbria Hospices Together
      • Our plans
  • News
  • Remembrance Book
  • Donate
St Catherine's Hospice > Hospice News > St Catherine’s doctor set to trek the Great Wall of China in support of the hospice

St Catherine’s doctor set to trek the Great Wall of China in support of the hospice

St Catherine’s Hospice’s medical director is swapping his stethoscope for hiking boots, as he prepares to embark on an epic journey along the Great Wall of China to raise funds for the charity.

Dr Andrew Fletcher is joining the hospice’s gruelling overseas challenge this October, when he will trek back-to-back for five days along with fellow supporters.

“As well as caring for patients, working at the hospice makes you really want to get behind the charity on a more personal level and support the fundraising efforts too,” he said. “It’s becoming ever more important for us to generate the funds needed to continue offering our specialist care to people with life-shortening illnesses, and this seems like a fairly small thing to do to help.”

Dr Fletcher, who has overall medical responsibility for the clinical care and support of patients at St Catherine’s, has taken part in other sponsored events for the hospice in recent years, including the charity’s annual Santa Dash fun run and daring firewalk.

“I like to get involved and try new things to support the hospice,” he said. “I’d never really thought about doing an overseas challenge until I heard how amazing last year’s was – the supporters who hiked the Dalai Lama Trek in India for St Catherine’s said it was such an incredible experience, and the camaraderie was really evident.

“The Great Wall of China Trek sounds just as exciting, and I think it’s a great opportunity to see a new part of the world whilst raising much-needed funds for the important work of St Catherine’s. It will be the adventure of a lifetime.”

Dr Fletcher will be joined by his husband, Andrew Wilson-Fletcher, and says they are both looking forward to the challenge.

“We like traveling and we enjoy exploring cities and being quite active on our holidays,” he said. “We’ve visited quite a few places in Europe and America but we’ve never been to Asia and we’ve never done anything on this scale before.

“We haven’t actually got hiking boots yet, but we’re planning to start training soon to prepare for the challenge ahead!”

The Lostock Hall hospice has teamed up with Global Adventure Challenges for the trek, which involves hiking 36km and conquering 1,000 steps up to the wall at Mutianyu.

A team of 40 St Catherine’s supporters will fly to Beijing before embarking on the five-day hike in October, and will explore Beijing’s famous sites at the end of the trek, including the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven and Tiananmen Square.

Hayley Jackson, community engagement officer for St Catherine’s Hospice, said: “Our first overseas challenge to India was so popular and successful; our supporters had a once-in-a-lifetime experience and came back with some fantastic memories and stories, all whilst raising vital funds for St Catherine’s Hospice.

“This year’s #TeamStCatherine’s is gearing up for an amazing adventure to China, and we’re incredibly grateful for their commitment to the challenge.

“It costs a staggering £5.6m to run the charity each year, of which we have to generate £3.8m to continue providing specialist palliative and end-of-life care to local people at the hospice and in people’s own homes. We’d like to thank everyone who has signed up for The Great Wall of China Trek for St Catherine’s, and wish them luck with their training and fundraising.”

To sponsor Dr Fletcher, please click here.

Back to News

Share with your friends!

Newsletter Signup

Sign up to our newsletter and receieve updates on our charity, successful fundraising events and much more!

Sign up

Sign up to our newsletter

Sign up to our newsletter and receieve updates on our charity, successful fundraising events and much more!

    Required

    Required

    Count me in!

    We'd love to keep in touch with you letting you know how your wonderful support is making a difference to St Catherine's, and informing you about other events and campaigns which might be of interest. We’re very proud of our ethical approach to fundraising and, rest assured, your information will be stored securely and we will not pass your details to any third party.

    Please let us know your preferred way(s) for us to contact you:

    Post

    Email

    Phone

    SMS Message

    For further information about how we use your data, please click here to read our privacy statement.

    Count me in!

    You’re a valued member of the St Catherine’s community and we’d love to keep in touch with all the latest news, events and campaigns from the charity. Let us know the best way to contact you by clicking below.

    Count me in!

    Visit Us

    Connect with us

    Connect with us on social media to keep up to date with the daily news from St Catherine’s and our cafe and community hub The Mill.

    Rate and review our services

    Patrons: Sir Bill Beaumont, Sir Duncan Nichol, Dr Lynne Livesey, Dr St John Crean, Mark Lawrenson and Tisha Merry

    © 2025 St Catherine’s Hospice Reg Charity No: 512186 Company Limited by Guarantee: 1602467

    • Privacy policy and use of Cookies
    • Accessibility Statement
    • Sitemap
    • Chair’s pension statement

    St Catherine’s Hospice, St Catherine’s Park, Lostock Lane, Lostock Hall, Preston, PR5 5XU

    Designed and built by BlueWrenBlueWren

    Boost your donation by 25%

    With Gift Aid, your donation of £ would be worth £ at no extra cost to you.

    Added to your basket

    Continue Shopping Go to Basket