On 1 May 2026, Bristol Walk Fest launched its month-long programme of walks with an evening at Hamilton House, Stokes Croft – starting with a pre-launch walk through the city centre led by Show of Strength Theatre, before heading inside for drinks, conversation and our guest speakers.
Jennifer Graham, Bristol Walk Fest event manager, gave an introduction to Bristol Walk Fest, what the evening was about and thanked our supporters before handing over to our guest speakers, who had been invited to talk on the connections between walking and art and culture in the city. We certainly got that! But we also got some unexpected, and hugely appreciated, insights into a range of approaches to making walking truly accessible and beneficial for everyone.
First up was Misfits Theatre Company. Anita Karla Kelly, artistic lead of the company, talked about the ethos of supporting people with learning difficulties to find their creative voices, and the poetry audio trail they created using their favourite walks around Bristol Harbourside. Then we heard from Bill and Rob who shared some of their poems inspired by group walks in Bristol.
Audience members said:
“We heard a selection of really engaging poems. It felt like they have such a nice sense of community and friendships in their group.”
“The embodiment of being inclusive!”
Next up, Dr Subitha Baghirathan. Subitha has spent over a decade promoting health equity in Bristol, particularly for women of Caribbean and South Asian heritage, work for which she received an honorary doctorate from UWE in 2025.
She also works with SoulTrail Wellbeing, bringing practices of creative writing and walking into her work. Subitha shared some of the practical approaches and methods she uses to make her walks inclusive and accessible.
“Really interesting to hear about her work, so widely across the community and how she’s driving to get minority groups involved. So positive!”
Hana Sutch, co-founder and CEO at Go Jauntly talked about how she developed the app as a way of making walking accessible for those who were not traditionally walkers, or who found it hard to include walking in their daily lives. The app creates routes right from your door, as well as offering ready-made walks. Hana’s message was clear: walking is not all about serious hikes and walking boots – anyone can do it – and Go Jauntly is designed to help.
Hana also introduced the brand new Bristol Ring, a 33-mile circular walk around the city in 6 sections, created in partnership with Bristol City Council, Bristol Ramblers and the Bristol Walking Alliance. Every section is accessible by public transport, so you can dip in and out. The route is open to be explored now (in fact Hana is leading a walk on one of the sections for Walk Fest this year) and the team welcome feedback as the route continues to develop .
To round off the evening, Sheila Hannon and Gerard Cooke from Show of Strength Theatre Company talked about the 40-year history of the company and offered some teasers of their walks in the city: intensely-researched stories of real people.
They talked about bringing history to the streets and the impact of telling stories in the actual places they happened. To end, Sheila declared that Bristol should be recognised as a Walking City… we agree!
“There’s much more to Bristol than I knew! So interesting how the stories have developed over time as participants have contributed their own insights.”
“Loved her stories (gruesome!) – really drew me in.”
Thank you so much to all our speakers for a positive, warm-hearted and thought-provoking evening.
(Apologies for the quality of the photos – the combination of blinds drawn so we could use the projector, and being so absorbed in what our speakers had to say, meant we didn’t get many good shots!)