Welcome to YHA’s annual celebration of walking!
13th September - 13th October 2024
Enjoy a month of walks from over 50 hostels across England and Wales designed to boost your health and wellbeing, help you learn new walking skills and make connections with nature and the outdoors.
Choose from our free guided social walks for all abilities or follow one of our downloadable walking routes from a hostel for your own adventure. And with a 20% discount on overnight stays at festival hostels, don’t forget to book your accommodation as well as your walk for a perfect autumn walking treat.
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Ways to get out and explore
Plan a self-guided walk
Download free maps and route instructions for walks across England and Wales. All our routes start and end at a YHA hostel.
Join a social walk
Explore new tracks and trails with our guided social walks, led by an experienced leader. You’ll get a free cuppa and cake at the end too!
Visit one of our hostels
Many of our hostels are hosting activities for YHA’s Festival of Walking, as well as offering 20% off your stay. Where will you go?
Try our accessible routes
We have identified a range of accessible routes from and near our hostels as well as some additional routes nearby.
Special offers
20% off for walkers
Get 20% off breaks at selected hostels. Book a stay during our Festival of Walking and enjoy everything that’s on offer on the hostel's doorstep.
20% off stays for walking groups
Get your group together and have an unforgettable YHA experience for less. Get 20% off all group packages for stays during the festival.
Prepare for your walk
Want to understand more about our maps or develop your walking skills?
We've created some useful guides to help you prepare for your chosen walk.
Festival partners
To support us in our mission to get more people involved in recreational walking, we’ve partnered with some amazing organisations to deliver this year’s Festival of Walking.
British Mountaineering Council
Cotswold Outdoor
Ordnance Survey
The Ramblers
Sport England
Outdoor Citizens opportunities
Thanks to continued funding from Sport England, The Pilgrim Trust and Cotswold Outdoor we are once again able to offer bursaries to members of the Outdoor Citizens community to support more people from diverse or underserved communities to get involved in this year’s Festival of Walking.