Over a 1,000 walkers are expected at the Ballyhoura International Walking Festival. Together, they will cover a total of 20,000km and burn 40 million calories over the May bank holiday weekend!

The Ballyhoura International Festival isn’t just Ireland’s oldest walking festival – it’s one of the most popular too. This May bank holiday weekend (May 2-4th), some 1,000 walkers are expected to descend on Ballyhoura Country, covering an average distance of 20km each.

That’s 200 million steps, or more than 40 times the length of Ireland. Not only that, but walkers are set to burn a collective 40 million calories too – not a bad return from the fresh country air.

Now in its 21st year, the festival sees guides from the Ballyhoura Bears Walking club leading a packed programme for all abilities – from the hardy hiker to gentle ramblers enjoying the company of local experts in the fields of heritage, archaeology, history, flora and fauna.

Ballyhoura Country features 1,500km of National Loop Walks and Way Marked Ways, including the historic Ballyhoura Way. Every year, new routes are chosen for the walking festival, attracting walkers from all over Ireland and International visitors from as far afield as South Africa, Germany, the Czech Republic, France and the UK.

This year will also feature over 30 special community walks suitable for all abilities, ages and families and will cover areas of special interest throughout the whole Ballyhoura region. These are real gems of shorter walks!

And another date to remeber – the Glen of Aherlow Summer Walking Festival takes place from May 29th- June 1st.