Festival poster outside the Bull Ring in central Seville

Nordic Walkers from across the UK joined the NWUK team to take part in the first World festival of Nordic Walking in the stunning Spanish cities of Seville and Carmona from the 24th – 27th September

Preparing for a night time historical walk

They took part in a range of Walks, Workshops and Masterclass sessions and attended presentations about a host of interesting subjects from rehabilitation to equipment research and development.

The ancient city or Carmona threw open its doors and offered access to its finest buildings and open spaces including a Roman market place, stunning shaded area designed for elegant promenading Ladies in the days of old plus an ornate theatre and the gateway to the Roman Citadel.

Each day the festival goers were given vouchers to enjoy Tapas in participating Bars and social evenings included Drinks on the Roman terrace of the Citadel, Flamenco and a roof top restaurant overlooking the Cathedral  in Seville. The finale was a mass walk in the Maria Luisa Park in Seville where locals joined the Nordic walkers to complete three laps before going through the finishing arch and enjoying a celebratory breakfast in the most awesome of locations.

Photos of the whole event can be seen here. The most popular workshop by far was the ‘speed date’ with the World masters below where each demonstrated their technique for 30 minutes. groups of 15 participants moved from one to the other until they had completed a two and half hour Masterclass!

Leading NW Experts from L to R – Marko Kantaneva, Arja Jalkenen- Meyer, Itsik Levy, Tom Rutlin and Fabio Moretti

A massive achievement by both presenters and participants as the temperature soared to over 40 degrees towards the end. It was great to see such iconic names as Tom Rutlin and Marko Kanteneva (both heralded as original pioneers of pole walking) working together to make this a fun packed informative event.  Next year the Festival will be 23 – 27 NOVEMBER (tbc) so watch this space for information about next years event or keep your eyes on our new event search here

The organisers have already made some important changes following feedback and suggestions from the first festival. The 2016 event will be in a central Seville location where the presentations and workshops are a stones throw from the luxury accommodation and festival ‘hub’. The Nordic walks schedule will be managed by NWUK experts and a simple booking/registration process is also planned. group bookings and discounts will apply so start planning now for an experience of a lifetime.