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MADEIRA ISLANDS WALKING FESTIVALThe dates for the 2011 Madeira Islands Walking Festival have not yet been decided, but it is possible that the event will be moved to May. Visit this web page from time to time to check for updates. If you require information at any time, please contact the Festival Director, Terry Marsh at madeirawalking@gmail.com, or ring 01772 321243. The walking festivalMadeira and Porto Santo – offer some of the most agreeable walking imaginable. So, what better place to hold a walking festival? – a celebration of all that is good about this most popular of leisure pursuits. The Madeira Islands are renowned for their gentle climate and generally settled weather. January is no exception. When walkers in mainland Europe are battling against wind and rain, here in Madeira we are enjoying a period of calm that you will find refreshing. We cannot say that on Madeira there is no rain; of course there is, that’s why we have such a lush and colourful landscape. But when it rains, there is something of an apology about it. Throughout the year the Madeira Islands – the Floating Garden in the Atlantic – are full of colour, and offer an invigorating setting for walkers of all abilities. Networked by narrow watercourses – levadas – that in themselves offer endless walking, the heart of Madeira rises to outstanding and impressive volcanic peaks, rugged walking at its best, but rugged walking that is counterbalanced by easier options and coastal walking that really is breathtaking. The islands of Madeira are a microcosm of beauty, a place where flora and fauna are abundant both across the island and in the depths of the surrounding seas. You cannot fail to love the place. But don’t take our word for it, come and see for yourself. The Madeira Islands Walking Festival is the brainchild of UK-based freelance travel and outdoor writer and photographer Terry Marsh. Between 2004 and 2006 he was responsible for organising the successful walking festivals on the Isle of Man, and has now turned his attention to Madeira. We are confident that the festival will encourage walkers from Western Europe to visit the Madeira Islands, to experience for themselves the unending beauties of this remarkable place. The walks we have chosen are a cross section of the many that are available, and are intended to provide a taste of what the islands have to offer the walker. All the walks are devised and promoted by the Regional Forest Bureau, and all have been recently surveyed and verified. Background reading
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