Award winning Kington walking group ready for its annual autumn festival

An award winning Kington walking group is ready to welcome visitors to its annual autumn festival.

Kington Walks was presented with the King's Award for Voluntary Service earlier in the year, the equivalent of an MBE for volunteer groups.

Thriving on their prestigious award, they have organised a varied menu of walks for all, for their annual autumn festival, which takes place from Thursday, September 17 until Sunday, September 20.

Kington is a great centre for walking, located on the Herefordshire-Radnorshire border at the intersection of the Offa’s Dyke Path with five popular regional trails.

In addition to its spring and autumn Festivals, Kington Walks leads a community group that looks after the local footpaths and they run Kington’s Walking for Health scheme. Proceeds from the walks this autumn will go to support these projects.

The festival offers a taste of the superb walking country that surrounds Kington, through a variety of walks led by an enthusiastic team of volunteer walk leaders.

The walks, short or long, feature dramatic landscapes, local history from the ancient to the industrial, arts, natural history, and many excellent town and village pubs.

A Border Battle walk will take place on Thursday, September 17. The 11 mile strenuous walk will be led by Richard Burden. Walkers will travel by minibus to Pilleth Church, close to the site of the Battle of Bryan Glas fought in 1402 between the Welsh and the English. After visiting the church, the group will walk over Litton Hill and beyond Evancoed to join Offa’s Dyke Path for the return to Kington. The cost is £11.

The Heart of Wales Trail – Bucknell to Knighton also takes place on Thursday, September 17. It is a nine mile energetic walk led by Nigel Sheath, which goes through Bucknell village, Bucknell Wood with great views to the north over the Shropshire countryside as well as the lesser known Caer Caradoc hill fort.

The walk continues along a high plateau to meet the Offa’s Dyke path before a relatively easy walk back to Knighton and a minibus journey back to Kington. The cost is £12.

A Touch of Knill Magic version 2.0 takes place on Friday, September 18. Led by Rhian Davies it is a nine mile walk with lovely views, historical interest and varies walking through field paths, and woodland. It takes in a short section of the Offa’s Dyke path and the Mortimer Trail and the peaceful hamlet of Knill. Knill was one of just 53 villages in England and Wales where none of the men were killed in the First World War and so is known as a ‘thankful’ settlement. This walk is £8.

Kington to Hergest Circular Walk will be led by Fiona Argyle, Offa’s Dyke Path National Trail Officer. It begins in Kington goes through Park Wood and Castle Twts (Motte and Bailey castle) through Lower Hergest and Upper Hergest. We will climb onto the English side of the Hergest Ridge for fine views of the Whet Stone and the famous stand of ‘Monkey Puzzle’ trees, before following the Offa’s Dyke Path back down into Kington. It costs £6.

Saturday, September 19 includes the Three Peaks and the Eight Peaks Challenges which are self-led and both cost £7.

There is also Hidden Radnorshire, a 13 mile strenuous walk led by Rob Rees. This walk explores the hills of eastern Radnorshire – Colva, Newchurch and Disgwlyfa. With a nice mix of wild moorland, sunken green lanes and far-reaching views, the circuit will give a glimpse of the borderlands from unfamiliar places. It costs £8.

Kington Walks will be running its photography competition during this year's festival. The prize is a Paramo Jacket worth £340 kindly sponsored by Paramo and supplied by Kington’s Walking Hub.

Photos must be submitted electronically to [email protected] by October 31.

As well as walks, the festival also holds events including a talk by Mark Davis called Heiptrw Hw! Following in the footsteps of the Welsh drovers on Friday, September 18 at 6.30pm at The Old Picture House. The cost is £5.

On Saturday September 19 the Whiskey River Quartet will perform two sets at The Burton Hotel, the frst at 7.30pm. The quartet play danceable Blues, Rock 'n' Roll - great for getting everyone on their feet. Electric guitar, harmonica, bass and drums plus vocals - featuring Pete Mathison, who spent several years as Ray Davies's electric guitar player following the breakup of The Kinks, plus Aidan, Tommy and Pedro from Whiskey River. The cost is £10.

To see more walks during the festival and for more information visit https://www.kingtonwalks.org/