MUSIC lovers tackled a nine-mile sponsored walk before enjoying an afternoon concert at Avebury over the weekend.

The event returned last Sunday, after taking a break last year, with about 500 people joining in.

Singer-songwriter Nick Harper organised the musical side of the fundraiser, with Prospect Hospice taking over the reins of the sponsored walk.

He said: “I’m feeling pretty euphoric about how everything went. The numbers were down from previous years, but that’s what happens; you have to build up a momentum.

“People came from all over the UK and everyone who came will have had a really fantastic, happy, time and they will take that back with them and tell other people.”

Walkers set off from the neolithic stone circle at 9.30am and returned four hours later, for refreshments ahead of the concert.

The crowd then enjoyed music by Gabby Young, Jon Gomm, Rev Hammer, Avebury resident George Wilding and Mr Harper.

He said: “There were plenty of children on the walk and I think it’s a great way to appreciate what is on our doorstep.

“So often in our busy lives, we drive from one concrete place to another and then back again, so this is a fantastic way to appreciate what we have and for children to see it and perhaps encourage them to do something to look after it.

“I was really pleased with the line-up. The great thing this year was that all the acts complemented each other nicely; they all had something different to offer.”

Mr Harper started the event in 2011, inspired by the support the hospice gave to his mother, Monica Weston, the former headteacher of St Peter’s School in Marlborough, who died from cancer.

He said: “I’d love to do something again next year, but there is a team of volunteers who work on this and it’s a lot of hard work.

“And it’s quite stressful, so they might need a break, but they all love doing it.

“We will definitely do it again, because it’s a great thing for the community, but when it will be, I don’t know.”