2012 Dates: Thursday 27th - Sunday 30th September 2012

Last Year: Thursday 22nd – Sunday 25th September 2011

The second PBWF took place in September 2011 and was a great success. We kept a few of the most popular routes from 2010 and added some exciting new options, such as Walk 11 - Cathedral, Abbey and Chapel, which took in Ripon Cathedral and Fountains Abbey. There were also more mid-length, 'moderate' walks this time around, plus a wider variety of special interest walks including birdwatching, archaeology and local history. If you want a flavour of the area, check out the Gallery which has a range of photos from the 2010 and 2011 festival.

This year, staying true to our aim to be 'more than just a walk', we were privileged to have world-famous mountaineer Doug Scott joining us on the evening of Thursday 22nd September to talk about his life in the mountains - an event attended by 130+ people that raised around £3000 for Doug's Nepalese charities. Of course, we also had our (now 'traditional'!) Saturday night Ceildih, with the amazing Roosters Ceilidh Band. 

Everyone who came to the Festival seemed to enjoy themselves. Here are a few indicative quotes:

"Something for all levels of fitness and interest"

"Loved all 4 walks I went on!"

"Great leaders - well informed and interesting people"

"Consider me a life member!"

"None of us were experienced walkers so it was nice to get onto footpaths we wouldn't normally have used and to do it safely"

Here are a few statistics from the festival itself:

1)       75 different people made 150 walks bookings.

2)       Over 130 people attended the Doug Scott event.

3)       We made enough money to do it all again this year!

Booking for this year's festival opens around Easter 2012. We hope to see you in Pateley Bridge in September!

Without the enthusiasm and help of local people and organisations, there wouldn't be a PBWF. Thanks are due to those ‘on the ground’ who kindly pledged their support and helped gain “Walkers are Welcome” status (http://www.walkersarewelcome.org.uk/) to local organisations such as the Pateley Bridge Town Council, Nidderdale Business Association and the Nidderdale AONB (www.nidderdaleaonb.org.uk) who were the first to see the potential of the event and provide funding towards it. As ever, there are just too many people to thank! We must of course thank all our marvellous walk leaders who do such a fantastic job guiding the walks and getting all the walkers back safe and sound. Special thanks to the brilliant Dave Shaw who stepped in to lead our Navigation Skills walk when Mark Reid found himself double booked. Also, A S Coaches (www.ascoaches.co.uk) who provided transport for a number of the walks and Hansons who helped us with funding this year. Finally, we are grateful to the local traders and national organisations who supply raffle prizes. We just could not do it without you.

The fact that Nidderdale (http://www.nidderdale.co.uk/) has been designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty gives you some idea of why it is such a perfect place for walkers. With beautiful diverse scenery offering both easy-going and more challenging routes and the friendly market town of Pateley Bridge at its heart, it really does offer something for everyone. Whether you decide to come for one day or four, we look forward to offering you a warm walkers welcome in September 2012!