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Pickering’s first annual walking festival - organised by Pickering Walkers are Welcome was held over the weekend of 16/17/18th April. Pickering staged its first annual walking festival and what a fantastic event it was. On the evening of Friday 16th April, 18 walkers were led on a night walk from Pickering. It was still quite light when we left but completely dark by the time we finished, creating a line of walkers with torches. The night sky was clear, giving us a great view of a new moon and the stars. We were all back to town in time for a pint. On Saturday 17th April, over 40 walkers enjoyed their choice of one of four walks on offer, all using either a mini bus or a service bus. In addition, eight people joined a special interest walk, Lost pubs of Pickering - none of whom got lost in any of the existing pubs! In the evening we filled the Memorial Hall with over 100 people and were entertained by the Randy Monks, an Irish folk band - none of whom are monks! The band play for no fee but raise funds for Macmillan Cancer Support. That evening, everyone who went helped them raise about £400. Sunday 18th April saw over 60 walkers take the North Yorkshire Moors Railway to the walk of their choice on the moors, some linear and some circular, one of them led by a National Park Ranger. We also had two themed walks, Forgotten railways south of Pickering and Tropical seas, castles and kilns which were enjoyed by 15 people. In all we had about 100 different people attend the walks, of which over 30 came from outside the area and would have had to stay in or around Pickering for the festival, spending money on accommodation and refreshments. And to cap it all the weather was fantastic for the whole weekend. We would like to thank our sponsors, without whom we would have had great difficulty staging this event. They are HF Holidays, Mark Stephensons estate agents, Atkinson Builders and 17 Burgate 5* Accommodation. We also thank our other supporters, who include Black Swan Hotel, Bramwood Guesthouse, Flintofts Ironmongers, Pickering Town Council, and Trailblazer Outdoors. The Pickering Walkers are Welcome website (www.pickeringwaw.btik.com) is updated regularly with what the local group is doing, and there is also information on the national website: ( www.walkersarewelcome.org.uk ).
Sam Borman, Chairman, |