Last updated at 15:45, Friday, 25 June 2010

THE eighth annual Islands of Barrow and Furness Peninsula Walking festival takes place throughout July, and this year’s event looks set to be the biggest so far.

Usually attracting visitors from across the north of England, it offers a large variety of walks for all ages and abilities, catering for history and horticulture buffs along the way.

Having been named one of the best eight walking festivals in the British isles by the Times Online last year, the programme continues to grow.

Debuting this year will be a handful of longer walks for more serious ramblers, as well as some easier strolls suitable for people in wheelchairs.

Everything is geared towards attracting more people to the region, while giving regular visitors and residents new experiences at the same time.

Barrow Borough Councillor John Murphy, who also runs guided walks in the area under his Murphy’s Miles scheme, says: “Over the years it’s been successful, but we needed to expand on it a little more.

“The Furness peninsula, as far as I can see, is a unique area because we have Piel Island, Furness Abbey, the beaches and heritage sites all in the same place.

“The point of the festival is for visitors and locals alike to discover what we have to offer.”

John will be leading a number of the walks, using his local knowledge to provide an insight into the history of the region. Our heritage in Furness goes way back to the monastic age, and we had the iron and steel industries and lots of Victorian history,” he says.

“Walking for walking’s sake can be boring, but walking while you’re learning can be very exciting and informative. We’re not just walking from A to B, but picking up a bit of information at the same time.

“There are a massive amount of visitors to the Lake District, and it’s only a matter of 20 to 30 minutes away.

“We want to bring more people here to the ‘Alternative Lakes’.”

Ann Taylforth, Barrow town centre and festivals manager for the council, was behind the formation of the festival in 2003, and has since seen it grow from two weeks to an event that now spans five weekends.

She believes that the festival’s success is built on Furness’ location. “Where else can you walk over sands to an off-shore island?” she says.

“Along the way there is all sorts of interesting flora and fauna. Walking is not just about hiking up mountains, and this year we’ve got walks around Barrow Park with our Horticultural Amenities Officer, which is suitable for wheelchairs.

“I’m really looking forward to this year’s festival and I urge people to come and see what we’ve got on our doorstep.”

Included in the festival is the regular Walking For Health programme, allowing for a number of more relaxing strolls among the array of challenging rambles and themed walks. On top of the potential commercial benefits this festival can bring, Richard Scott, who leads the programme, believes that the fitness benefits should not be discounted.

He says: “We want people to get moving – get them out and about. All the stats show that exercise needs to be regular to be worthwhile, so hopefully we can introduce a few people to Walking For Health. They are about restoring people to health who perhaps haven’t done much exercise for years. The festival takes it to another level.

“My personal highlight is the walk from Barrow to Foxfield that we’ve never included before. It’s a long old trek, but the pub at the end makes it worth it. But equally, the walks in Barrow town centre are very interesting and we hope our regulars can bring someone else along.”

One of the town centre walks of particular interest will be Bat Walk in Barrow Park on the final weekend of the festival. Under the guidance of Eve Borrino, a volunteer member of the Westmorland and Furness Bat Group, attendees will have the chance to learn about the species that can be found in Cumbria and hopefully discover some of the creatures using bat detector devices.

Eve says: “The idea is to meet just before dusk and see what people know about bats and find out what they want to know.

“Quite a lot of people are afraid of them, but they are tiny and harmless. There are a lot of misconceptions and maybe we can get more people interested in them, because there are a lot of great places to find bats in Furness.

“Barrow Park is supposed to be good for bats, and this walk is also accessible to people in wheelchairs. Hopefully, if all goes well, it is something we will have in the festival every year.”

The Island of Barrow and Furness Peninsula Walking Festival runs from Thursday until August 1.

For a full festival programme pick up a leaflet at Barrow Tourist Information Centre, at The Forum, on Duke Street, or visit www.barrowtourism.co.uk

First published at 13:03, Friday, 25 June 2010
Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk