Join a free Peak District social walk during the 2025 YHA Festival of Walking
Youth hostels in the Peak District have unveiled their programme of free social walks for the 2025 YHA Festival of Walking.
Running from 12 September – 12 October, this year’s festival focuses on inclusivity, wellbeing and confidence-building, encouraging everyone to enjoy healthy and sociable walking with YHA.
There are seven free-to-join walks starting from and finishing at Peak District youth hostels during the festival, including:
• 14 September - YHA Castleton Losehill Hall – Health and wellbeing social walk
• 20 September - YHA Edale – Discovery and connection social walk
• 21 September - YHA Hartington Hall - Discovery and connection social walk
• 28 September – YHA Ravenstor – Discovery and connection social walk
• 30 September - YHA Ilam Hall – Nordic social walk
• 11 October – YHA Edale – Women-only social walk
• 12 October – YHA Youlgreave – Discovery and connection social walk
Places on all walks are limited and people must register online to join them.
The popular five-week-long celebration of walking designed to help more people take their first steps into the world of walking, community, and the great outdoors. There are more than 50 youth hostels throughout England and Wales taking part in the festival, offering free guided social walks.
Headline walks this year include guided map and navigation walks for beginners, accessible routes for wheelchair users, Nordic walking experiences, and walks focused on wellbeing and mindfulness.
The programme has been carefully curated to support people who are keen to walk for leisure but may lack the confidence, experience, or companionship to get started alone.
“We know that it can be difficult for some people to find opportunities to walk, whether due to mobility challenges, a lack of knowledge, or simply not having someone to go with,” said Andrew McCoy, keen walker and YHA Walks Programme Manager. “That’s why this year’s festival is about giving people a reason to start – to join a walk that’s welcoming, supportive and maybe even transformative.”
The 2025 festival programme will also offer instructional sessions that help people build practical confidence, including how to read maps, use a compass, and plan safe routes, equipping walkers with the tools they need to explore the outdoors independently in the future.
In addition to the month-long programme of guided group walks, you can also take advantage of a 20% discount on overnight accommodation at festival hostels and enjoy independent walking adventures by using their free self-guided route maps. Choose from a range of circular walks straight from the hostel door, from city discovery walks to coastal trails and mountain hikes.
The 2025 YHA Festival of Walking is funded by Sport England and Pilgrim Trust, whose support enables YHA to remove financial and practical barriers to participation.
A range of partner organisations are also on board to help ensure the festival reaches as many people as possible, including The Ramblers, British Mountaineering Council (BMC), Ordnance Survey (OS) and Cotswold Outdoor, all of whom bring specialist knowledge, resources, and networks to the programme. With their support, thousands more walkers – and first-time non-walkers – are expected to take part in this year’s festival, which is shaping up to be the biggest YHA Festival of Walking yet.
To find a walk near you or explore the full programme, visit: www.yha.org.uk/festival-of-walking
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