This week we feature two walking festivals, almost at opposite ends of the UK – in Bristol and Newton Stewart.
Bristol’s month-long walking festival, Bristol Walk Fest, has a new closing celebration, the Walk:Bristol event.
Walk:Bristol event on Saturday, May 31 has a choice of four marshalled walks of varying distances, from five to 20 miles. Participants are encouraged to raise sponsorship for good causes, and organisers promise to donate any profit the event may make back to Bristol Walk Fest, to help ensure it continues in the future.
The first ever Walk:Bristol event is organised by mass participation event organisers GoodMiles, in collaboration with Bristol Walk Fest.
Registration for the first-ever Walk:Bristol is now open. Visit www.walkbristol.co.uk to sign up. Participants can also fundraise for a local cause.
Bristol Walk Fest is an annual festival taking place across the city during the whole of May. It has been running for more than 10 years, and organisers encourage people of all ages, interests and abilities to walk to enhance their health and wellbeing, and to enjoy being outside in the city.
Bristol Walk Fest brings together dozens of walking providers and local organisations, and coincides with May being Living Streets’ National Walking Month.
Bristol Walk Fest aims to be the UK’s leading urban walking festival, and to raise the profile of Bristol as a walking destination. The city offers a huge diversity of walks, and we want to celebrate that, while bringing people together in a way that benefits individuals, communities and the environment.
Bristol Walk Fest produces a printed programme and online calendar of walks and events. Past walks have included guided walks, tours, talks, workshops and family events. Walks are curated into different themes including walking for pleasure; nature and wildlife; health and wellbeing; arts, culture and history; and walking sports.
In 2024, more than 80 different walk providers delivered more than 170 walks and events, with approximately 3,300 people participating. Bristol Walk Fest is aiming for at least 80% of the walks to be free to the public.
Jennifer Graham is our guest to talk about the festival.
Newton Stewart Walking Festival
Newton Stewart is a pretty town in Dumfries & Galloway in southwest Scotland.
This year is the 21st Newton Stewart Walking Festival, offering a programme of 31 routes over seven days from May 8th to 15th, as well as a programme of evening social events.
Walks vary from one to 16 miles, and from easy to strenuous. As Newton Stewart is surrounded by hills, many walks include some climbs, with the maximum ascent of one of the walks coming in at 1,300m.
The themes include some of the many hills, coastline, wild swimming, ponds, churches, history, and red kites.
Bookings can now be made online.
We has a conversation with Joan Mitchell about some of the festival highlights.
To get in touch with the podcast, email us at jim@walkingpost.com
