Bristol Walk Fest brings together a plethora of walking providers and local organisations who lead walks and walking related activities throughout May, to coincide with Living Streets’ National Walking Month. The festival has been running for over ten years and encourages people to walk to enhance their health and wellbeing.
Typically we see around 80 providers leading 700+ walks, with approximately 3,000+ people taking part! To find out the full stats for each year, take a look at our event evaluations, here.
We want to position Bristol Walk Fest as the UK’s leading urban walking festival, as well as raise the profile of Bristol as a walking destination. Our city offers a huge diversity of walks, and we want to celebrate that, while bringing people together in a way that benefits individuals, communities and the environment.
Who can lead a walk?
We want to allow as many walk providers as possible to get involved but we have a responsibility for the safety of the participants so there are a few conditions. Our providers must have:
Valid public liability insurance
If you don’t have this, let us know and we can link you up with Bristol Ramblers who can help
Health and safety documentation, including a risk assessment
Appropriate safeguarding measures in place
If participants need to book in advance you’ll need to set up your own booking system
The walk will then appear in our printed programme which is distributed throughout Bristol in April
All walks will be listed on our website
What happens after signing up?
Providers might need to respond to queries from participants, so should keep an eye on their emails
We’ll be in touch via email to make sure all providers up to date with all Bristol Walk Fest news
We’ll send resources to help providers manage their walk but we won’t be there on the day
We ask all providers to show their support for Bristol Walk Fest by actively sharing information on social media and to their networks
After the walk, providers will need to complete our feedback form (it only takes 5 minutes)
Providers will help us gather participant feedback by distributing surveys to the walkers
Who can take part in the walks?
Anyone and everyone! We’ll have a huge range of walks for all ages, abilities and interests throughout May. Our programme will be published and distributed in April so keep an eye out for that in local libraries and community centres. Information about all walks and walk providers will be available on our website at the start of April.
We print and distribute 8,000 copies of the programme each year and always look for local businesses to advertise in here. Prices start at £200. Email us to find out more – info@bristolwalkfest.co.uk
Sponsor our event
Our sponsors are incredibly important in keeping Bristol Walk Fest going each year and there are plenty of benefits for local businesses who support us. To find out more about sponsoring us in 2026, see our overview here.