2023 Inishowen Walking Festival could become a month-long event

Some of the team that helped organise this year's Inishowen Walking Festival pictured at Clogan Hall Community & Resource Centre in Carndonagh

placeholder image — Some of the team that helped organise this year's Inishowen Walking Festival pictured at Clogan Hall Community & Resource Centre in Carndonagh

'It has never been more pertinent to prioritise mental health and well-being with fitness and nature,' Explore Inishowen Programme Manager, Heidi Doherty. 'The Inishowen Walking Festival harnesses the outdoors with additional blended learning,'

The driving force behind the annual Inishowen Walking Festival has said the event has the potential to showcase Donegal as a walking and well-being destination in Ireland for all.

The 2022 Inishowen Walking Festival held at the end of September included 19 different route options and attracted over 600 participants.

Explore Inishowen Programme Manager, Heidi Doherty, described the Inishowen Walking Festival as an all-inclusive visitor experience that meets a fundamental need in the community.

"It has never been more pertinent to prioritise mental health and well-being with fitness and nature. The Inishowen Walking Festival harnesses the outdoors with additional blended learning," she commented.

"Donegal Sports Partnership's Community Development Officer, Karen Guthrie, has supported the event since the outset in 2021 and we are extremely grateful for this support. This year the organisers were pleased to raise further funding streams and the festival is gaining momentum with 'returners' and 'newcomers' increasing the footfall year after year.

"Now is the time to spearhead a festival committee in preparation for the next step in sustaining this event. Future footprints are on the horizon," she added.

Stating that a festival fund committee dedicated to the overall health and safety aspect of the project would be advisable in the future, she added: "This would ensure the project can be targeted to ascertain the community and that industry partners' shared goals are met. Any changes applied can be consulted with experienced project managers, and experts involved at inception as the festival develops in relation to size and scope. The event needs more investment."

The idea for the first festival last year was devised by a group of community managers who came together in 2021. Without these community partners, the festival would not have been possible as their drive locally ensured the success of the initiative over the last two years.

"It can grow organically year on year to a wider visitor audience, a sustainable future event for both communities at a local level, domestic and international visitors year on year. The walking groups of Ireland and UK have shown interest in this event, and with more publicity going forward this event could be a key driver to encourage more visitors in the shoulder season," she said.

"The Inishowen Walking Festival needs to be recognised from an investment perspective. People need to get behind it now. It has already proved itself and it has grown since the first year in the Covid era. 85 per cent of the participants came through Eventbrite, with the other 15 per cent coming along on the days. It certainly exceeded our expectations.

"If we can get the right committee in place, I am confident that we are on to a winner in terms of potential for a visitor experience and a destination experience within the tourism sector. So, it's a win, win for communities and local businesses. The planning for 2023 needs to start now," Ms. Doherty added.

"The Inishowen Walking Festival snood has become something of a collector's item and an important part of the experience. Over this year's event, participants explained that they'd worn their snood all over the place this year, and will do the same this year with their 2022 snood, thus becoming part of their personal stories."

Suggesting that some people "are feeling down" at the moment, the Explore Inishowen Programme Manager added: "They're feeling let down by the government, by the rise in the cost of living and there's also the Mica crisis. So, the walking out and being in nature means that we can manage to walk and we can be together in scenery and surroundings - that is the most important thing."