FAMILIES are being urged to turn out in force for the Great North Walk, which is making a comeback after the foot-and-mouth crisis.

This year's walk is the most prestigious event in a pioneering healthy living initiative launched this year by The Northern Echo and key partners.

The partnership - linking The Northern Echo with Wear Valley District Council, Durham Dales Primary Care Trust, and Northumbrian Water - is an extension of the paper's award-winning Chance To Live campaign, which combats heart disease.

The Great North Walk offers the chance to take some valuable exercise, enjoy the beautiful scenery of Weardale, County Durham, and raise money for the charity.

More than 4,000 walkers sampled the magnificent views of Weardale when the walk was based at Wolsingham in 2000.

The event had to be cancelled in 2001 and last year because of restrictions caused by foot-and-mouth, but this year's ten-mile walk, on Sunday, July 13, will take a similar route, starting and finishing at Wolsingham's recreation ground. Walkers can turn up and start any time between 10am and noon.

The route follows the River Wear, then joins a forestry track leading to the summit of Knitsley Fell, past the elephant trees landmark, then along the new Weardale Way riverside path towards the recreation ground.

Organisers Nova International and partners are thrilled to return to the dale after they had to cancel the walk in 2001 and last year.

Health Secretary and Darlington MP Alan Milburn has pledged to take part in the walk and said of the Chance To Live partnership: "This is setting the pace for other parts of the health service, local government and private sector organisations. If we can learn lessons from this, we will apply them elsewhere."

The partnership has identified a number of events and initiatives this year which encourage people to take more exercise and eat healthily in an bid to improve Wear Valley's poor record on heart disease.

The Chance To Live campaign was launched by The Northern Echo three years ago when Darlington father-of-two Ian Weir, a photographer with the newspaper, died after waiting seven months for a heart bypass operation.

The campaign is aimed at reducing waiting times for heart bypass surgery, which at the time of Mr Weir's death averaged 12 months, compared to three months in parts of Europe.

To enter the walk, complete and send the entry form in today's Northern Echo to Wear Valley District Council by Monday, June 23. Additional forms are available on (01388) 761558.