Video: We launch the Jane Tomlinson Dales Walking Festival

Thousands of people are expected to take part in the inaugural Walk For All Yorkshire Dales Walking Festival, which will take place around Settle this summer, in the stunning countryside where Jane and husband Mike used to explore.

In an exclusive interview with the Yorkshire Post, Mr Tomlinson, 49, says he was inspired to come up with the idea for the festival after walking above Settle in the same spot where Jane had suffered crippling chest pains in 2000 – it was the first time he had noticed something was wrong and she was diagnosed with terminal cancer just four months later.

“If Jane was here now, this would be the thing she would be most excited about, out of everything we have done for the appeal”, he said. “The plan has always been to put on a mass participation walk and what better setting is there than Settle and the Yorkshire Dales.

“Jane and I often used to escape the city and jump on the train out to Settle for the day and enjoy a day of exploring the Dales.

“This has been two years in the planning and there are no events like this in the country.”

The Walk For All Festival, which will take place on August 14 and is being backed by the Yorkshire Post as media partner, features three routes, covering 26 miles, 14 miles and a five-mile option. There is also a four-and-a-half-mile route accessible for people in wheelchairs.

It follows on from the massively successful Run For All events and the recently launched Swim For All, launched as a legacy for Jane, who died in 2007 after a heroic seven-year battle against cancer. She notched up a staggering tally of fundraising feats, raising £1.85m for charity.