Feature

Petersfield Walking Festival

After the success of Petersfield’s first walking festival last year, the good news is that it will be back in 2023. Entitled ‘A Walk For All Seasons’, this year’s festival will be trying out a new format. Instead of one intensive week of 47 walks at the end of August, the 2023 programme will be spread across the whole year. In doing this, organisers hope walks will be able to mirror nature’s natural, seasonal beauty and people will have more choice of times and dates to join in the fun.

The festival’s key priorities are promoting our beautiful area as an easily accessible, leisure destination as well as encouraging people to spend time outdoors. However, supporting local enterprise is an equally important element. Several walks on the programme last year were collaborations between experienced walk leaders and local businesses. Those organised with Sky Park Deer Farm, Petersfield Shakespeare Festival, Wild Season’s Foraging and Instagram’s Ambling Path proved particularly popular. This year’s festival will fortunately see a number of similar link ups.

With the festival starting on 1 January, co-organiser Malinka van der Gaauw admits finding inspiration from nature in the depth of winter “a bit of a challenge” but said that is part of the fun. Malinka added that “last August we were keeping our fingers crossed for the week to be dry, but it is perhaps a tall order to have the same expectation across the whole of next year.” In the UK a ‘walk for all seasons’ could very easily also mean a walk in all weathers….. and even perhaps all in just one day. Nonetheless, as every walker knows, there is no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothing….so it’s time to dig out the waterproofs and carry-on walking! With everyone now feeling the pinch financially, walking is a costeffective way to take some exercise, explore the countryside and improve your wellbeing all at the same time. Perhaps you are put off joining a formal walking group, but equally don’t have the confidence to try new walks on your own. A programme of walking festival walks across the year, that allows you to dip in and out of as you please, might therefore be just what you need. Why not visit www. petersfieldwalkingfestival.co.uk throughout 2023 to find out what exciting walks are planned for the coming months. Whatever your fitness level, interests or availability there is bound to be something that helps bring out your inner explorer.

An Evening With Rebecca Stephens MBE

Friday 3 Feb from 7pm at Churchers College, Petersfield (& online) The 2023 Petersfield Walking Festival is in part being made possible by the generosity of an inspirational, local adventurer. Rebecca Stephens MBE was the first British woman to climb both Everest and the Seven Summits (the tallest peaks on each of the 7 continents).

She will be talking about the joy she finds in the mountains - walking through the valleys as much as reaching the highest peaks - and the valuable lesson learned from the beauty of the landscape, and how she still uses this knowledge to shape her approach to life.

Tickets can be bought from www.petersfieldwalkingfestival.co.uk