Somer Valley Walking Festival
Summary
Join us for the Somer Valley Walking Festival 2026! A great weekend of walks and events for all the family.
Join us for the Somer Valley Walking Festival 2026!
Whether you’re a seasoned hiker or simply enjoy a gentle stroll, the festival offers something for everyone. Explore a diverse programme of guided walks and nature-based activities, from peaceful woodland trails to more challenging hikes, all highlighting the breathtaking landscapes, rich heritage, and vibrant wildlife of the Somer Valley.
Prefer to explore at your own pace? Don’t miss the Westfield Heritage Trails and the immersive Somer Valley Audio Trails perfect for solo adventurers.
Friday 11th September schedule:
Women’s Wild Walk
10:00 – 13:00
Meeting at the Haydon Que Club, Kilmersdon Road
Walk Leaders – Jess
We’ll begin with a gentle wander into the batch, pausing at the stone circle for a short summer solstice meditation. This is a chance to slow down, tune into our senses, and really arrive in the landscape. If you’d like, walk leader Jess can also draw a nature-inspired oracle card for you. From here, we’ll enjoy a varied route over the batch and through wooded areas, before descending into the peaceful Waterside Valley and continuing on towards Radstock. We’ll stop at Swallow Café, where there’s the option to treat yourself to a coffee and cake.
A Nature Walk on Haydon Batch – Wildlife Index Programme
14:00 – 16:30
Haydon Batch, meeting at the Que Club entrance off Kilmersdon Road
Walk Leaders – Poppy
A walk and talk by an ecologist, Poppy, to learn more about the West of England Combined Authority Wildlife Index programme and the wildlife the ecologist has recorded over the summer.
Bat Walk – Night Flyers of the Somer Valley
19:00 – 21:00
Taking place in Midsomer Norton Town Park, Meeting outside the Town Park Entrance on Gullock Tyning
Walk Leaders – Steve England
Starting with a brief talk about bat ecology and conservation we will head into Waterside Valley for a gentle stroll around the meadows and along the river looking and listening out for different bat species. We will use bat detectors to pick up the bats echolocations and work out what species we have recorded.
Saturday 12th September schedule:
Paulton Walk
10:30 – 12:00
Leaving from The Hub Community Library, 1-2 Hill Court, High St, Paulton BS39 7QG
Walk Leaders – Anne
A 2.55 mile walk, traveling to the Coal Canal and Paulton Engine, returning via Brittens to Paulton. No dogs on this walk please.
Nordic Walking Taster
11:00 – 12:30
Taking place in Midsomer Norton Town Park, Meeting outside the Town Park Entrance on Gullock Tyning
Walk Leaders – Maxine
This Nordic Walking Taster is an introductory session providing a foundation for Nordic walking, fitness and wellbeing, all tailored to your individual needs. You’ll be learning in a group setting with walk leader Maxine, a qualified Nordic Walking Instructor.
Song Ceremony and Art
11:00 – 13:00
Taking place at Hillside Farm, opposite the Hillside View terraced houses in Peasedown St John.
Join Emily & Elpha for ‘Song Ceremony and Art’ at Hillside Farm as part of Somer Valley September, a festival of nature and creative health activities and events!
As Summer slowly turns to Autumn, join us as we gather together in Song, Ceremony and Creative Celebration. We will come together on a much loved plot of land to learn simple seasonal songs and take time to tune into what is stirring within and around us. Then, using the most spectacular art materials of all time (the things we find in nature) we will co-create a piece of Ephemeral Art.
Sunday 13th September schedule:
Walk and Draw
09:00 – 11:00
Meeting at the Swallows Cafe, Radstock
Walk Leaders – Sam Pierpoint
A gentle walk from Radstock up Waterside Valley (up to 3 miles) and Haydon Batch. A chance to come together with a group who value creativity and the magic found in nature’s nooks and crannies. We follow a gentle route, pausing often for sketch-booking and moments of observation along the way. Basic paper and pencils provided or bring your own sketchbook and drawing tools. Get curious about flora, fungi, with no pressure to “make good art” – just to notice, explore, and respond. This event is about slowing down, unwinding, exploration and creativity, with fresh air, a pencil in hand, and some good chatter.
This walk is for adults only and we ask that dogs are left at home.
Free Parking is available at Church Street Car Park, Church Street, Radstock, BA3 3QG. The car park MiPermit location number is 751087. Print yourself a free ticket from the machine!
Forest Bathing
11:30 – 13:30
Meeting at the Swallows Cafe, Radstock
Walk Leaders – Maxine
Join us for a rejuvenating Forest Bathing experience at the beautiful Waterside Valley in Westfield. Over the course of 2-hours, you’ll learn mindfulness techniques, breathing exercises, and gentle movement to help you unwind and recharge. No prior experience necessary, just bring an open mind and a willingness to learn.
This walk is for adults only and we ask that dogs are left at home.
Please join us after the session at the Radstock Men’s Working Club for Tea, Coffee and Cake as part of the Walking Festival Celebration.
