Join our Festival of Walking
YHA’s Festival of Walking is our annual celebration of walking from hostels - and everyone’s invited.
It takes place each autumn with a packed programme of free guided social walks and a wide choice of mapped self-guided walks for your own adventure. And there’s also a generous discount on overnight accommodation at participating hostels throughout the festival period.
The festival will help you learn new walking skills, boost your health and wellbeing, and connect with nature and the outdoors. It’s put on in association with BMC, the Ramblers, Ordnance Survey and Cotswold Outdoor with support from Sport England and Pilgrim Trust.
We hope to see you there!
Ways to join in
Plan your own walk
Join a social walk
Save 20% on hostel stays
Upcoming social walks
These walks are free, open to everyone and designed to help you enjoy and explore the outdoors - you even get a free cuppa and cake at the end!
Accessible social walk from YHA Malham
Wednesday 24th September 2025 Distance: 2.5 or 5 miles (3.2 or 8 km) Duration: 2-3.5 hours Led by: Debbie North, Access the Dales Discovery and connection Explore the dramatic limestone scenery of the...
Map & Navigation social walk (intermediate) from YHA Ambleside
Sunday 14th September 2025 Distance: 6 miles (9.6 km) Duration: 6 hours Led by: Harriet MacMillan, Navigation with Harriet Skills and confidence A walk up to Wansfell in more mountainous ground, with...
Map & Navigation social walk (introductory) from YHA Ambleside
Saturday 13th September 2025 Distance: 4.1 miles (6.6 km) Duration: 5 hours Led by: Harriet MacMillan, Navigation with Harriet Skills and confidence An introduction to navigation and map reading in...
Map & Navigation social walk (introductory) from YHA Keswick
Saturday 4th October 2025 Distance: 5.5 miles (8.8 km) Duration: 5 hours Led by: Harriet MacMillan, Navigation with Harriet Explore the northern Lake District and learn the basics of navigation and...
Map and navigation skills social walk from YHA South Downs
Sunday 12th October 2025 Distance: 5.2 miles (8.5 km) Duration: 5 hours Led by: Cathy Ford, Heads Up Adventures Skills and confidence This fabulous walk will give you the opportunity to learn or...
Map and navigation skills social walk from YHA Truleigh Hill
Sunday 21st September 2025 Distance: 4 miles (6.5 km) Duration: 4 hours Led by: Cathy Ford, Heads Up Adventures Skills and confidence This fabulous walk will give you the opportunity to learn or...
Mental wellbeing social walk from YHA Castleton Losehill Hall
Sunday 14th September 2025 Distance: 7.6 miles (12.2 km) Duration: 6 hours Led by: Mind over Mountains Health and wellbeing Enjoy this stunning circular walking route through the Peak District hills...
Mindfulness social walk from YHA Canterbury
Saturday 27th September 2025 Distance: 3.7 miles (6 km) Duration: 1.5 hours Led by: Stuart McLeod, RUN-ZEN Health and wellbeing Join mindfulness teacher Stuart McLeod for a guided walk starting on the...
Mindfulness social walk from YHA London Central
Thursday 2nd October 2025 Distance: 3.3 miles (5.5 km) Duration: 1.5 hours Led by: Stuart McLeod, RUN-ZEN Health and wellbeing We will spend around 1.5 hours walking, with time at the hostel before...
Mindfulness social walk from YHA London Lee Valley
Saturday 20th September 2025 Distance: 3.8 miles (6.1 km) Duration: 1.5 hours Led by: Stuart McLeod, RUN-ZEN Health and wellbeing We will spend around 1.5 hours walking, with time at the hostel before...
Mindfulness social walk from YHA South Downs
Sunday 14th September 2025 Distance: 6 miles (9.9 km) Duration: 3 hours Led by: Stuart McLeod, RUN-ZEN Health and wellbeing We will spend up to 3 hours walking, with time at the hostel before and...
Nordic social walk from YHA Ilam Hall
Tuesday 30th September 2025 Distance: 4 miles (6.4 km) Duration: 3 hours Led by: Catherine Hughes, British Nordic Walking National Trainer Skills and confidence Enjoy learning how to Nordic Walk using...
Self-guided walks
Plan your own walk
Go walking at your own pace by staying at one of our participating hostels, downloading a self-guided walking map or choosing from range of accessible routes that are close to YHA hostels.
Ways to explore
Plan a self-guided walk
Download free maps and route instructions for walks across England and Wales. All our self-guided walks start and end at a YHA hostel.
Book a hostel stay
Many of our hostels are hosting activities for YHA's Festival of Walking and are ready to welcome tentative trekkers and hardened hikers.
Explore accessible routes
Accessible means different things to different people. We have identified a range of accessible routes from and near our hostels.
Email sign up
Keep up to date on walking with YHA
Sign up for festival updates
Be the first to hear about new YHA walking activities including special offers, mapped routes and our annual Festival of Walking. View our Privacy Notice.
Special offers
Get exclusive discounts at a range of YHA hostels during the Festival of Walking
Ways to explore
Get 20% off for walkers this autumn
Throughout the festival, we’re offering 20% off stays at selected hostels to encourage as many people as possible to get out walking.
Get 20% off stays for walking groups
Get your group together and enjoy an unforgettable YHA experience for less. We’re offering 20% off group packages at selected hostels to encourage as many people as possible to get out walking.
Festival news
Making the most of our partners during the YHA Festival of Walking
Ever wondered what Nordic walking is all about, or wanted to brush up on your navigation and map reading know how? Perhaps you’re curious about pilgrimage routes, in need of a wellbeing walk or...
Why YHA and walking are a perfect match
There are some things that just go together. Fish and chips, rock and roll, YHA and walking. There’s no need to travel far and wide, or break the bank, for a stunning walking how...
Why active breaks are good for your mind, body and soul
What are the benefits of walking on physical and mental health? Why a good walk can help support your mind, body and soul.
Festival partners
To support us in our mission to get more people involved in recreational walking, we partnered with some amazing organisations to deliver this year’s Festival of Walking.
Partner logos
BMC
Cotswold Outdoor
Ordnance Survey
Pilgrim Trust
The Ramblers
Sport England
Opportunities for Outdoor Citizens
Outdoor Citizens opportunities
Thanks to continued funding from Sport England, The Pilgrim Trust and Cotswold Outdoor we were once again able to offer bursaries to members of the Outdoor Citizens community to support more people from diverse or underserved communities to get involved in this year’s Festival of Walking.