A BLIND woman has signed up for a walking festival in the region.

The trail along which Janet Mortimer will walk with her guide dog, Maggie, is the toughest on offer as part of Redcar and Cleveland Council's Walking Festival weekend, on June 24 and 25.

There is a choice of three graded guided walks each day - a children's discovery walk, and then "moderate", "challenging" and "difficult" rated treks.

Despite being registered blind Mrs Mortimer, who is a keen walker, has opted for a gruelling nine-mile trek over rugged moorland, which has been graded as difficult, and which organisers reckon seasoned walkers should allow themselves five hours to complete.

"A lot of blind people enjoy walking," she said. "It's an outdoor activity and, if you're sensible and know what you're doing, there are no problems."

The circular route she will follow runs along the edge of Guisborough Moor and part of the Cleveland Way, passing the childhood haunts of explorer Captain James Cook.

She said: "I'm looking forward to it."

Mrs Mortimer works as a rehabilitation support worker at the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association centre, at Middlesbrough.

The walking weekend is based at the Guisborough Branch Walkway, and a free bus service will take walkers to the start of each walk and bring them back from the finish.

For more details, contact the council's events team on (01642) 444373 or the branch walkway on (01287) 631132.