The Crickhowell Walking Festival takes place around the beginning of March each year and lasts nine days, and it really is one of those events which has something for every level of walker. Sadly they had to cancel this years event, but have a new date in the diary for 2022. As the organisers say however, ‘you don’t always need a festival to enjoy walking in this stunning area.’
The festival consists of a number of guided walks of various grades, all led by local experienced guides. Whether you are happy trekking all day across the tops of the Black Mountains and Brecon Beacons or would rather keep to paths and the lower slopes, the festival caters for everyone.
The scenery is stunning, as you would imagine in an area like this, the walkers inevitably take along a camera to capture the views and we recommend you do the same. If you’d like to see some of their pictures, go here. GALLERY
The Walking Festival is organised by the Crickhowell Resource and Information Centre, in partnership with Walkers are Welcome in Crickhowell and Crickhowell Adventure. The organisers and walks leaders are all volunteers and all proceeds go to cover the costs of the Festival. The Festival receives no external funding and is not a profit making concern.
The programme also has a range of supporting events. These are in the form of talks, some of which will be followed by a walk to illustrate the talk the next day, courses in Map Reading and Navigation – theory and practical – as well as times to relax to music and even dance, if you still have enough energy left.
What you need to know before you go on a walk.
- As most of their walks take place on open mountain and moorland, appropriate clothing is required at all times.
- This includes:- Walking Boots (not trainers), Hat, Gloves, Warm clothing, Waterproof jacket and trousers.
- You will need to bring your own food and drink (preferably a hot drink for the 3 and 4 boot walks).
- You should carry a rucksack to put your spare clothing, food and drink and personal items in.
Note: Jeans are NOT acceptable, as they act as a refrigerator when wet and can cause hypothermia.
The Crickhowell Walking Festival programme is really extensive. We should tell you some of the events are already get fully booked really quickly and you may have to join the waiting list.
They have lots of other events going on around the walking. Things where you can kick off your boots, have a drink with friends and talk about the fantastic day you’ve had. One of those is to celebrate the end of the festival. You can go along and listen to some live music, tap your feet (if they’re not too sore) have a drink and above all relax and enjoy yourselves at the end of the Festival.
If you’d like details on the Crickhowell Festival just go here. CRICKHOWELL. It runs from Saturday 5th to Sunday 13th March 2022.
Finally, we just want to give a mention to the charity Crickhowell are supporting.
Search And Rescue Dog Association (SARDA) South Wales Mountain Rescue Search Dogs is dedicated to the training, assessment and operational deployment of air scenting search dogs. The operating area is predominately South, Mid and West Wales, but can be anywhere within the UK where their services are required.
Originally, the primary role of SARDA South Wales search dogs was to search for missing walkers and climbers in mountainous and high moorland areas, but it now finds itself increasingly assisting the police in searching for vulnerable missing people in urban and rural environments. These incidents range from missing elderly people to despondent individuals and missing children.
All SARDA South Wales handlers are full members of local Mountain Rescue Teams that cover South Wales- Longtown MR Team, Central Beacons MR Team, Brecon MR Team, Western Beacons MR Team or Seven Area Rescue Team.
And now we must mention their “dog’s bodies” who come to hide on the hillside, in forestry, in rural and urban areas for the dogs to find them. Without these amazing volunteers, no dogs could be trained.
