This month’s Deal Walking Festival will be opened by Town Mayor Marlene Burnham at Deal Castle.

The festival, now in its fifth year, is between August 22-28. Previously it was organised by Alan Sutton, of Sydney Road, Walmer, who runs the Happy Walkers group, and was an important part of Deal getting Walkers Are Welcome status, the first town in the south of England to do so.

Mr Sutton has handed over the festival to the White Cliffs Ramblers, the branch of the national Ramblers organisation which covers east Kent. The White Cliffs Ramblers, who celebrate their 25th anniversary next year, were founded in Deal in 1989.

This year the festival has been hugely expanded, and will include 23 walks, ranging from two to 18 miles.

The programme includes health walks, historical and special interest walks, walks for the disabled, a walk about the smugglers of Deal, a treasure trail for families, and a walk about the wildlife in and around Deal. Some involve taking buses from Deal and walking back.

The 18-mile Three Pits Walk - visiting the sites of the three coal mines of Betteshanger, Tilmanstone and Snowdown – is on Saturday August 24; and a 14-mile stretch of the Timeball & Telegraph Trail – a 103-mile long distance path devised by Deal and Walmer Chamber of Trade chairman and keen walker Peter Jull, which links the timeballs of Deal and Greenwich – is on Sunday, August 25.

On Thursday, August 22 Cllr Burnham will launch the festival at the entrance to Deal Castle on the Three Castles Walk. This three-mile walk, which starts at 2pm, will visit Deal, Sandown and Walmer castles, with leader Jerry Swallow explaining their history.

The full programme is on a leaflet being distributed to tourist information centres, libraries and other outlets, and is also on www.dealwalkingfestival.org.uk