Organizers of a walking festival which has become self-sustaining are looking forward to their best year yet with bookings already being made.
Rothbury Walking Festival has become a major attraction in the last few years. And with 450 slots available for 20 different walks during the week-long event, it is set to be the best yet.
Organised by Shepherds Walks, the festival, which runs from Saturday, June 23 to Saturday, June 30, has gone from strength to strength. For the first two years the festival received funding to run. But last year it was funded purely by itself, and will do the same again this year.
Jon Monks from Shepherds Walks said: «We have people from as far away as the Isle of Wight coming to Rothbury. We try to make it more of an event for people who come as part of a holiday. One year we had local poets in the Queen’s Head Hotel. We try to make it more creative every year. This year we have got bush tucker trails and bat walks and some very different things to do. We’ve also incorporated the Cragside Challenge, which is a 13-mile walk but its quite hard. What we do is quite unique as everything comes out of our own funds. We got 50 per cent of funding in the first year and 25 per cent in the second year. After that we made it stand on its own two feet. That was always the intention and it works.»
And the festival also gives the village economy a boost as it draws in visitors who stay at local bed and breakfasts and hotels.
«We work with the accommodation providers as well,» Jon added. «The first year we did it, I was walking along the High Street on one of the walks and one of the local B&Bs grabbed me and said ‘thank you very much for working with us’ and that’s good. People stay in the local area, spend their money in the community and support local businesses.»
The festival’s first mail drop, where those who have been before receive information about this year’s event, took place between Christmas and New Year and already around 80 places have been filled.
For the first time Shepherds Walks will also be leafleting about the event outside the region.
Official Website: http://www.rothburywalking.co.uk/
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