GALASHIELS Walking Festival will return this month – and it is adding a new element.

Organisers have decided to offer their usual guided walks, albeit with limited capacity to meet COVID-19 guidelines.

But they will also share their routes online for people to enjoy any time they wish.

Douglas Johnston, a walk leader with the festival, told the Border Telegraph: “We’re now in the situation where we have the two [elements] running side-by-side.

“Hopefully it will become this melting pot as the festival rolls on.

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“Our walking festival is in April, but say people come to Gala in June, it means they can go on to the site and do a Gala Walking Festival route on their own, albeit not guided.”

Galashiels Walking Festival has teamed up with the company Outdooractive to make routes accessible to the wider Borders public.

Mr Johnston, 50, says he is looking forward to developing the virtual side of the event, something he has been looking to do for a while.

“We have the opportunity now where people can come on the walks and do the walks but then there’s also this website where people who can’t come for whatever reason – it might be they can’t travel to be here, or if they can’t get tickets, or they’re not keen to walk in a group – it means people can do it independently which is, COVID aside, something that’s been in the back of my mind for the Gala Walking Festival to offer this chance.”

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Festival co-ordinator Tracey Alder, 58, hopes it will be possible to develop routes for people who are disabled or have mobility problems.

Ms Alder, who took part in walk leader training last month, said: “I’m disabled myself. I thought I needed to see what these people [walk leaders] are actually learning.

“I have been in touch with Judith [Cleghorn; chairwoman of Galashiels community council] and we thought there’s a lot of people, especially if they’re in a wheelchair or a buggy, who would like to go out as a group.

“It’s something that we’re definitely going to be looking at.”

Galashiels Walking Festival will take place over the weekend of April 23-25.

To sign up for a limited slot, visit: www.outdooractive.com/en/event/the-scottish-borders/galashiels-walking-festival/57416712/ or join the festival’s Facebook page.