Dearne Valley Walking Festival: Dates announced for 2024 celebration event

To celebrate the milestone, Dearne Valley Walking Group will stage the week-long walking festival, starting on Sunday 7 April and finishing on Sunday 14 April.

The walking festival will comprise of a series of eight walks across the Dearne Valley area, all of which will be led by experienced members of the group.

The walks have been selected to celebrate the splendour of the Dearne Valley, which although once one of Europe’s most industrialised areas, still has many unspoilt areas of natural beauty and rich heritage.

The official festival opening will be conducted by the Mayor of Barnsley, Coun James Michael Stowe, at 9.45am prior to the first walk on Sunday 7 April which starts at the Old Moor Tavern at Broomhill at 10am.

The festival will conclude after the final walk on Sunday April 14 with a carvery meal at the Crown Inn at Barnburgh to celebrate the achievements of all the participants, young and old.

In between, walks will take place at Cawthorne, Royd Moor, Conisbrough, Wentworth and Silkstone Common.

The group is open to everyone to attend with no membership fees to be paid, so anyone and everyone is welcome to join any of the walks during the course of the festival week.

All that is asked is that each adult donates £1 to participate in each individual walk, with accompanied children walking free of charge.

As with the group’s previous Walking Festival in 2019, with Dearne Valley Walking Group being a not-for-profit organisation, the festival is being held in aid of the Yorkshire Air Ambulance charity.

Donations to the Yorkshire Air Ambulance can be made via the special Just Giving page at www.justgiving.com/page/keith-fox-1706362828498

Dearne Valley Walking Group was formed in the Barnsley area of South Yorkshire in April 2009 and has since grown into a thriving independent walking group which is open to everyone, with around 100 active participants, hailing from the surrounding areas of Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield.

Walks take place mainly in South Yorkshire and the Peak District throughout the year, although walking weekends in areas such as the Lake District, Brecon Beacons and Snowdonia are also periodically arranged.

The group encourages everyone to take up a healthier lifestyle and many of their walks are family friendly, as well as some that are more challenging for the experienced walker.

For more information on the Dearne Valley Walking Festival please see the website, www.dvwg.org.uk and keep an eye on the group’s social media channels which can be found at the following

Facebook : @dearnevwalking

X (formerly Twitter) : @dvwalkinggroup

Instagram : @dvwalkinggroup.

Alternatively, you can contact Dearne Valley Walking Group via email to [email protected] for details of all upcoming walks and events.

Don't forget, if you aren't able to walk with the group, you can still help the Yorkshire Air Ambulance by donating via our Just Giving page at www.justgiving.com/page/keith-fox-1706362828498