Sell-out walk in park for Moray festival

More than 500 people took part in 58 events across Moray including sold-out Forres area events like Arboretum amble; An evening with the birds of Dava Moor; River tube and cliff jumping at Randolph’s Leap; Bike the Dava Way; Forres engineering - old and new; The Western side of the Findhorn Gorges; Via Regia - in the footsteps of the King!; and Drawing waters - Findhorn.

Festival project manager Diane Smith confirmed events ranged from hard walking and cycling challenges to gentle historical ambles.

She said: “The majority of events ran all day and around 20 sold out with just 10 left with four or less tickets!

“Visitors came from as far away as, Germany, Australia and Canada. The majority of tickets this year were sold early on, so, even though the weather was tremendous, we don’t think it played a big part in the increase in numbers.”

A number of new walks around the Forres area went well: Dava School House ran a cycle event which included lunch; Dr. George S. Jaramillo from The Glasgow School of Art Altyre Estate campus led a drawing walk along the River Findhorn; a talk and discussion on Nan Shepherd at the Falconer Museum by Simone Kenyon, dancer and choreographer, Dr. George S. Jaramillo and Anna Fleming, education and inclusion officer for Cairngorms National Park; and The Moray Way 100 Mile 5 Day Challenge including the Dava Way and the Moray Coastal Path.

Ms Smith said: “The Festival’s reputation grows year-on-year through excellent events giving a hidden or different view of Moray. The programme brings together 27 local community groups, businesses, government bodies, nonprofit organisations and individuals, all with specialist knowledge of Moray’s historical, archaeological, architectural, natural and landscape heritage.”

She added: “Last year, The Telegraph named the festival as one of the top 10 walking events in the UK. We don’t know of any other event with a similar programme or is accessible to all ages and abilities.”

Chairman of organisers The Moray Way Association, Chris Muir, hopes more groups and individuals to get involved.

He said: “We want to increase the spread of events to include more cycling or pony trekking and other outdoor activities, and also to areas where we have not been to before. We are also looking for more volunteers to help with organisation.”

To help, or for more information, call 07764615517 or email info@moraywalkoutdoorfest.co.uk