This week we have seem to have a connection with the letter 'W' - with conversations about walking festivals in Wrexham and the Wirral. Oh, and a bit of a rant about path etiquette.

Interview times:

03:43 Wrexham Walking Festival

16:10 Wirral Walking Festival

Wrexham Walking Festival

The Wrexham Walking Festival is a nine-day event that takes place annually in June – this year, from 7 to 15 June.

Unlike many other festivals, all walks are free, and no pre-booking is required. There are two or three walks each day, which vary in difficulty. Walks vary from 2 to 13.2 miles, and many also include some ascent, although this varies from 50m to almost 1,000m.

There are also evening walks. All walks are led by trained volunteers.

Bill Stephens, chairman of the Wrexham Walking Festival, joined us on the podcast to talk about the event.

Wirral Walking Festival

Not far from Wrexham is the Wirral peninsula, which overlooks Wales on one side, and Liverpool on the other.

This year’s walking festival takes place throughout the month of May. There are walks about local history and heritage, ranger led walks, as well as Nordic and wellbeing walks. There’s even a walk to an island. There is an evening walk, nature walks, and more.

The walks, which are varied in length, have a variety of providers, meaning some are free while there are costs associated with others. Similarly, some walks require booking while others do not. More details can be found on the festival website, which includes a copy of the very detailed brochure the council publishes each year.

On the podcast this week we have a conversation with Fiona Hanik, health development officer, Neighbourhood Services, at Wirral Council.

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