The future of a YHA project that is increasing participation and removing barriers to walking, has been secured until 2026 thanks to Sport England funding.
The annual month-long Festival of Walking, organised by us, has already helped more than 7,000 people of all ages and abilities discover the mental and physical health benefits of walking since it was launched in 2022.
Now, the popular festival is set to help more people get active thanks to a share of nearly £4million combined National Lottery and government funding from Sport England.
The long-term partnership with YHA is part of Sport England’s quest to level up access to sport and physical activity in England.
Organised in conjunction with BMC, Ramblers, OS and Cotswold Outdoor, the inclusive festival, takes place during September and October each year. It involves a free programme of guided walks, including accessible walks, from hostels, as well as 160 mapped routes from hostels for self-guided adventures. Grants are distributed to encourage participation from underserved communities, and discounted accommodation at youth hostels is available to everybody throughout the festival period.
The 2024 Festival of Walking saw around 3,400 people directly involved, improving their wellbeing, learning new walking skills, gaining confidence and connecting with nature and heritage.
Sport England’s long-term funding commitment will also enable us to continue to provide grants and other resources to grassroots outdoors groups, like Adventure Queens, Deaf Rhinos and Bristol Steppin Sistas, through its Outdoor Citizens membership community. The grants to members of the free community are designed to increase participation in outdoor activities by supporting transport, equipment and accommodation costs.
The festival is part of YHA Walks which aims to provide year-round walks and walking activities from hostels, boosting both impact and income for the charity.
Both YHA Walks and Outdoor Citizens are unique collaborative projects helping tackle systemic inequalities so that everyone can enjoy walking and the outdoors.
Sport England’s latest Active Lives Adult Survey showed that 63 per cent of adults in England are currently meeting the recommended 150+ minutes of exercise per week – meaning there are two million more active adults compared to eight years ago.
Phil Smith, Executive Director of Partnerships, Sport England, said: “Our ambition is for everyone in England to have the opportunity to be active, regardless of who they are or where they live.
“Alongside that, we’re committed to finding and supporting new leaders and champions of sport and physical activity, from every walk of life and background.
“But we can’t achieve this alone, so we’ve developed a growing network of partners who share our vision. We’re working with organisations from a range of different fields outside sport to bring about systemic change to ensure everyone can get active.
“YHA is delivering fantastic work already and we hope this funding will continue to make a real difference on the ground.”
James Blake, our Chief Executive, said: “We are immensely grateful to Sport England for its ongoing commitment to the YHA Festival of Walking and Outdoor Citizens.
“We identified a number of barriers to participating in walking activities, not least the cost of transport and lack of diversity amongst the people that use National Landscapes. Our guided walks and Outdoor Citizens project have been key to giving people the confidence to discover walking and the outdoors during the Festival of Walking.
“We believe that frontline community organisations hold the key to tackling inequality of access to the outdoors and that YHA is a conduit to enabling this through our network of youth hostels and 95-year relationship with the outdoors.
“I am delighted that we can not only build on our success to date in tackling inequality but also continue to increase participation in the outdoors thanks to the Sport England funding.”
The free self-guided mapped walking routes are available to download our website throughout the year.
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