The first ever South Devon Walking Festival will take place over the last two weeks of October.

It is being staged as a response to the upsurge in interest from a wide variety of people wishing to get outdoors and join in with walks.

The programme is aimed at both locals and visitors with the second week of the programme taking place during the school's half term holiday.

The festival, which begins on October 13 and runs until October 28, will involve more than 30 walks across the picturesque South Hams countryside.

Liz Davey, festival organiser: "The festival is an excellent way of introducing people to the wonderful landscape of the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty."

It jointly organised by South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and South Hams District Council Landscape and Recreation team, supported by Devon County Council, Travelwise and South Hams Gazette.

Festival organiser Liz Davey said: "The festival is an excellent way of introducing people to the wonderful landscape of the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

"We anticipate that it will attract lots of visitors into the area and hope that it will become a regular feature in the calendar."

The walks are aimed at all ages and abilities and include the 'Great Hill Toddle' for toddlers and young children, a 'Cool and Spooky Night' walk for 11 to 13 year olds, health walks and 'all access' walks suitable for wheelchair users.

Several of the walks have been designed to give participants an insight into the history or wildlife of the area and there is an opportunity to walk and draw the landscape at Hope Cove.

The launch will take place on Wednesday 10 October on the Quay at Kingsbridge, where the festival partners will be handing out programmes and other walking information and there will be ‘health walks’ starting from the Quay during the morning at 9.45am and 11am.

"Walking has been shown to be one of the best ways of becoming more active and getting fit, and there are many social benefits of walking within a group," added Davey.

The full programme of events and booking information can be found online at www.southdevonaonb.org.uk or in the autumn/winter Coast and Countryside events leaflet now available from leisure centres, libraries and tourist information centres.

The South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is a special designation denoting the stunning natural beauty and distinctive landscape of the area. It covers 130 square miles (337 square kilometres) of coastline, estuaries and countryside.