BALLATER WALKING FESTIVAL
16th - 22nd MAY 2026
BOOKINGS NOW OPEN FOR this year’s festival
A week of guided walks for all abilities, in and around Ballater and the Cairngorms National Park. Run by locals, we welcome participants from all over the globe. Many of our visitors return for the Festival year after year. Ballater Walking Festival was ranked in the top 10 walking festivals by the Guardian (2024) newspaper and is now in its 29th year.
The 2026 programme is as big and varied as ever, with a week full of excursions from leisurely strolls to scaling the Cairngorm Munros, and everything in between. This includes walks of special interest, and in 2025 we introduced an accessible wheelchair-friendly walk, which is to be repeated, thanks to its popularity. In addition, we offer an evening entertainments programme.
Walks are led by knowledgeable locals who are keen walkers themselves, and passionate about this beautiful area in which they live. The festival is made possible by the numerous volunteers who offer their time to organise, drive, guide and assist in many other ways. Professional mountain guides are hired for some of the more strenuous walks.
All proceeds from BWF go back into the village as donations to clubs, charities and organisations.
BALLATER and the cairngorms national park
The picturesque village of Ballater offers a range of accommodation and good quality cafes, restaurants and shops. It was established in Victorian times to accommodate a growing tourism industry and is situated in the heart of Royal Deeside within the Cairngorms National Park. The park contains some of the best wildlife habitats in the UK within its ancient Caledonian forests, lochs, rivers and moorland, and on its arctic mountain tops, which form its core, and are the heart of this majestic mountain landscape.
The Ballater Walking Festival Committee very much look forward to welcoming you to the 2026 Festival.