Guildford Walkfest returns 1 to 30 September with more than 40 free walks, from an Alan Turing town trail to an 11-mile North Downs circuit. Some need booking.

Guildford Walkfest starts on Tuesday 1 September and runs every day until Wednesday 30 September. The programme published on the festival’s website lists more than 40 free walks across the town and its villages, and the organisers say new walks are still being added.

Now in its 21st year, Walkfest is run entirely by volunteers as an umbrella for local walking groups. Key partners are Guildford Borough Council, The Guildford Dragon NEWS, C & H Marketing and the Surrey Hills Society. Every walk is free; some need booking with the group running them.

The launch walk is on Tuesday 1 September at 10am from Mandira’s Kitchen at Silent Pool, Albury, with free refreshments before a two-hour walk around Albury and Shere. Booking is through the Surrey Hills Society.

Ten picks from the programme

  • Alan Turing walk, Tuesday 1 September, 11am from G Live: a guided walk on the father of modern computing and his Guildford links. Book at guildfordwalks.org.uk
  • Send towpath and country ramble, Wednesday 2 September, 10am from Send Evangelical Church, Broadmead Road. Mostly flat, no booking needed
  • Chilworth Gunpowder Mills, Saturday 5 September: volunteers run tours through the ruins of the works along the Tillingbourne, morning and afternoon
  • Law and Disorder walk, Saturday 5 September, 11am from Tunsgate Arch: Guildford’s three county prisons and its criminal past
  • Riverside Nature Reserve, Sunday 6 September, 10.30am from the Spectrum: one of the largest intact WWII Dragon’s Teeth defence lines, Stoke Lock and the towpath
  • How Railways Killed a Canal, Sunday 13 September, 2.30pm from the Trunley Heath lay-by, Shalford, with the Wey and Arun Canal Trust
  • Scenic circular day walk, Saturday 19 September, 11 miles from South Lane car park, Ash, along the Christmas Pie Trail and the North Downs Way to Puttenham. Bring a packed lunch; book with Surrey Young Walkers
  • Shalford and its railway history, Friday 25 September, 10.30am from Shalford Station, led by Sara Grisewood of the community rail partnership and local historian David Rose. Booking is essential by emailing sara@southeastcrp.org, and free train tickets are available the same way
  • Medieval Guildford, Tuesday 29 September, 11am from Tunsgate Arch: the castle where King John stayed nineteen times and the forgotten invasion of 1216
  • Bird Tweets at Unstead Nature Reserve, Wednesday 30 September, 10.30am, the closing walk. Book on 07983 567625; parking is limited and lifts run from the QE Park Centre at 10am

The Guildford Story town walk repeats through the month from Tunsgate Arch, and Guildford Health Walks runs short weekday walks at Whitmoor Common, Merrow Downs, Shalford, Shere and West Horsley.

What it means for you

You do not need to be a regular walker. The programme mixes half-mile town strolls with regular stops, one-hour health walks with coffee afterwards, and full-day rambles. Each entry in the programme gives the meeting point, a what3words reference and whether booking is needed.

Most town walks start at Tunsgate Arch on the High Street. If you are coming from outside the centre, our parking guide covers the nearest car parks, and there are more September events in our things to do in Guildford page.