Bathscape Walking Festival returns with new walks
New and exciting walks join old favourites such as the urban tree walks, wellbeing walks and bat walks at this year’s Bathscape Walking Festival, which runs from Saturday 7 September to Sunday 22 September.
The programme for the festival, now in its seventh year, includes more than 60 events for families, groups and solo walkers, the majority of which are free.
Foodies will enjoy the strangely titled Start with Cake, end with Cheese with a river and a hill in the middle. It is a 5.5 mile circular walk that starts at the Bath Soft Cheese Shop café at Kelston and follows a route along the banks of the river Avon towards Bristol and Kelston Mill, through North Stoke and up the Cotswold Way to Kelston Roundhill
Another circular walk that is new for this year is a 9.5 mile walk titled A Folly, a Quaint Village and Some Engineering, which starts opposite the Crown Pub in Bathford and takes in Monkton Farleigh, Dundas Aqueduct, Brassknocker Hill, Bathampton Woods and descends down the old quarry railroad to Bathhampton and back to the starting point.
Map Skills for Beginners on Wednesday 18 September is for anyone who is keen to build confidence using maps to navigate and plan countryside walks. Led by Nicole from Cotswolds National Landscape, the event starts indoors looking at the history of maps, key features and symbols of ordnance survey maps and includes a local walk using your new skills to navigate.
Youngsters can sign up for an hour of After School Nature Fun at Twerton Roundhill on Thursday 19 September and enjoy bug hunting during the climb to the top before finishing in the play area. Booking is advisable for this walk and there will be healthy snacks provided.
Jane Austen fans can follow in her footsteps on the 90-minute Tales from Charlcombe walk on Sunday 15 September. Members of the new community group managing the area will lead you through the deep grassy meadows full of butterflies and the woodlands where bats, badgers and deer make their home.
Kirsten Elliott will lead several walks around the city including Under Bridges, Over Bridges, Meandering Free on Thursday 12 September, an three hour, 5 mile afternoon stroll exploring old and new bridges. Windows 2: The Sequel to Windows and Things, builds on a walk she led in 2021 that outlined the story of windows. It will start at Bath Abbey – called the Lantern of the West thanks to its spectacular acreage of glass – and explore windows of all kinds including shop windows and other historical details.
Councillor Tim Ball, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhood Services, said: “The Bathscape Walking Festival is a wonderful opportunity to showcase Bath as a walkable landscape city. The majority of the walks are free of charge and a support service for walkers with a visual impairment was offered for the first time last year. I would encourage everyone to take part and enjoy the health and mental wellbeing benefits of being out in the fresh air and exploring unique aspects of the city and the surrounding countryside.”
The full programme of walks can be found at https://www.bathscape.co.uk/walking-festival/
There are a number of walks with accessibility features, some walks have BSL interpreters and written notes on request or are suitable for people using wheelchairs and others include the ability to book a trained guide to assist blind/visually impaired people. Assistance dogs are welcome on all walks that are suitable. The Walks 2024 Summary, which can be downloaded, lists the features of each walk, or you can email [email protected] or call 01225 477265 to find out more.
Bathscape’s work is largely funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund with match funding from partners. To find out more visit the Bathscape website.
