12th annual Pendle Walking Festival to be a family affair!

As walkers get ready to return to Pendle for the annual Walking Festival, many will be bringing the family with them to make this year’s festival a real family affair.

The festival – the UK’s largest free guided walking festival – falls earlier this year, within the school summer holidays – from Saturday 15 to Sunday 23 August.

Festival organisers and walk leaders have included plenty of family-friendly walks in the programme of almost 70 free guided walks.

Now in its 12th year, the Pendle Walking Festival offers walks of varying lengths and difficulty ratings in excellent walking country with experienced guides.
The walks are free to join and suitable for people of all abilities and ages.

There’s a great choice of guided walks throughout Pendle, both in stunning countryside and more urban routes. From easy walks of two miles to more challenging ones of 14 miles, there really is something for everyone – and there’s no need for walkers to bring any specialist walking equipment.

Councillor Ian Tweedie, who represents tourism in Pendle, said:
“Since Pendle is jointly hosting stage 2 of the Tour of Britain cycle race in September, our Walking Festival is happening earlier this year. Festival organisers spotted an opportunity to make it appeal to families who enjoy walking together, by offering plenty of family friendly walks.

“The festival still has its challenging walks for the seasoned walkers, such as the Pendle Marathon and the Pendle Three Peaks Challenge.

“The Pendle Walking Festival is a highlight in Pendle’s tourism calendar and we’re looking forward to welcoming hundreds of walkers to our beautiful walking country.”

The variety of the festival’s walks demonstrates that Pendle is the perfect walking destination with a huge network of well-maintained footpaths. Walkers can discover Pendle’s unspoilt wild moorland, rolling hills and historic villages in the company of our experienced walk leaders.

This year’s Pendle Walking Festival includes a new walk celebrating the life of George Fox, founder of the Quaker movement. The Pendle Quaker Trail follows his journey of revelation in 1652 and takes walkers around various sites of interest in the Brierfield area, including Quaker Bridge, Marsden Height, Foulds House Farm and Edge End Lane.

Walkers have the opportunity to walk in the footsteps of the Pendle Witches on a number of walks that mark the borough’s association with the most famous witch trials of all time.
And families can discover parts of Pendle they perhaps haven’t visited before under the guidance of our friendly walk leaders.

Mike Williams, Pendle Council’s Tourism Officer, said:
“We’re looking forward to welcoming back many walkers who take part in our walking festival every year, as well as seeing some new faces too.

“For families who enjoy getting out in the open air together, our festival is wonderfully timed! We’ve a wide variety of walks for families with children of all ages, from those that focus on parks and playground to those that take families out into standard walking terrain.

“Children who come on the walks can enter our kids’ club competition – when they come on three or more walks and collect a Billy Badger sticker, they can enter a prize draw to win shopping vouchers.

“Many people choose to make a holiday of their Pendle Walking Festival experience. Pendle has a wealth of quality tourism accommodation – from guest houses and B&Bs to a luxury hotel – to help walkers make more of their visit. To search for accommodation in Pendle, go to www.visitpendle.com.”

Free Pendle Walking Festival programmes, which contain information about all the walks, are available to download from www.visitpendle.com.

Programmes are also available in hard copy by calling the Discover Pendle Centre on (01282) 856186.

The 2015 Pendle Walking Festival will be officially launched by the Mayor of Pendle, Councillor Nawaz Ahmed, on Saturday 15 August at 10am at the Aisled Barn at Wycoller Country Park

Following the launch, the four separate walks of varying lengths and difficulty ratings will set off.

For more information about the 12th Pendle Walking Festival, contact Mike Williams, Tourism Officer, on (01282) 661963 or [email protected].

MEDIA OPPORTUNITY

9am, Saturday 4 July 2015

Councillor Ian Tweedie and the Wakeman family get ready to welcome the 12th annual Pendle Walking Festival, which falls in the school summer holidays – Mark Wakeman is one of our regular walk leaders and the family are keen walkers.

Meet at the ‘Billy the Badger’ sculpture in Nelson’s Victoria Park – enter the park by the entrance off the car park on Carr Road and turn left. Follow the path round and go over the bridge. Bear left and continue on this path until you see the wooden badger sculpture on your left – he’s opposite the bandstand.

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For further information please contact: Claire Tulloch, Communications Team, Chief Executive's Policy Unit, Pendle Council, Town Hall, Market Street, Nelson, BB9 7LG

Tel: 01282 661984
Fax: 01282 661630
Email: [email protected]