New Walking Festival for Sheffield

4th August 2016

Sheffield will host a brand new walking festival this September in a bid to further capitalise on the city's profile as The Outdoor City and attract visitors to Sheffield.

Taking place Saturday 10 - Sunday 18 September 2016, Sheffield Walking Festival will present a range of enjoyable walks for all abilities over nine days. The festival programme features 28 walks, ranging from short strolls to longer challenging routes such as the 15-mile Sheffield Round Walk. There will also be an opportunity to cover the whole of the Sheffield Country Walk over five consecutive days. Incorporating a variety of themes and landscapes, the festival celebrates all sides of the city, from industrial heritage and hidden outdoor art, to a family themed walk including a visit to a city farm, while several moorland walks will showcase the dramatic city borders that overlap with the Peak District National Park. The festival will culminate in a headline walk on Sunday 18 September which will retrace the historic footsteps of the Abby Brook Mass Trespass, when back in 1932 a group of 200 ramblers gathered to walk over the moors in the North West of Sheffield. Much like its more famous relation, the Kinder Mass Trespass, Abbey Brook was a landmark demonstration which played a major part in enabling access to areas of the country where people can walk freely today. Sheffield has a strong walking community with more walking clubs than anywhere else in the UK. Organised by Sheffield Walking Forum and supported by The Outdoor City, the festival brings together many of these clubs along with a host of Sheffield's outdoor communities and national organisations such as The Wildlife Trust, Peak National Park Authority, RSPB, Ramblers Association and Walkers are Welcome Chris Prescott, one of the lead organisers from Sheffield Walking Forum and a Director of Walkers are Welcome said: -Though walking festivals have been held in Sheffield in the past, this is a completely new festival for the city, with both a brand new look and style of programming. -We've seen the enormous success of the other walking festivals in the region and we want to emulate that success here. -Sheffield is a gateway to so many fantastic walks, both directly around the city and on the doorstep of the Peak District, it's not surprising that we have a very strong walking scene and so we want to harness this to create something which really showcases the region With one third of the city situated within the Peak District National Park, 60% of the city made up of green-space and more woodland than any other city in Europe, Sheffield offers a unique proposition of city culture alongside access to some of the most stunning countryside in the UK and it's hoped the walking festival will be another opportunity to showcase this to outside audiences. The walks are led by experienced and knowledgeable guides, many of them local historians and authors. While the majority of the walks are free, a few have a small charge that includes refreshments or overheads. For more information and the full festival programme visit www.theoutdoorcity.co.uk/walk