A WALKING festival in Wotton has been hailed as a great success.

Held over the three days from May 11-13 in and around the lanes and countryside of Wotton-under-Edge, an estimated 250 people enjoyed a total of 14 guided walks at the Wotton Walking Festival.

All the walks were free, however voluntary contributions helped to push pre-festival fundraising to over £600, and the event was boosted by visitors coming from many parts of Britain to walk alongside supporters from the local community.

The 2018 walking festival is only in its second year, and came about after a group of walking enthusiasts thought of the concept and subsequently organised the very first festival for 2017.

Martin Clarke, a walking festival committee member, said: “The festival committee is full of praise for local couple Jem and Chris Sweet who have driven the festival forward.

“The festival has several aims - top of the list is encouraging walking for health and well-being, and it seems to be working, with many more year-round local walkers in the last two years.

“The organisers want to promote walking tourism, exploiting Wotton’s position as the gateway to the South and West Cotswolds, and the ribbon of the Cotswold Way that threads around and through the town.”

This year’s festival saw some innovative walks, including geocaching, a popular dawn walk, plus a new dusk walk during which bats were excitedly spotted.

Also new to the festival this year was an original art-making walk, where walkers had 15 minutes to produce a work of art at six designated stopping points, culminating in over 70 pieces of artwork made and exhibited in the Chipping Hall by Under the Edge Arts.

Of the plans for next year’s Wotton walking festival, Martin Clarke said: “The committee is already thinking of fresh ideas for 2019 and invites ideas.”