Norfolk Walking Festival – Thank you!

Wow, what an intense but amazing two weeks we had for our first ever Norfolk Walking Festival.

The festival started with a lovely launch at historic Waxham Barn, plus a guided tour of the atmospheric barn or a walk around beautiful Horsey (which included meeting a few of the dedicated Friends of Horsey Seals volunteers).

Launch event at Waxham Barn

Then came two weeks of walks and talks, showcasing the unique and stunning area of north-east Norfolk. There was so much choice, with events ranging from short strolls to long distance jaunts and themed walks including; bird migration on the coast (particularly exciting at this time of year), a tour of Happisburgh Lighthouse with its fantastic views, foraging for beer ingredients, Battle of Agincourt theatrics at Erpingham, uncovering the lost medieval village of Eccles on Sea and discovering all about early humans in the area (including an incredible 3D print of one of the earliest human footprints found outside of Africa!).

Talks included a fascinating evening with Mark Thompson (The People’s Astronomer), an illustrated tour of the Amber Shorelands, an inspiring evening of walking-related films and a guide to all you need to know for walking the Norfolk Coast Path. We could go on, too!

3D print of 850,000 year old footprint – Happisburgh

Taking place over the last two weeks of October, the festival period also included Halloween and half term, so there were lots of family-friendly events to choose from as well. Who could resist walks like the Creepy Caches Halloween Trail at West Runton or the intriguing Walk, Talk, Create theatrical experience, where families met the mysterious lighthouse keeper’s sister and created their own pieces of art?

Creepy Caches Halloween Trail from West Runton

See more photos from the festival in our Norfolk Walking Festival Flickr Album

So, we would like to extend a huge THANK YOU to everyone who helped organise and lead events (and all the people who attended too) – you helped make our first ever walking festival a huge success!

Thank you especially to:

• Kelling Heath Holiday Park,
• Woodland Holiday Park
• Positive Steps Fitness and Wellbeing
• Norfolk Ramblers
• Norfolk Wildlife Trust
• National Trust (Sheringham Park)
• Walk Norfolk
• Historic Environment Service
• Norfolk Museums
• The British museum
• Cromer Walkers are Welcome group
• Aylsham Walkers are Welcome group
• Northrepps Cottage Country Hotel
• The Bittern Line Community Rail Partnership
• Martin Warren and the Northfolk Project
• Cotswold Outdoor
• Norfolk and Norwich Naturalists’ Society
• Willow Farm Barn
• Waxham Barn (Norfolk Historic Buildings Trust) and Waxham Barn Café
• David Stannard and the Amber Shorelands Heritage Tours
• The Greenword Tree
• Mark Thompson
• Norfolk Birding
• Active Norfolk
• North Norfolk Fit together
• Mell Harrison, Inter-Nature
• Friends of Horsey Seals
• Happislight (Friends of Happisburgh Lighthouse)
• RNLI
• HM Coastguard (Maritime and Coastguard Agency)
• Norfolk Constabulary
• Round Tower Churches Society
• Hilary Cox – Norfolk Walking and Cycling Champion

We also couldn’t have done it without the support of the Coastal Communities Fund, which funded the festival through our Explore More Coast project, This project aims to encourage more people to spend time exploring the area’s unique environmental and heritage features, benefiting local people, tourism and the economy.