The full programme of walks and events for the 2012 Haltwhistle Spring Walking Fesival is now all online.

The Festival runs between 28th April and 7th May and the times and dates for all 29 walks (and the social evening) have now been published on the Walking Festival website on www.haltwhistlewalkingfestival.org.

By visiting the site those interested in this established walking festival can also read full descriptions for all of the walks so that they choose walks that they can both physically manage as well as finding something of particular interest to themselves.

The cost for most of the walks remains at £6 but where they run over a series of days or where additional costs are incurred, such as transport or food (like an afternoon tea) then prices are higher.

Birds, alpacas, beer, singing and drumming are just some of the themes available in the prgramme for this spring.

Bookings for the walks can also be made through the website so people can plan their Walking Festival visit in the comfort of their own homes.

Christmas is over, 2012 has started and we are all getting back into our routines as though nothing has happened.

But amidst all of this the organising committee for the Haltwhistle Waking Festival is putting the final touches to the Spring Walking Festival which is scheduled to run from Saturday 28th April to Monday 7th May.

There are 28 proposed walks in all of varying grades of difficulty and interest, as well as a social eveing. All of the finalised walks and social events will be fully described on their website before February and also booking will be available for online.

Spring brings a renewed freshness to this area which is both wild and rugged as well as very beautiful, and the walks provide a great opportunity to see the best of this area in good company. The headline long walks this spring will be the Burns and Crags over the first weekend and the 3 day Hexham to Haltwhistle via Burn Tongues over the second weekend. There will be something of interest to everyone as Real Ale, Bird watching, Drumming, Singing, Conservation, Alpacas and much more have all been included in the programme.

A Balti restaurant is opening next week led by a renowned Birmingham chef.

The Rajasthan Balti Restaurant, next to the Royal Hotel, will open on Monday, November 7 following an investment of around £100,000.

The head chef is Abdul Khalique, who has spent years perfecting the art of balti cuisine based on traditional family recipes from his home in the Punjab.

Balti takes its name from the dish in which it is cooked. Originating in the Punjab it was popularised in Birmingham.

Timetable:
Saturday November 5th 2011
The bonfire will be lit at about 6:30pm
There will, weather permitting, be a remote control kite display over the bottom of the Sele courtesy of Stanegate Flyers soon after.
The fireworks will start at about 7pm.

Bonfire Online You can you can follow Bonfire Building progress on the November 5th on Facebook and Twitter (@hexhambonfire). We'll be posting pictures throughout the day direct from the Sele. Full details are on our website

Entry is free A collection is held on the gates, please give generously - all proceeds go back to local tynedale charities, the Annual Bonfire is a community event and needs your support to continue to make it the a highlight of the Annual Hexham Town Calendar

Getting here Please get to the Sele early to avoid the traffic. Full details and directions are available to download and print from the Hexham Round Table website

Safety Please do not to bring sparklers onto the Sele. These are dangerous in crowds and the discarded wires are lethal to children and pets if hidden in the grass afterwards.

Make a day of it in Western Tynedale and visit the 25th Annual Art & Craft Fair in Haltwhistle.

The event takes place in the Masonic Hall on Banks Terrace on Saturday 5th November, between 10.00 a.m. and 4.00 p.m. and is set to be just as big as the hall will take.
and as usual is almost fully subscribed.

The Masonic Hall in Haltwhistle is not far from the Main Street in Haltwhistle. It is a comfortable, modernised hall with good disabled access and will be well sign posted on the day.

The fair has attracted a varied range of different crafts both from local producers and from across the region. There will be different types and styles of high quality wood products, Metal Products, Knitwear, Candles, Quilting, Digital Art, Cards, Floral Arrangements, Nail Art, Pencil Drawings, Photographs, Embroidery, Stained and Painted Glass, various styles of Jewellery, Paintings, Festive Products and much, much more.

Of particular interest there are two new stall holders who travelling some distance to attend and they are bringing hand crafted leather goods and items made from silk screen printed fabric.

