Peak District Walking Festivals

Walking through some of the England’s most outstanding scenery is one of the joys of a visit to the Peak District and Derbyshire.

With four separate festivals to choose from and with a wide variety of themes, there’s something to suit all ages and abilities.

The Peak District Walking Festival – April 24 to May 9 2010

The Peak District Walking Festival is one of the largest and most varied festivals in the country, with more than 100 walks led by expert and knowledgeable guides, from National Park Rangers and archaeologists to ecologists and ghost hunting experts! All ages and abilities are catered for and as well as new challenges like rock climbing or caving, you’ll be able to take part in guided cycle rides.

The Peak District’s Historic Border Country Walking Festival – May 15 to 23 2010

The Peak District’s Historic Border Country sits between the Peak District to the west and Sherwood Forest to the east and has some of the best unspoilt and undiscovered countryside, which you’ll be able to explore in the Festival. The programme includes many guided walks to suit all ages and abilities, including the ‘Longest Walk on the Longest Day’ – a 34 mile walk which circumnavigates Chesterfield, keeping the spire in view most of the time.

Footsteps in the Forest: National Forest Walking Festival – May 22 – June 2 2010

Footsteps in the Forest walks offer a great range of short, medium and long guided walks across the varied landscape of The National Forest. Discover canals, rural villages, reservoirs and woodlands and hear fascinating facts about the wildlife and local heritage of this beautiful area. Led by local enthusiasts who are keen to show visitors around the area, there is something for everyone, whatever your interest and abilities.

Autumn Footprints: Amber Valley & Erewash Walking Festival.  Sept 11 to 26  2010

Autumn Footprints includes a wide variety of walks from between one and fifteen miles and covers themes such as natural history, local heritage, rivers and canals or towns and villages and map reading. The programme will be available from mid-summer 2010.

Derby Walking Festival – September 18 to October 17 2010

The Derby Walking Festival.

Set in the compact, friendly city of Derby steeped with fascinating history, a vibrant culture and rich heritage providing the perfect setting for this festival.

More information

Order your 2010 Peak Disrtict Walking Festivals Guide.

Peak District and Derbyshire Tourist Board

Crocus Walks

Crocuses naturalise well in grassy areas and February to March is usually the best time to see them.  Often planted in great swathes in community parks and church yards, they provide a sea of yellows, purples, creams and mauve to herald the arrival of spring.

Where to see Crocuses
Some of Britains’ stately homes and gardens have wonderful displays of crocus and are well worth the visit.

Here are a few open days or places to see Crocuses that we are aware of.

If we have missed any then please get in touch with the details via our contact us form.

Please send us your pictures of your crocus walk, as we are sure there must be many more out there.

If you are a member of the NGS (National Garden Scheme) and open your garden for displays of crocus and spring flowers, then please let us know.

Kew Gardens Crocus Carpet – creates a spectacular show of white and purple between Victoria Gate and King William’s Temple in March.

Sky Blue Pasture is lively, safe and vibrant place in the heart of Chelmsford.

University of Leicester Botanic Garden – Leicestershire

Lacock Abbey Gardens – Wiltshire

Temple Newsham Park and Gardens – Leeds

Great Dixter House – Snowdrop and Crocus weekend, East Sussex

The Garden House – Devon

Bitts Park – Carlisle

Many Old churches and graveyards are also the ideal place to see crocuses

Breakthrough Breast Cancer – Crocus Walks - help raise money for Breakthrough Breast Cancer. The perfect opportunity to enjoy the great outdoors, meet up with friends and get some exercise – and all in a good cause.

Free Guided Walks in the North York Moors

A guided walk looking at items of folklore, history and local interest in the moorland village of Goathland on Wednesday 3 March is the first in a series of free guided walks organised by the North York Moors National Park Authority.

Ranging from one to five miles, the walks take place the first Sunday and Wednesday of every month from March through to November.

Following Natural England’s ‘Walking the way to Health’ guidelines, the walks are in three levels from a gentle stroll on easy terrain some of which are suitable for wheelchairs and buggies to longer walks of a more challenging nature. They are an ideal introduction to the health benefits of walking and – with lots of information on the local area, its history, nature, wildlife and conservation – are also a great opportunity to learn something new about the North York Moors.

Forthcoming walks include

• Ramble along woodland paths and the scenic Murk Esk to find out about the industrial heritage of Grosmont (7 April)
• Stroll along the old railway line to explore the remains of the alum works at Ravenscar (2 June)
• Wildlife walk through Guisborough Forest (4 July).

Don Burluraux, Health Walks Co-ordinator for the NHS Middlesbrough and NHS Redcar and Cleveland area said:

“Health Walks do not only improve your physical fitness, help control your weight and make you feel good, they are also beneficial for your mental well-being, reducing stress and helping you to sleep better. Walking in a Health Walk group is a great way to start walking and to stay motivated – you’ll socialise and make new friends and discover new places in your neighbourhood and surrounding countryside.”

Ian Sewell, who has long-term health issues, has been on several health walks in the North York Moors National Park, he said:

“My first walk, through Raincliffe Woods, made me feel as if a weight had been lifted from off my shoulders. I felt extremely calm and yet energised at the same time. I certainly slept at the end of the day! Being surrounded by the natural world was very peaceful and calming to the mind and to the spirit as well as giving exercise to the body. I would recommend the walks to everyone, whether young or old.”

