Walking group planners are 'looking forward' to next year's event after a great 'turnout' for taster sessions.

The organisers of the Haltwhistle Walking Festival were 'shocked but pleased' to see many people turn up for the taster sessions on October 1 and 2.

The taster sessions were put on in hopes to encourage more people to experience the beauty of Northumberland by 'gently pushing' walkers' limits more than they thought was possible.

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For this session, walkers had the choice of waking in Allendale or Haltwhistle.

A spokesperson for the group said: "Our ‘taster weekend’ was a great experience for everybody that came along.

"We found that the flexible offering of ‘how far they can go’, with a choice of 4, 6, or 8 miles each day, and being able to switch between the walks, worked well.

"We saw that lots of folks noted the dates of our next Festival which is on April 22 to May 1 2023."

Hexham Courant: Haltwhistle Walking FestivalHaltwhistle Walking Festival (Image: Haltwhistle Walking Festival)