Haltwhistle Walking Festival "came of age" with the start of the 18th festival last Saturday 8th Ocotber. The weather was dull, overcast, drizzly, misty and miserable, nevertheless the first 25 walkers gathered at 8.30a.m. in Haltwhistle Market Place for a coach journey to Bewcastle.

Spirits were high as old friends greeted each other and new walkers to the festivalwere welcomed. This particular walk started at Bewcastle Church, with its famous 7th century cross, and then followed a route through farmland and forestry roads before climbing over tussocky moorland to Christianbury Crags. These crags consist of small tors of sandstone, eroded over the centuries into a variety of fascinating shapes. It is here that farmers used to collect strickle, small quantities of sand that lie between the rocks which they used to sharpen scythes and other blades.

On a good day the view from the crags is spectacular; on Saturday it was shrouded in mist. The walkers could just make out the line of the Galwegian fosse, all that remains of a long ancient ditch, whose original purpose is unknown. This is a wild and mysterious area, in the heart of the Debatable Lands and, if a band of reivers had appeared out of the mist, the walkers would not have been surprised!

It is now just only a month until the 25th Annual Art & Craft Fair in Haltwhistle and the event is filling up nicely so is definitely worth putting in your diary so come along to see the variety of crafts that are available.

The event takes place in the Masonic Hall on Banks Terrace in Haltwhistle on Saturday 5th November, between 10.00 a.m. and 4.00 p.m. and is set to be just as big as the hall will take.

The venue for the event and is not far from the Main Street in Haltwhistle. It is a comfortable, modernised hall with good disabled access.

The fair is continuing to attract stall holders from near and far and a wide range of cards, jewellery, hand crafted leather goods,stained glass, screen printed fabric goods, photography, wood products, candles, photography, pencil drawings, hand made Christmas decorations and everything you might want to consider as a special present for someone this Christmas.

The countdown to the start of the Haltwhistle Autumn Walking Festival is on. On October 8th and for the next eight days there will be a selection of 21 different walks of varying interests and difficulty. The costs continue to be kept as low as possible with most being just £6.

Bookings for the walks have been coming in steadily and some walks are full or nearing capacity; however there are still plenty of spaces available on a wide range of walks.

New visitors to the festival will gain a real feel for the town and area if they try the 'The Best of Haltwhistle', which begins at a 'Coffee Morning' held in the Methodist church hall and then tours the main natural features and historical landmarks around Haltwhistle.

Another walk with spaces available is the 'Halton Lea Gate Circular'. It is a short moderate walk, with a few ascents. It follows a short section of the 'Pennine Way' over open moorland towards Hartley Burn before continuing to the small hamlet of Kellah. It works its way through farms, fields and open moorland before skirting the small village of Midgeholme to arrive back at Halton Lea Gate.

It is now only weeks to the start of the twice yearly Haltwhistle Walking Festival which runs from October 8th to 16th.

The Autumn colours will be at their best both in the varied woodland and the moorland landscapes through which the routes pass.

Regardless of length each walk is priced at just £6 and provides interesting themed walks, outstanding countryside, excellent exercise and more particularly great company.

Over its history the Haltwhistle Walking Festival has attracted visitors back time after time as people become more attached to both the town, countryside and the company.

The momentum is building as the preparations are now well underway for the 25th Annual Art & Craft Fair in Haltwhistle. The event takes place in the Masonic Hall on Banks Terrace on Saturday 5th November, between 10.00 a.m. and 4.00 p.m. and is already looking to be bigger than ever.

The venue for the event and is not far from the Main Street in Haltwhistle. It is a comfortable, modernised hall with good disabled access.

The fair has already attracted a varied range of different crafts and has already filled half of the stall spaces. Regular stall holders Ian Forster and Matty Parker will be returning with their different types and styles of high quality woodwork, Michelle Macdonald with her individual designs of painted glass, and Ann Garside who annually travels a considerable distance to the fair with her wide range of floral decorations and cards.