The Big Sleepout is Wycombe Homeless Connection's biggest annual fundraising event.

People from across South Buckinghamshire spend one night sleeping outdoors to raise funds that help prevent homelessness and support local people who are facing a housing crisis.

The event is about standing alongside people experiencing homelessness, not pretending to experience it ourselves. One night outside can never recreate the reality of homelessness, but it can bring our community together to help ensure fewer people face it alone.

The Together Festival is the evening celebration that takes place before the Sleepout.

It's open to everyone and is designed to bring our community together with food, firepits, games, music, activities and conversation before the overnight challenge begins.

You don't have to stay overnight to be part of the event.

Together Festival
Friday 13 November 2026
6.00pm -10.00pm

Big Sleepout
Friday 13 November - Saturday 14 November 2026
6.00pm - 6.30am

Both events take place at The Walled Garden, Chorley Rd, West Wycombe, High Wycombe HP14 3AP. It is a charming eighteenth-century walled garden, serving delicious Origin coffee, bakery-fresh food, and locally sourced produce. Why not pop along for a treat and to explore the location before the big night. 

Yes. Advance booking is essential for both the Together Festival and the Big Sleepout. 

Together Festival: Free to attend

Big Sleepout
Adult: £25
Young person (12 - 17): £19

VIP Sleepout (over 12s): £50

We haven’t suggested a fundraising target on individual participants but we want to raise £40,000 overall. Every pound raised helps stop homelessness and helps local people rebuild their lives.

Don't worry if you've never fundraised before, we'll send you plenty of ideas and support.

Absolutely. The Together Festival is for everyone. Whether you stay for the evening or continue into the Sleepout, you'll be helping our community stand together against homelessness.

The Sleepout is designed to be challenging. You'll be outside overnight in November, and it is likely to be cold, damp and uncomfortable. Please consider your health and wellbeing before registering. If you have any medical conditions or concerns, speak to your GP before taking part.

It will be dark, here will be noise, there is nothing overhead like there has been in previous years. It is going to be a real challenge.

Participants in the Sleepout must be aged 12 or over. Anyone aged 12 - 17 must be accompanied throughout the event by a responsible adult aged 18 or over.

The Together Festival is open to all ages. 

We’ll confirm the size and location of your pitch two weeks before the event. We need to ‘jigsaw’ it altogether when we see who has registered and what size groups we have. 

The minimum you can expect is 2.5m x 3m that will fit one adult, or two people who don’t mind being cosy.

You'll build your shelter in that marked, designated space from items you bring yourself. The ground is pretty hard and not perfectly flat!

There is an old brick wall that runs around the sleepout area. It will be ok to lean items against it but NOT to attach it in any way or damage it.

You'll need to protect yourself from the cold and wet beneath and above. Lilos aren't a great idea as they hold cold air beneath you. Cardboard, survival blankets and soft layers are better. 

There will need to be space around at least two sides of your shelter so you can get out safely to the paths that lead to the toilet or in case of emergency.

You can share your shelter with whomever you like, but we need to know who is planning to shelter together so we can allocate pitches accordingly. We'll ask you for this information in one of our follow up emails. 

VIP Sleepouters will be under a veranda, open on multiple sides, but a little more sheltered. You'll get one of our 'winter night shelter' bed packs to use which includes a mattress, blankets, pillows but you'll still need to create a shelter to go under and over you to protect yourself from the elements. 

Yes. This year's challenge is bigger than ever. Unlike previous years, there is no overhead cover for standard participants. You'll create your own overnight shelter within the event rules. VIP participants have a reserved covered area but it is still outside and on hard ground.

Only if it is the only way you’ll be able to take part and if that is the case, please get in touch. The challenge is designed to encourage creativity while keeping everyone safe. You'll receive guidance before the event on what you can bring and ideas for creating your overnight shelter.

We'll send a full kit list before the event, but you'll usually want to bring a sleeping bag, sleeping mat, warm clothing, hat and gloves, waterproof clothing, a torch, a refillable water bottle and any personal medication.

There will be no alcohol, a designated smoking/vaping area and no flames or heating devices are allowed at all.

Yes. Portable toilets will be available including an accessible unit, and there are permanent loos near the VIP area. 

Yes. Hot soup and drinks will be freely available during the night. Sleepout participants will also receive a breakfast bag in the morning.

No. Open fires, barbecues, camping stoves, candles, fire pits and any other naked flames are not permitted and strictly banned.

Please follow all instructions from staff and volunteers to help keep everyone safe. Anyone breaking this rule will be required to leave.

Yes. The Together Festival and Big Sleepout are alcohol and drug-free events. To ensure everyone's safety and wellbeing, participants must not bring or consume alcohol or illegal drugs during the event. Anyone who appears to be under the influence or whose behaviour puts others at risk will be asked to leave.

Yes. Your safety is our priority. The event is fully organised and supported by staff and volunteers. There will be overnight supervision, first aid cover and clear safeguarding procedures.

The Sleepout goes ahead in most weather conditions. If severe weather makes it unsafe to continue, we'll contact participants with any changes as early as possible. If the weather changes during the event, we have a safe space to keep people warm, and the event can be cancelled. Participant safety will always come first. 

The Big Sleepout is a fantastic opportunity for teams to come together for a meaningful local cause. We'd love to hear from businesses, schools, colleges, churches, youth groups and community organisations interested in taking part together.

You can book for multiple participants and we ask you to let us know your team or family name in the process so we can make sure you’re on the same or adjacent pitch.

The Big Sleepout and Together Festival are designed to be as accessible as possible and there are only limited places to pitch accessible shelters. Some areas of the site include grass and uneven ground.

If you have accessibility requirements, please contact us before booking so we can discuss how we can best support you.

Only assistance dogs are permitted.

Yes. Photography and filming will take place during the event for promotional purposes. If you'd prefer not to appear in photographs, please let a member of the event team know when you arrive.

Yes, but probably not in the way you might think. One night outside cannot recreate homelessness. The Big Sleepout isn't about pretending to be homeless.

It's about bringing our community together to raise vital funds that help prevent homelessness, provide emergency accommodation, offer practical support and help people rebuild their lives.

The real impact comes from the money raised and the awareness created.

We have also listened to the people we serve and asked them what they think about the Big Sleepout and whether, in their view, it is an appropriate way to ask our community to raise money and awareness and the overwhelming response was yes! 

Money raised help Wycombe Homeless Connection to prevent homelessness before people lose their homes, provide emergency accommodation and the Winter Night Shelter, offer practical and emotional support, help people find housing, employment and stability, and ensure fewer people in South Buckinghamshire face homelessness alone.

Definitely. Once you've registered we'll send you a fundraising pack, ideas to help you reach your target, social media resources, posters and sponsorship forms, and tips from previous participants. Our team is here to support you every step of the way.

We know that some people don’t like that charities pay fees, or being asked to cover fees but we recommend using JustGiving because it makes fundraising much easier and efficient. 

Our preferred platform is JustGiving. It deducts a small fee to cover payment processing and running the platform but increases the number of donations and collects Gift Aid for us, meaning we receive more overall. It also saves our team lots of time processing it all in-house and is more cost effective than doing it ourselves! You can add a tip when making your donation, or not, to cover platform fees.

It also allows friends, family and colleagues to donate quickly and securely online, share your page with others, and JustGiving claims Gift Aid automatically where possible.

If you'd prefer not to use JustGiving, that's absolutely fine. You can collect sponsorship using our paper sponsorship form which will be sent to you, or make donations directly to Wycombe Homeless Connection instead. But do let us know you’re doing that so we can track your gifts, thank you properly and claim all the Gift Aid we can.