The lineup has been announced for the Bristol Walk Fest launch event on Friday 1 May, bringing together artists, advocates and innovators for an evening exploring the meeting of creativity and city walking. The event will be held at Hamilton House, Stokes Croft from 7 to 9 p.m.
The 2026 launch celebrates walking as a creative and cultural act, with an evening of guest speakers reflecting the breadth of Bristol’s arts scene. It features Sheila Hannon, Show of Strength Theatre Company, Anita Karla Kelly, Misfits Theatre Company, Hana Sutch, Go Jauntly, and Subitha Bagirathan, Soultrail Wellbeing CIC.
“We couldn’t launch a festival of walking without putting on a walk too, so this is an evening that starts on foot,” said Karen Lloyd, Bristol Walk Fest manager.
Launch event attendees are invited to join an exclusive city centre walking tour led by Show of Strength Theatre Company. Created especially for Bristol Walk Fest, the walk is led by Hannon and actor Gerard Cooke and offers a taste of Show of Strength’s walks, three of which feature in this year’s Bristol Walk Fest programme.
Walkers will get a glimpse into the Bristol of Blackbeard, Cary Grant, King Henry VII and Long John Silver, and a stop not featured on any other walk (yet) – the prison where ten Bristol women were held before being transported to Australia as convicts in 1817.
The pre-launch walk starts at 5.30 p.m. from the Queen Square area and ends at Hamilton House at 6.45 p.m. Spaces are limited. Tickets cost £5 for the walk and £10 for the event and are available at www.eventbookings.com/b/event/bristol-walk-fest-2026-launch-event
The Walk Fest runs throughout May, coinciding with National Walking Month. With over 400 walks and events across the city, most of them free, there is something for all interests and abilities.
