We are pleased to announce the programme for the 2021 Richmond Walking & Book Festival
Our plans are now complete for the 2021 event.
The main Festival will run from 18th to 26th September 2021, and with Covid restrictions easing we are looking forward to providing you with a full schedule of events.
The website now has full details of our exciting programme of walks and book events, and we believe there is definitely something for everyone over the course of the week.
We also have some further events in October. Simon Armitage was keen to join us, but unable to make the main Festival week. So we are holding a Festival Encore event on Friday 15th October when Simon will be at the Georgian Theatre Royal, and to make a weekend of it why not join the walk on Saturday 16th October when we will follow part of the route featured in Simon's book "Walking Home" from Keld to Hawes. We are also helping to celebrate National Poetry Week with a "Poetry Open Mic" night on 1st October.
Our walking programme provides our usual eclectic mix of old favourites and a wide range of new walks to tempt you out into the beautiful countryside and history of our area. We are providing walks at all levels - from gentle strolls round the town of Richmond to challenging walks on the high fells. This year our themed programme of Challenge Walks features six walks in our "Wensleydale Challenge" which will run from the Sunday to the Friday of Festival week. We will also feature a linear 15 mile walk from Castle Bolton to Richmond on the final Saturday of the Festival. 2021 is the 950th Anniversary of Richmond Castle and this latter walk, along with others in the programme, will be part of our support for this event, as we will visit or pass close to a number of castles in the area and be able to share some of their history with you as part of the walk. Full details are set out in the individual walk descriptions. For those looking for something less strenuous we have the usual wide range of shorter/moderate graded walks throughout our area. Truly something for everyone.
Our book events also provide a great mix of topics from fiction to history to memoirs, with something for all ages. Our programme has a mix of daytime and evening talks. We have two local speakers who will be sharing their researches at both book events and by providing the possibility of joining them on related walks in the Dales. We are holding our first "Festival Book Club" event where you will be able to take a gentle stroll whilst discussing our chosen book "The Salt Path" by Raynor Winn, either as you walk or during a lunch stop at our well known local Community run pub in Hudswell.
Our programme is based on our current understanding of the national Covid Roadmap, and we are hopeful that there will be no restrictions in place during September that will impact on our plans. We will be reviewing the programme in June in the light of forthcoming announcements, and before booking opens in July.
We look forward to seeing you later in 2021.
If you have any queries please contact us by email addressed to info@booksandboots.org
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