Sunday Walks start at 10 a.m. from Radstock Town Library and end back at the Radstock Men’s Working Club for Coffee and Cake. All walks will have spaces for walk-ins on the day!
Morning Stroller walk – 3.4 miles
10:00 – 12:30
Walk Leaders – Carol and Marilyn
A short walk at a leisurely pace from Radstock. You will visit hills and valleys close to Radstock with a link to The Romans! The area is blessed with routes into the country as well as local green spaces to exercise and relax in. This years festival celebrates the restoration of former coal mining areas to spaces which attract insects, animals and humans all in equal measures. Finish your walk with a cuppa and cake at The Radstock Working Men’s Club.
Short Walk – 6 miles
10:00 – 14:00
Walk Leaders – Richard and Julie
A Ramblers ‘short’ walk to celebrate our Walking Festival. Richard will lead you along paths, tracks and fields to Foxcote and Shoscombe. After leaving Radstock you climb up to the site of old temporary houses built to house the Durham miners who travelled south for employment. A drop downhill finds you at manmade ponds, for fishing and for the pleasure of the owners of Woodborough House. Tracks will lead you to Shoscombe, a small sheltered village where the locals would like to purchase their village pub. Through small hamlets and down to the river, it will be time to head back to Radstock via Foxcote. You will pass the old spoil heaps created by coal mining, now natural wildlife sanctuaries. Don’t forget to stop for a chat over tea/coffee and cakes, served at Radstock Working Men’s Club on the edge of the car park.
Medium walk – 7.5 miles
10:00 – 15:30
Walk Leaders – Graham and Sue
This interesting rural walk introduces you to local industrial history, transport systems and famous estates. Your leader will take you to the pretty village of Kilmersdon and across fields to Babington House, a country club for people employed in the ‘arts’. Quite a level section will then follow before dropping down to an ancient ‘coffin way’. The autumn fields will lead you back to the small hamlet of Charlton where you head back to Radstock along the Waterside Valley. Much effort has been expended by volunteers to restore the valley to a relaxing welcoming environment for humans and wildlife. After the walk have a refreshing cuppa and cake with your walking colleagues in The Radstock Working Men’s Club adjacent to the car park.
NO dogs are allowed on this walk.
A Walk In Celebration of the Restoration of our Wildlife Parks
– 7 miles
10:00 – 15:30
Walk Leaders – Sheila and Steph
A walk to celebrate the work undertaken by volunteers and Somer Valley Rediscovered to restore wild life areas and parks for the benefit of flora, fauna, wildlife and humans. Sheila, your leader, has personal experience of the impressive work undertaken. She will be supported by Steph, a member of Somer Valley Rediscovered who has inspired and guided the volunteers. From the start you will quickly enter a large valley with good walking surfaces and interesting stops along the way. A short uphill walk to the level area of a once desolate coal batch, now a ‘managed’ scrubland. Cross back over the valley and stream and make your way to the Silver Street Nature Reserve, then downhill to an established housing estate where Staddlestone Riverside Park has had a major face lift including the planting of trees. Via Withies Park you will walk to the west side of Midsomer Norton and to our local area of Thicket Mead. Walk along the popular valley of Wellow Brook which has had an upgrade of relaxing areas and information boards. You will be walking back to Radstock via Midsomer Norton Town Park, a clever adaption of another old coal slag area, now a popular area for participating in outdoor exercise and educational classes. A useful Amphitheatre is blended into the hillside. Finally use The Greenway to return to Radstock for a refreshing cuppa and delicious cake to mull over the inspiring areas you have visited. The walk is a mixture of urban and rural areas. Although you will be walking between locations at a moderate pace, time will be spent at each area for explanation of the work undertaken, hence a longer walk duration than usual.
Dogs welcome on a short lead please.
Long Walk – 13 miles
10:00 – 17:00
Walk Leaders – Julia and Ray
This walk is designed for those who like to walk further and faster. Starting from Radstock you will climb out of the valley to Woodborough in countryside south of Peasedown St John and along tracks heading towards Combe Hay via White Ox Mead. A visit to Wellow and the Long Barrow at Stoney Littleton sees you heading back to Radstock through the tiny hamlet of Foxcote. It’s a varied walk with hills up and down but also some long stretches of level ground. Due to the length and terrain of the walk the leader reserves the right to amend the route depending on circumstances on the day. Don’t forget to pop in to The Radstock Working Men’s Club on the edge of the car park for a welcome tea/coffee and cuppa after the walk!
Dogs welcome on short leads please.
Afternoon Stroller Walk – Nature on your doorstep
13:30 – 15:00
Walk Leaders – Carol and Marilyn
Starting at 13:45 am, please arrive at 13:30 for registration and our safety briefing.
Led by Carol and Marilyn
A short walk at a leisurely pace from Radstock. You will visit hills and valleys close to Radstock with a link to The Romans! The area is blessed with routes into the country as well as local green spaces to exercise and relax in. This years festival celebrates the restoration of former coal mining areas to spaces which attract insects, animals and humans all in equal measures. Finish your walk with a cuppa and cake at The Radstock Working Men’s Club.