Words: Andrew McCloy   

When it comes to festivals, the Isle of Wight is usually associated with music (or possibly garlic). But these days, rambling is the headline act. Last year, the island’s walking festival included 178 walks that attracted 2,689 people – and generated about £1 million for the local economy!  

Since the Isle of Wight event started 25 years ago, walking festivals have become a regular fixture in the UK’s rambling calendar, with more than 80 taking place in 2024. There are multiple benefits to staging one, not least showcasing your area as a great walking destination and encouraging people to use the path network.  

A festival is also an ideal way to promote sustainable tourism and boost the local economy, so it’s no surprise that several are held by towns and villages in the Walkers are Welcome network (walkersarewelcome.org.uk), including Prestatyn, Newton Stewart, Kington, Frome and Spilsby & Hundleby (Lincolnshire Wolds Outdoor Festival).  

For visiting ramblers, what better way to explore a new area than with a knowledgeable local group member showing you the best routes and hospitality? For the group itself, a festival can get you publicity, attract new members and establish partnerships with other organisations – all while fulfilling the Ramblers’ wider ambitions of getting more people walking, improving health and wellbeing, and opening up the countryside for all.  

 

Agreeing the basics  

Before you get into a festival frenzy, consider why you want to hold one and what you want to get out of it. This won’t just provide you with focus and direction, but will also inform the format of the event and help you to identify target audiences and promote it e‰ectively.  

Some walking festivals are run by local authorities or tourist boards, often with Ramblers groups providing the walks. Others are delivered by a partnership of local organisations. And some are run by one or more Ramblers groups.  

Check what’s already happening around you and consider which model might suit your circumstances. Will your festival last a full week or just a weekend? And what area will it cover? Most are associated with a specific location – and probably not as wide as the YHA’s annual Festival of Walking, which has hostel walks spread across the whole of England and Wales!  

Walking festivals tend to take place in spring and autumn, which, apart from being great times to walk, are considered the ‘shoulder seasons’, when councils and tourism bosses look to encourage more visitors (and local spending). On the Isle of Wight, the festival is split between a week in May and another in October, with some visitors attending both.  

To broaden their appeal, festival programmes are often wonderfully varied. The Walking East Yorkshire Festival is run by Visit East Yorkshire each September, with local Ramblers groups among those organising walks. In 2024, the week-long event included supper walks, ghost walks and even walks with alpacas.  

‘For every walk, we try to bring in a local business or attraction, so people get a bespoke experience and it becomes more than just another walk,’ says festival coordinator Hayley Topley. ‘[It] might be a guided walk on the Wolds Way, equally it could be a walk and tasting at Laurel Vines vineyard, a bird-spotting wander with a warden at RSPB Bempton, or an evening history walk exploring Hull’s maritime past.’  

A local theme or identity gives a festival a distinctive character, such as Maldon’s Saltmarsh Coast Walking Festival, supported by Essex Ramblers; Bathscape Walking Festival, involving Bath Ramblers; and Mole Valley Ramblers’ Spring Walks Festival, which in 2024 had an emphasis on woodland flowers. Last July’s White Cliffs Walking Festival (see box, top right) in Kent featured walks on a new pilgrimage route (the Royal Kentish Camino), as well as an ancient route (the Via Francigena).  

The format of your festival can be as flexible as you want. Moray Walking & Outdoor Festival in midsummer embraces activities ranging from skiff rowing and storytelling to bushcraft and wild swimming. And, in addition to the packed programme of guided walks in September’s High Weald Walking Festival, involving four local Ramblers groups, there are about 40 self-guided walks that people can freely download from the festival website to enjoy in their own time.  

Remember, these are not just your usual group walks for members. If you want to welcome people of all abilities, including young families and those new to walking, offer some easier or shorter walks. Whatever your programme, make sure you carry out appropriate risk assessments, have the correct insurance in place and keep safety considerations uppermost.  

 

A warm welcome  

Walking festivals are sociable occasions, and that’s almost certainly why the best have endured. Wigtownshire Ramblers are closely involved in Newton Stewart Walking Festival, which featured nearly 30 walks around the town and across Galloway and the Solway Coast last May. Andrea Kay, walks coordinator for the festival committee, says participants included returning visitors from as far afield as Germany and the USA.‘We begin with a welcome supper, celebration cake and speeches, and the friendly festival atmosphere continues with a variety of walks and illustrated evening talks. Last year we also organised a walk designed for disabled people, with tea afterwards.’  

The long-running Crickhowell Walking Festival in March includes a photo competition, quiz night and map interpretation walks. Otley Walking Festival in June/July has a lively programme of evening talks and events. And after an enjoyable day out at Barmouth Walking Festival in September, you can choose a fish and chip supper, a curry evening or a murder mystery meal!  

Bringing people together through group walking and socialising is also the ethos behind GM (Greater Manchester) Walking Festival. This publicly funded initiative to encourage more people in the city to take physical activity runs each May, during National Walking Month. The aim is to encourage participation by people who don’t usually engage with walking groups. The organisations who put on nearly 400 walks in last year’s event were urged to choose ‘joyful themes’.   

 
Perfect planning  

Like any mass event, the planning for a walking festival needs to be meticulous and start early, with a core team working to a timetabled action plan. ‘Keep the committee small and make sure everyone has a specific job’ is a common refrain.  

Agree a budget and work out how it will be paid for. Will you charge for walks or will they be free? Some councils have small community grants you can apply for, or you could seek sponsorship from local businesses.  

Ramblers groups will almost certainly be relying on volunteer input, but organising and promoting a festival doesn’t have to be laborious or expensive. Bedfordshire Festival of Autumn Walks is coordinated by several local groups, including Leighton Buzzard Ramblers. Its chair, Julian Critchlow, explains they have dispensed with a glossy programme printed months in advance and instead take a more dynamic and cost-e.ective approach.  

‘All the walks are detailed on the festival website and we simply print some flyers and posters pointing people to this. It’s promoted on social media, mainly through a festival Facebook page that’s updated daily with di.erent walks and shared widely. Doing it this way is highly effcient in terms of time and resources. Last year the festival’s 55 walks attracted 850 people and cost us just £102!’  

From the outset, communicate effectively and, ideally, get someone who has experience of event planning or marketing involved. Regular press articles, blogs or newsletters and meetings with local stakeholders should be on your to-do list. Again, check what other festivals do and see what resources are available from the Ramblers or your local council and tourism partnership.  

Sustainability and environmental footprint are other considerations. Could you offer a discount on charged walks for public transport users? Perhaps minimise car journeys by arranging walks around train or bus travel, or provide pick-up from a station? For Newton Stewart Walking Festival, all guided walks carry a charge, which includes return minibus transport, so participants don’t have to drive and walks can follow more varied linear routes.  

 

Evaluate and improve  

Capture feedback and comments from people taking part, as well as photos of happy walkers (with their consent). These are useful for publicity and will help you iron out snags, improve processes and make next year’s festival even better.  

If you ask for permission and comply with data protection requirements, you can use participants’ names and email addresses to build a database of festival supporters. The High Weald festival has a simple but effective feedback form, while Moray and East Yorkshire invite people to sign up to a free occasional newsletter about future festivals – a great way to keep in touch and entice them back next time.  

On the Isle of Wight, they seem to have no problem tempting walkers to return. While the island’s overall visitor numbers are declining, the festival’s attendance is going up, and event organisers were finalists in VisitEngland’s 2024 Tourism Superstar awards. It seems the walking festival is here to stay, so why not get in on the act?