IT WAS so popular, it’s been told to take a hike. After a successful inaugural year, the Reading Walks Festival is to return this May.
The first event saw many walks sell out, so the second event will see more events over a long time period.
The event aims to showcase the heritage, culture and natural landscapes in and around Reading. Some of the routes were 40-minute wanders, while others were two-day pilgrimages.
This year, the celebration of the great outdoors will run from Saturday, May 11, to Sunday, May 19, and train operator GWR is the official travel partner for the event.
Many of the walk leaders, all volunteers, will be back, and the programme will include some of the most popular events from last year, as well as some new ones. All link to Reading’s public transport networks, making it easy catch the bus or train to get to the starting points.
And this was popular with last year’s participants: 70% of the festival walkers used public transport or other sustainable methods of transport to access the walks.
Alex Brannen, Reading Walks Festival co-ordinator, said: “Feedback from the 2023 Festival was overwhelmingly positive and has inspired us to pull together a great programme for this year.
“While fans of the festival will have to wait until early March for full details of the programme, we are excited to share some early information about the walks to be included: from discovering the history of areas of Reading such as Coley or Earley to the story of Reading’s last abbot, exploring the Thames and lovely surrounding countryside with walks to Shiplake and Pangbourne and discovering some of Reading’s natural habitats and trees. We look forward to walking with you later in the year.”
The Reading Walks Festival is organised by REDA, Reading’s Economy and Destination Agency with support from Reading BID, GWR and many other stakeholders.
In particular, REDA says it is indebted to the enthusiastic and knowledgeable volunteer walk leaders who give up their time to share their passion for Reading and the surrounding countryside.
For more details, or to get first notification of the programme, subscribe to the visit-reading newsletter via: www.readingwalksfestival.org
