The organisers of Malvern Walking Festival are celebrating the “most successful” week in its history.
The festival finished on a high last Sunday (June 4) with the presentation of a cheque to the Midland Air Ambulance.
“This year’s festival was the most successful yet in our 18-year history,” said Bob Baldwin, the festival chair.
There were 74 walks organised over a nine-day period - with many selling out weeks in advance - bringing many new visitors to Malvern for the first time, staying in pubs, B&Bs or camping.
“The weather was fabulous all the way through, with end-to-end sunshine and a cooling breeze, perfect for tackling some of the steeper sections,” added Bob.
More than a thousand ramblers joined a wide variety of walks – half day, whole day and multi-day - and a large number were themed telling the story of Malvern’s past and history.
Other walks were themed on heritage, geology, water, farming and gardens - there were even a couple of walks dedicated to beer and breweries.
This year, for the first time, there was a three-day Cotswold railway walk, combining a train ride to the start and walk back to the station each day.
All walks were graded from ‘gentle’ to ‘strenuous’ with the most strenuous walk covering the 31-mile Worcestershire Way in a day.
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As always, the walks took place mostly in and around the Malvern Hills – officially designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).
Some were a bit further afield in Worcestershire and Herefordshire.
The festival’s organisers were happy to support the Midland Air Ambulance – whose services fortunately were not needed – and the Malvern Hills Trust, whose land the walkers enjoyed rambling over.
“We’ve learnt a lot from the 2023 Festival and work will start shortly on the planning and organisation of the 2024 one,” said Bob, “which will run from Saturday, May 25 to Sunday, June 2, to make it even more successful.”
Keep an eye on www.malvernwalking.uk for information about next year’s festival.
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