Ways To Get Walking With The BMC And YHA Festival Of Walking

The Festival of Walking is all about bringing walkers from across the UK together to enjoy our landscapes and make new connections.  

This year, together with the British Mountaineering Council (BMC), we’ve partnered with Youth Hostel Association England & Wales (YHA) to support the festival and help people get outside.  

With four weeks of free offers and events to get involved with this autumn, here’s four ways you can join in... 

These routes are ideal if you’re building your confidence and would like to walk with a group, or you just want to meet like-minded people to walk with. A qualified volunteer walking guide will lead the way, and if you have any questions, they’ll be happy to pass on hill walking hints and tips. 

The social walks, which will take place from a number of Youth Hostels across England and Wales, are free to book so check out the Festival of Walking website and sign up to their newsletter for regular updates. 

These routes are perfect if you’d like to go at your own pace and discover a new area. The range of self guided walks all start from YHA hostels and include routes with different levels of difficulty, from shorter or flatter, to steeper and more challenging days out, as well as accessible routes, so if you want to have your own adventure download one of these free maps via the Festival of Walking website.

If you’re relatively or completely new to hill walking the BMC has got your back. They've got lots of tips and advice on their online hub for those wanting to get out there but don’t know where to start. They also produced a free booklet in partnership with YHA for the first Festival of Walking in 2022. With advice on a whole range of subjects, Into The Hills highlights essential skills you can learn and develop as well as tips on what to pack, what to wear, and how to plan your route so you can enjoy walks in the hills and mountains with confidence. 

Read more and download the hill walking guide here: Into The Hills: A Guide For New Hill Walkers 

If you’re looking to do some good while walking, join the BMC to help remove litter and plastic from our hills, mountains and crags so it doesn’t end up in our oceans. The BMC has partnered with YHA to provide over 50 H2O litter picking kits to hostels throughout England and Wales. So, you can do your bit for the planet while enjoying our incredible landscapes. Plus, YHA will even responsibly dispose of the litter for you. 

Why not combine a guided or self-guided walk, with a clean up along the way? BMC Hills 2 Oceans litter picking hubs are located at the following YHA hostels: Ambleside, Berwick, Borrowdale, Castleton, Coalport, Coniston, Conwy, Dartmoor, Hartington, Keswick, London Central, National Forest, New Forest, Okehampton, Sheringham, Snowdon Llanberis, South Downs, St Briavels, Wasdale, Whitby, York. 

With lots of options for all types of walkers, we hope you’ll find events in the Festival of Walking that are perfect for you. Plus, don’t forget that if you’re looking for advice on the right kit for your walking adventure, we’re always here to help. Just drop by your nearest Cotswold Outdoor store and our experts will find the best kit for you.