Major boost for Dales in Walk for All sell out

THE inaugural Walk for All Festival is officially a sell-out, with organisers saying all the accommodation within 10 miles of Settle is fully booked up in advance of the event.

Thousands of walkers of all ages and abilities had already signed up to the Yorkshire Dales festival, launched by the family of Jane Tomlinson in her memory, making it the largest new charity event to be launched in the national park for over a decade.

The sell-out announcement is a major achievement for the Tomlinson family who launched the festival in the hope of creating an annual event in Jane’s memory in the countryside where she and husband Mike used to explore.

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But the remarkable response has also been hailed as a major boost to Settle and its surrounding area’s tourist economy, with business leaders saying they have never seen an event on this scale in the town before.

Coun Steve Amphlett, a member of Settle Chamber of Trade and chair of community partnership Vibrant Settle, said: “This is fantastic news.

“Tourism is absolutely key to Settle’s economy and an event like this is brilliant.

“In Settle we could do a lot better to make it more attractive to tourists.

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“Everybody is fighting to get the visitors which is why something like this is just brilliant.”

Yvonne Fortune, manager of the town’s tourist information centre, said they had been inundated with requests in recent weeks for walkers and their families coming to the Yorkshire Post-backed festival on August 14 looking for accommodation.

“This event is different to any other because it is filling accommodation throughout the North Craven area which is really very beneficial,” she said.

“We have had a lot of people who have never been to the area before, people from Leeds who have said it is on their doorstep but they have just never come.

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“The actual event will be a real boost to the economy and that is great, but I also think it will now help us throughout the year.

“Once people have seen what there is available for them to do they will come back at other times as well.

“I’m sure this is going to be the first of many Walk For All festivals and is going to be something that is very special to the town.”

The Walk For All festival, which features four routes covering 26 miles, 14 miles and five miles, as well as a four-and-a-half-mile route for people in wheelchairs, has already been praised by national park chiefs who say it will help take the pressure off the three peaks, Whernside, Ingleborough and Pen-y-ghent, which are scaled by hundreds of thousands of visitors every year.

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Mike Tomlinson, who grew up in Settle, told the Yorkshire Post he had been overwhelmed at the response.

“When we launched the festival I thought if we got to 1,200 people I would be happy.

“To get to this stage, where it is a sell-out is just brilliant.

“There is a lot of people who have worked very hard to make this happen and we are absolutely thrilled at how it has gone.

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“Obviously I’m really pleased and more for the fact that people will be out in the Dales.”

With around 2,500 walkers expected on the day alone, Northern Rail has announced it is putting on extra trains and carriages on the day of the event.

The company will also be donating ticket sales to the Jane Tomlinson Appeal.

Richard Allan, assistant area director for Northern Rail, said: “We are expecting a lot of people to travel to this fantastic event by train, and we have provided as many extra seats as possible.

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“We would still urge anyone wanting to travel on the 5.35am or 9am service to pre-book their seats through the Walk for All website.

n Anyone wishing to volunteer for the event should visit the website at www.walkforall.com