More than 450 people joined the Harbour2Harbour Walk on Sunday, raising at least £5,240 for local charities.

The turnout made this year the biggest in the event’s history, smashing the record-breaking entry of 319 in 2016.

The walk began on Port Erin beach at 10am and followed a nine-mile coastal route to Castletown.

This year, for the first time, a second, shorter route, starting in Port St Mary, was added to encourage more people to take part.

The coastal walk is organised by Southern Community Initiatives (SCI) to raise money for a number of important local community projects.

Based at The Hub, Thie Rosien in Castletown Road, Port Erin, SCI is home to several initiatives including community art and creative writing projects, crafts, bridge and board games, yoga, meditation and a fitness group.

This year money has also been donated to Beach Buddies, recognising the work volunteers do removing litter from the coastline along the walk route.

Event co-ordinator Janet Bridle said: ’It was an amazing turnout and a brilliant day, everyone had fun and it truly was a "happy" event.

’The feedback has been so positive, with lots of comments about what a lovely family day out it was, how wonderful the scenery was and how well marshalled the walk was.

’The number of people who turned out exceeded our expectations, and the second start worked really well, allowing more people to get involved by offering a shorter and less challenging route.

’What I’m absolutely delighted with is the number of young people who joined the walk in 2017. We had almost 100 entrants aged under 18, some 70 per cent of which were under 12. It had a real community feel with lots of families joining in, and some very well behaved dogs.’

Janet thanked everyone who took part, everyone involved in organising the walk, Southern Nomads RUFC for marshalling, and sponsor Dandara.

Plans are already under way for next year’s walk, which is expected to run from Castletown to Port Erin.