Frome’s celebrated Walking Festival is back for another year, seeing the return of some town favourites plus some enticing new additions. The 2022 programme, brought to you by Frome’s Walkers Are Welcome and the Town Council, boasts 17 walks centred around history, nature, the countryside and even dancing. So dig out your walking boots and/or your dancing shoes and get involved.

For self-guided walks and trails and activities, visit the Discover Frome website.

All walks start from the Cheese & Grain unless otherwise stated. 

Walking times are estimated, so please allow for a later finish.

Friday 11th November

Health Walk Stourhead and the Beach Clump Memorial– 10:15am - Free
A Health Walk is a walk done on a regular basis for well-being. This 4-mile walk goes on undulating tracks and quiet country roads. Meet at Stourhead National Trust parking, BA12 6QF.

Health Walk Through Green Frome – 10:15am - Free
A Health Walk is a walk done on a regular basis for well-being. This walk is a 2-mile, medium difficulty walk along the river and out into the countryside.

Saturday 12th November

The Riverside Walk – 10am - Free
An opportunity to see the River Frome from spring Gardens all the way to Blatchbridge. Sightings of otters, beavers and kingfishers are not guaranteed but cannot be ruled out. Be sure to bring lunch and stout footwear as it is likely to be muddy by the river.

Blue Plaques of Frome - 10:15am - Free
Discover the significant links with Frome and historic events on the Blue Plaque tour. Be prepared for Frome’s hills!

Longleat Woods - 10:30am - Free
A circular walk following field paths and quiet lanes, through woodland around the edge of the Longleat estate, taking in Roddenbury Hill Fort and East Woodlands church. Bring a picnic lunch. 

Celebrated Women of Frome - 11:30am - £7
Following on from the major exhibition at Frome Heritage Museum earlier this year, this walk will visit locations associated with several of the women being celebrated. These include Christina Rossetti, Betty Trask, Alice Seeley (Lady Harris), Elizabeth Rowe and Clara Grant.

Heritage Tree Walk - 12:30pm - £7
Join local author and ancient tree specialist Julian Hight on a walk to see some of Frome’s most majestic trees and hear about their history, lore and descendants. The easy walk will include Millennium Green and Rodden Meadow and take around an hour and a half. Led by Julian Hight.

Sense of Place - 1:15pm - £7
A guided walk around Frome explaining the history and folklore behind some of the local place names. We will also be taking in the development of the English language, the changing processes of how places are named and the history of the town along the way. If you’ve ever wondered why Bath Street is not on the Bath side of town, or what is cheap about Cheap Street, this is the walk for you. Taking in the older parts of Frome this walk explores the origins, real and imagined, of the names of places, streets and pubs of the town.

Buggy Walk - 1:30pm - Free
A special buggy walk for those who want to socialise and enjoy being outside. A circular walk, approximately two miles at a moderate pace.

Silent Disco Tour - 2pm - £15 (adult) / £10 (child)
Let Cheryl lead you on a merry dance through the cobbled streets of Somerset’s famous market town. Learn some facts (and some fiction) about the town’s landmarks and musical 'whistory' and get the insider info on the town as we bust out some moves along the route to Disco, 80s, 90s and beyond.

A-Z of Frome – 3pm - £7
Take a journey through Frome to discover some significant and little-known aspects of its rich and varied past. From buildings and streets to people and events, the walk highlights fascinating aspects of the town’s history, including stories of UFO sightings, a world-famous Roman coin hoard, local inns and the search for underground tunnels.

Sunday 13th November

Orchardleigh – 9:30am - £7
A circular walk following riverside and field paths into the Orchardleigh estate, where it follows a muddy lakeside path and then tarmac driveway, returning to Frome via Spring Gardens and Cooper Hall. Led by Rich Ackroyd, this walk is approximately 7 miles.

Writer’s Walk - 10am - £7
Writing can be a solitary occupation, and so authors, editors, copy-writers, journalists and more are invited for a relaxing walk along the river path to Mells and back via Vallis Vale with David Hamilton- to share some spots full of inspiration and some tales of their work. This walk will take approximately 3 hours.

A Very Short Walk Around the Long History of Frome - 10:15am - £3.50
If you love hearing about local history but don’t feel you can manage to climb a mile up and down our steep cobbled streets, this cut-down version of regular walk Heart of Frome may be the option for you. Frome Town Guide Lisa Kenwright will tell you the story of the town in 40 minutes using just the buildings, artefacts and landscape that can be seen from the area around the Cheese & Grain. The emphasis is on exploring this small area in detail, uncovering the hidden layers of the past and how they have shaped the modern town we can see today.

War Graves - 12pm - £7
On Remembrance Sunday this walk will visit many of the war graves that exist in the town’s churchyards. They include those of the fallen from both the First and Second World Wars. Also included is the grave of Frome’s only Victoria Cross recipient.

Folklore of Frome - 1pm - £7
Join Frome Town Guide and storyteller Lisa Kenwright as she veers away from her usual paths of factual history into the Otherworld of legend and folklore. You will hear about our Alien Big Cat, a few ghosts and that time the residents of the town marched on Shepton Mallet with pitchforks not mention a wealth of other snippets of lore. Expect some respectable scholarship on traditional beliefs, a couple of folk tales retold, a pinch of modern fakelore and a few quite frankly dodgy anecdotes.

Meet at the Cheese and Grain and finish on Christchurch Street West for this 75 minute-walk covering about 1.5km. There is one set of steps, with a step-free alternative and please be aware that our route will include some steep cobbled streets.

The Awful Killing of Sarah Watts - 2pm - £7
In September 1851, the brutal murder of Sarah Watts near Frome caused Victorian Society to be appalled but enthralled in equal measure. Visit many locations associated with this awful crime that was investigated by a member of Scotland Yard’s Detective Branch. Based on the book of the same name.