Plans for the 13th Annual Wicklow Mountains Autumn Walking Festival were unveiled by Wicklow Tourism in St Stephen's Green, Dublin, yesterday.
A torch-lit, "night-hike" on Friday, October 25th, offers walkers a unique chance to experience Brockagh forest and mountain led by flame torches and the Sambista Brazilian drummers.
This night walk will be guided by Mr David Moore, from Astronomy Ireland, and offers walkers a heavenly view of the night sky.
The walking festival will take place over the Hallowe'en Bank Holiday weekend from October 25th to Sunday, October 27th, in the Wicklow Mountains National Park.
The event is expected to attract up to 300 ramblers from all over Ireland, and is very popular with UK and US tourists alike, some of whom have travelled over for the festival.
The walks range from a lengthy 30 kilometres for the very experienced hiker to a gentle 8.5 kilometre walk for the more leisurely stroller.
"We've classed the walks so the experienced walkers can do the A or B grade walks purely for the walking experience and the people who just fancy an afternoon out in the national park can do the C grade walks," said Ms Alison Keppel, of Wicklow Tourism.
"The C grade walks are all themed to offer people a little bit more along the way," added Ms Keppel.
Over the course of the weekend, there would be a "mining and heritage walk, environmental walks and flora and fauna walks, offering walkers an unique opportunity to accompany trained local guides through the spectacular Wicklow National Park in Glendalough", she told The Irish Times.
All walks of the festival are guided by trained and experienced locals with an intimate knowledge of the area.
No walking festival would be complete without some "apres-walk" socialising.
The festival organisers have, therefore, guaranteed some "craic" for ramblers with end-of-walk T-shirts presentations to participants and some traditional music in a local pub.
"This is a great boost for Wicklow tourism towards the end of the season and will benefit areas which mightn't usually get tourism custom," said Ms Keppel.
Ramblers are advised to book early as walks are limited to 30 or 50 places.
Entry forms can be got by contacting Wicklow Tourism: e-mail wctr_at_iol.ie Tel: 0404-20070