Walking Festivals A Go Go!

Fancy a walking festival? Well, there's a load of them around and people keep sending us press releases telling us where and when they are, so here are a few for your diary:

Proudly advertised as the UK's largest walking festival, it finishes this weekend and offers over 130 walks, mostly free and led by volunteers. If you want to catch the tail end of the festival this weekend, check out the web site.

Daily guided walks from the Northumbrian town at the heart of Hadrian's Wall. This is the third of its kind and the guides are all enthusiastic local residents walking on their local paths. Special features include a mid-summer (almost) night hike and a three-day saunter to the source of the Tyne.

More details: Tel. 01434 321242 (Haltwhistle Partnership). web site.

From guided town walks through to Munro-bagging exploits in the surrounding hills, the Angus Glens team reckon they've got it covered with everyone from novice newbies to hard-nosed Munro-bagging pros covered.

All walks are led by experienced leaders, £5.00 per person for each guided walk which includes return transport from the Event Centre. A set charge of £7.50 per person is applicable for each of the organised evening events and includes supper. Pre-booking for walks and for evening events is essential as many have limits on numbers.

More details: Tel. 01382 527527. Or check the web site.

Selection of guided walks exploring the countryside around Langholm plus eveing entertainment on the Friday and Saturday nights. The walks are based on The Langholm Walks Network, created in Summer 2000.

Langholm is in Eskdale in south west Scotland if you weren't sure and looks green, rolling and lovely.

More details: Tel. 01387 380914 . Web site.

Organised by Otley Town Partnership volunteers and is supported by local businesses, the festival started life as a one-off millennium project and just kept going. The Yorkshire town, near Harrogate, nestles under the Chevin hill.

Themed walks, evening slide and film shows and some cracking pubs plus regular prize draws and competitions with prizes provided by the nice people at Brasher. The volunteer-led walks are free but you can make a donation.

More details: Tel:. 01943 851166 or check out the web site ..

Around 60 guided walks in Herefordshire with something for everyone from the Wye Valley to the Malverns as well as a beautiful cathedral city and 'lots of opportunities to sample Herefordshire's wonderful food and drink. Many of the walks include visits and tastings at specialist food and drink producers, farm shops and village stores, as well as providing pub lunches, afternoon teas and refreshment stops along the way.' - sounds good to us.

More details: Tel. 01568 797842. Or see the extensive web site.

'Newcastle, Co Down, is a thriving seaside resort overlooking the Irish Sea with the magnificent Mourne Mountains as a backdrop. The town is the ideal venue to host a walking festival and is located within the Mourne Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, hotly tipped to become Northern Ireland's first National Park'.

Sponsored by Bridgedale, there's a range of walks from 10 - 40 km both high and low level and it all culminates in a 'blister ball' on the last night.

More details: 028417 69965. Web site.

Floating between England and Ireland, the Isle of Man has some resolutely splendid high moorland scenery and is well worth a visit - watch out for TT week though when it's taken over by leather-clad bikers.

This is the first ever Manx Walking Festival and promises: 'hillsides that are bright with gorse and the burgeoning purple of heather to come, woodlands and glens are filled with birdsong, and over everything lies a mantle of peace following the excitement and drama of the annual motor cycling invasion.'

You can either pay for walks individually - generally a fiver - or take advantage of a Festival Package for an all-in deal. Extensive social events too and a great, informative web site.

More details: Tel. 01624 686766. Web site with online booking.

Guide walks each with at least two leaders, with a thorough knowledge of the route plus cultural interludes etc.

More details: Tel. 01709 835904. Web site.

'Over 20 great guided countryside walks over a long weekend, this festival, Pendle's first ever Walking Festival, will be a chance to experience some of the most stunning scenery in Lancashire. Walks will be free and range from short and easy, to long and hard, but most will be somewhere in the middle! So come and join us! '

More details: Tel. 01282 661685. Web site.

'Many of the walks celebrate the Cattle Drovers, the people who made Crieff the cross-roads of Scotland at the turn of the 18th Century. From climbing the local Munros to a creepy crawly walk for children, the Drovers' Tryst Walking Festival has something for everyone.'

Scottish walking in Perthshire.

More details: Tel. 01764 652578. Web site.

There are lots more festivals around. For more details, try Google.co.uk and search for "walking festival" - putting it in double quote marks means you'll only get that exact phrase.