Leave Station car park 9.00am. Start at Marsett. (GR: SD 903 862, What3Words: ///frantic.handsets.keyboards) at 10.00am. 11 Miles. 1,300’ of climb. Hard. £7

This walk takes us across the high moors south of Raydale. We cross the valley to Stalling Busk before picking up the route of Wainright’s “Pennine Journey” as we gain height across Stake Moss. We leave that route as we head west across Cray Moss on our way to Yockenthwaite Moor and our high point at 2,110’. The name of the areas around here indicate the countryside we will be crossing – which is largely peat moorland. This could of course be wet in places. We descend from the moors and walk down from the head of Raydale to return to our start.

Leave Station car park 9.15am. Start at Gunnerside Village Hall parking (GR: SD 951 982, What3Words: ///radiating.eagle.belly) at 10.00am. 8.5 Miles. Moderate. £7

Gunnerside Gill is a rich mix of scenic beauty and industrial heritage dating back to its key importance in the days of the lead mining industry. We start our walk from Gunnerside along the valley path, with lots of evidence of mine workings, and the remains of a smelt mill and peat store. We then climb onto higher ground where the landscape is completely dominated by the former industry. As we complete our walk we move onto moorland managed for the today’s key land uses of grouse moorland and sheep rearing, before descending back to our starting point.  

Meet at Altberg Factory Shop, 2B Racecourse Road, Gallowfields Trading Estate DL10 4TG ( What3Words: ///wound.rinsed.clerk) at 10.00am. 6.5 Miles. Moderate. £7  

This traditional “Start of Festival” event is a good way to get to know one of the most popular short walks from Richmond, with the added interest of a visit to Altberg, the last remaining boot manufacturer in England. We will start the day at the factory to see how the boots are designed and made - for walking, the army and biking. There’s time for a cup of tea and a look round the excellent factory shop before a walk along Whitcliffe Scar, with great views over lower Swaledale, to hear about the famous but gruesome legend of Willance’s Leap.

Supported by: Altberg

Books hidden from 10:00am in and around the Market Place and the Station. Free event!

Philippa Lyall runs a local business with Usborne Children’s Books.  As part of the Festival, Philippa is organising a ‘Book Hunt’ around the town.  Around 80 books will be hidden for children to find, take home, READ and either KEEP or RE-HIDE to spread the joy of reading. Look out for a ‘Book Treasure Trail’ too, with the chance to win a whole heap of books! Philippa also works with schools and other organisations and can offer them lots of FREE BOOKS. Get in touch with her by email: verybestkidsbooks@gmail.com  or by visiting her website  www.verybestkidsbooks.co.uk

The Station, Richmond, DL10 4LD | 10:00am | £60 | café, bookstall, disabled access

Learn the art of bookbinding in this hands-on 3-hour workshop. Have you ever wondered how fine and antiquarian books were made? The art and craft of book making dates back over two thousand years, but whether that’s works from ancient China, Japanese designs, the rich tradition of Islamic bookbinding, or the leather-bound volumes of stately-home libraries, the principles are similar: papers are sewn together and secured within a protective, often decorated, casing.  In this workshop led by local bookbinder, Delphine Ruston, see for yourself how books start life by making two books of your own to take away – a 3-hole pamphlet (or chap book), and a single-section, hardback notebook. With a few materials, tools and simple skills, it’s possible to make attractive books to put to whatever use you wish.

Richmond Town Hall, DL10 4QL| 4:00pm | £10 | refreshments | bookstall | disabled access

A journey through human festivity, told through colourful travel narratives set in some of the world’s most eye-catching festivals and interwoven with insights from the fields of anthropology, history, psychology, and folklore, examining why we celebrate festivals in the ways we do. Fiesta explores the vibrant tapestry of human festivity, delving into the extraordinary lengths we undertake to express our cultures and commemorate life’s milestones.

Daniel Stables has been working as a travel writer for the last decade, first writing guidebooks for Rough Guides, and later writing articles for National Geographic, the BBC, and national newspapers. He has won acclaim and recognition for his work, having been shortlisted for Travel Writer of the Year at the Freelance Writing Awards in 2021, and for Travel Feature of the Year in 2023 by the British Guild of Travel Writers.

Georgian Theatre Royal, Richmond DL10 4DW | 7:30pm | £10 | from www.georgiantheatreroyal.co.uk | bar | bookstall | disabled access

Dr Hindpal Singh Bhui OBE leads inspections of prisons and immigration detention at HM Inspectorate of Prisons and is Visiting Law Professor at the University of Oxford. He has led numerous international prison reform projects and is an expert for the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture. Hindpal was formerly a probation officer, working in the community and in prison, and won national awards for his practice in both contexts. He edited The Probation Journal for ten years, and has published widely on prisons, probation and immigration detention, as well as a book on Race and Criminal Justice. He will be discussing his recent book, What Are Prisons For?