The recent Isle of Wight Walking Festival has been hailed such a success that the popular event will be expanded over 2 separate dates in 2022 – Spring and Autumn.
With more than 100 walks available, this year’s Isle of Wight Walking Festival saw over 1,600 people take part, from the shortest walk at 0.5 miles for the ‘Wessex Cancer Trust Starlit Trail’ at Ventnor Botanic Garden and the longest walk at 18.5 miles from Kingston Smallholdings for the annual celebration of all things goat – ‘Goat-ober’.
This year’s Isle of Wight Walking Festival saw the combined distance of walks reach 413 miles.
A survey revealed at least 39% of those taking part were visitors to the Isle of Wight, taking advantage of the good weather and stunning views offered by the Island in autumn. The Walking Festival also proved popular with residents, bringing together tourists and locals in a friendly celebration of the great outdoors and our unique Island landscape.
Organisers of the Isle of Wight Walking Festival have said:
“We are very grateful to our walk leaders and volunteers who made this year’s Isle of Wight Walking Festival such a successful event, with amazing support from the local businesses. It was fantastic to see so many visitors and locals discovering the best of the Island on foot”.
Now we are being asked to ‘save the date’ following the positive feedback in 2021, as Visit Isle of Wight will introduce 2 walking festivals in 2022 – 1 under the warming sun in May and a second under fiery canopies of October.
The newly confirmed dates for 2022 will see the Spring festival between 7th-15th May and an Autumn festival from 8th-16th October, with more opportunities to discover the beautiful Isle of Wight at different times of nature’s calendar.
The spring Isle of Wight Walking Festival will this year include the popular fundraising event supporting the local hospice Mountbatten ‘Walk The Wight’ on 8th May.
Let’s hope the council can cut back the footpaths as walking about with a machette is frowned on nowadays.