Due to the recent foot and mouth outbreaks in Surrey, the Eden Rivers Trust have taken the precaution of postponing the Eden Rivers Festival Farm Walks.

We are still planning for the farm walks to go ahead in the future, but we will be reviewing the situation as and when we get further information and will obviously take guidance from the farmers concerned.

All other events included in the festival programme remain unaffected and are still set to go ahead as advertised.

Four very different farms in the Eden Valley will be hosting evening walks during August as part of the Eden Rivers Festival, organised by the Eden Rivers Trust and funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

"Farming is the dominant land use in the Eden Valley," says Eden Rivers Trust's Habitats Officer, Will Cleasby, "and it has a significant impact on the river. We have been working with farmers for ten years now and these farm walks give us the opportunity to show case what we are doing together to improve water quality and public access and to restore wildlife habitats."

The first walk is aimed at the public and will be around Low Grounds Farm at Plumpton at 7pm on Thursday, 9 August. This will be led by James Turner and is a chance to see the conservation work on this award-wining dairy farm. A second walk later in the month at 7pm on Thursday, 16 August at Greystone House, Kings Meaburn will focus more on organic conversion and is therefore aimed primarily at other farmers.

The third farm walk of the Festival is on Thursday, 23 August, this time at 7.30pm. This will be a chance for the public to find out more about how Nether Hoff Farm at Colby is combining wildlife conservation with day-to-day farm management. Finally, at the end of August (date to be confirmed) there will be another walk aimed at farmers, this time at Woodhouse Farm near Melkinthorpe and with an emphasis on sustainable water use and environmental issues.

"These walks are fantastic opportunities to visit farms and meet the people who are working together to protect the Eden," says Maggie Robinson, Manager of Eden Rivers Trust. "The Trust has a massive habitats programme in progress, working with farmers to get the right balance of bank conservation and access, and I hope that local people will take the opportunity to visit a local farm and see this investment for themselves."

Further information can be found on our website www.edenriverstrust.org.uk or by contacting the Eden Rivers Trust on 01768 866788