DETAILS have been confirmed for the second half of this year's Swaledale Festival, which was split in two when the foot-and-mouth crisis was at its worst in North Yorkshire.

The first half of the programme was staged in May and June, with organisers delighted and relieved with the level of support shown for the schedule, abridged by restrictions imposed to limit the risk of spreading the disease.

However, it also meant they could press ahead with plans to stage the postponed events later in the year - and a new programme has been released outlining the attractions on offer in the October half-term week.

With many footpaths now open, there is plenty of walking to look forward to, with Jeremy Hutchinson, of the Yorkshire Dales Walking Company, commissioned to lead ramblers around a series of routes.

But there is also plenty for the less energetic, including performances by Masham's Ian Scott-Massie and Friends at Fremington, and blues guitarist Steve Phillips, at Reeth Methodist Church on Monday, October 22.

The Festival Opera - so popular earlier this year - is repeated on Friday, October 19, as well as the Millennium Dance Odyssey, at Wensleydale School, in Leyburn, on Monday, October 22, and the following day.

Performances by pianists Lindy Tennent-Brown and Maurice Horhut, and baritone Thomas Guthrie, are also listed at St Andrew's Church, in Grinton. Reeth Memorial Hall welcomes Five Furious Fish, a West Country band renowned for their high-energy performances.

There is theatre, too, with Two Magpies performing The Spice of Life, also at the Reeth Memorial Hall, on Saturday, October 20.

Programmes are available now in local Tourist Information offices or by calling the festival office on (01969) 622217.

Details are also available by visiting the festival's website at www.swaledale-festival.care4free.net