The Cotswold walking festival celebrating 15 years of existence with hikes in all directions

For one town in Gloucestershire located in the Cotswolds there are plenty of signposted footpaths and trails for visitors to explore. Little wonder then that in Winchcombe an annual Walking Festival taking place during National Walking Month is celebrating 15 years this year.

Taking place from Friday May 17 to Sunday May 19, Winchcombe has been a Walkers are Welcome town throughout the 15 years and as chair of the volunteer-led group Sheila Talbot just loves everything about walking around the town.

With dedicated volunteers and a steering group of around 12 people who all love hiking in the countryside, July 2009 was the time when Winchcombe was designated a Walkers are Welcome town.

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Volunteers go out to help maintain the footpaths and around 40 will be on hand for the yearly Walking Festival. Planning starts as early as October every year and to make 15 years is special Sheila says.

Meeting her at the White Hart pub in the town centre, Sheila said: "It means a lot of mark 15 years. When we first started as a Walkers are Welcome town I never would have dreamt how much we have achieved as volunteers, It has been quite a big journey for all of us and it's a great way of networking."

Networking is a key word there as Sheila points out that other towns across the country have Walkers are Welcome status which means that visitors from these towns are very likely to come to Winchcombe this May. Walkers from the US have come to festival in recent years.

"The whole point of the status and the festival is to bring people into Winchcombe and keep the town alive because people will stay for the weekend and the countryside surrounding the town is absolutely stunning." Nobody can disagree there as Winchcombe as a Cotswold town has plenty of walks in all directions from Belas Knap Long Barrow and Cleeve Hill in one direction to Sudeley Castle and Hailes Abbey in another.

One walk Sheila loves is the untouched walk to nearby Langley Hill and describing what makes Winchcombe tick as the perfect Cotswold hub for a walk here in Gloucestershire, there's one simple reason: "community. Winchcombe is very different to other Cotswold towns where we're not just a holiday town as we have schools and clubs and until I moved here 30 years ago I have just loved the place."

The full programme for Winchcombe Walking Festival 2024 can be found here.