All walk leaders have received health and safety training. Places on the walks are limited; to book a place call 01439 772738.

Further information on forthcoming walks can be found at www.visitthemoors.co.uk/events and also in the North York Moors Out and About Guide which will be available from National Park and Tourist Information Centres from early March

More information on all National Parks can be found at www.nationalparks.gov.uk

The Beacon, Penrith, Cumbria

An unobtrusive wooden way marker points the way from the roadside, through a small wooden gate and up a grassy slope.  Turning the corner, the slope is shaded by trees and the ground becomes sandy, with large pieces of sandstone bouldering the ground.

The orignal forests of Beacon Hill were first planted in the late 18th C.  before  the enclosure of common land act. Before this, Beacon was a dreary barren waste land full of sandholes and quarries. Remnants of this can be noted from the rough hewn pathway with large sandstone boulders in places and the rocky sandstone outcrops which appear in woodland clearings.

After being destroyed by fire, Beacon Hill was replanted in 1927  by the Lowther family.

The Path to Beacon Pike, 937 ft (286 m) is quite steep and very rocky in places, so is unsuitable for buggies and

wheelchairs and substantial walking shoes are recommended.

Rich, well managed woodland, including Rowan and Beech is home to a variety of wildlife.  Keep a look out for the Common Lizard and signs of badgers and foxes.

Once at the Summit, the pathway opens out into a plateau of land with a square sandstone beacon built on the top. The present monument

(replacing earlier structures) was built in 1719 of sandstone taken from hill, it was restored in 1790.

Earlier beacons are recorded here since 1296 and would have been piles of wood and branches followed later by pitch boxes.  There has been a building on this site for more than 500 years.

Beacons were used to warn the locals and surrounding villages of impending Scottish raids and would communicate this message for miles across the North of England with others being lit at Carlisle, Kirkoswald and Orton Scar.

During 1745 uprising, the Beacon featured again when Prince Charles Edward attempted to regain the Crown of the House of Stuart. It is even noted to have been used during the Napoleonic Wars.

Stunning views over the Eden Valley, Pennines and Lake District fells indicate why this site was chosen. The mountains of Scotland can easily be seen across the Solway Firth to the north.

A brass dial donated by the Lions Club of Penrith, indicates the names of the mountains and places which can be seen from this wonderful vantage point.

This walk will take around 40 minutes to complete.

Visit Penrith Town Trails for details of this and other walks in the area.

Finglandrigg Wood Nature Reserve

Situated on the lower eastern region on the Solway Plain, about 15Km to the West of Carlisle.

The woodland habitat is managed by English Nature as a National Nature Reserve, primarily to provide a habitat for the indigenous Red Squirrel but many other species can be found here such as Linnet, Blackcap, Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler.

In the rushy areas, the high water tables are maintained for reed bunting, sedge warbler and grasshopper warbler.

Intensive management of the fields encourages devil’s-bit scabious, the food plant of the Marsh Fritillary butterfly.

Hebridean sheep along with Exmoor ponies and cattle, graze areas of rough grassland and scrub.

A peat bog occupies the lowest areas below the arable land. Once drained and cut for peat, the bog still has a 2m deposit.

During the ‘Enclosure Acts’ of the late 1700s and early 1800s, much of the common land at Finglandrigg was placed into private ownership, and by the mid 1800s the site was a mixture of small fields, Scots pine plantations and peat bog, with the heath the only remaining common grazing.

Immediately following Enclosure, the site was used for agriculture, but the fields were gradually abandoned during the depression that swept the farming communities in the late 1800s.

Birch and rowan trees were the first to occupy this unused open ground.

There are two waymarked walks that take you around the reserve and include the main features of interest.

Chalybeate Well Trail

Discover the many aspects of the woodland and rough pasture, as well as the Chalybeate Well, a stone structure marking the presence of a sulphate rich spring.

This 2km walk will take you around 45 minutes to one hour, with easy to soft going on a gravel and bark chipped surface for all but the final 70m.

Little Bampton Common Trail

A woodland walk that also includes open rough pasture and heathland as well as Scots pine plantations.This 3km round trip takes about one- and-a-half to two hours.

The going is relatively easy as the first 0·8km is on firm bark chip and some areas have had special walkways installed over the boggy regions but the remainder continues on mown grass which can be wet and muddy after rain.

Along your walks, look out for a couple of  wonderful sculptures in the woodland (Searches so far have not been able to shed light on the sculptor).

Carved into the trunk of old trees are insects which inhabit the woodland. Open a secret door to reveal carved larvae and resting bugs.

Memorial

A memorial to Derek Almey Ratcliffe,  A renowned conservationist and author, stands towards the end of the walk.  He loved wild places and the creatures and plants that inhabited them.

He is perhaps most famous for his research which saved the Peregrine Falcon from the grasp of  the pesticide, DDT.

It is noted that one of his favourite places was Fingland Wood.

Near the memorial, a stunning bench seat featuring the Peregrine Falcon is carved from a single tree trunk.

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