Southwold: 2023 Sausage Dog Walk to be 'scaled back'

Organisers of the Southwold Sausage Walk have announced a provisional return date fo the event on Sunday, October 8 in a "scaled back" format.

Last year's event attracted 2,238 Dachsunds to the coastal town, which smashed the 1,000 needed to break the former Guiness World Record.

However, in the year of their fifth major walk, organisers have announced that there is too much "red tape" to continue in its current format.

The team running the sausage walk consists of three people, who also run businesses and have families.

They said: "With so much red tape and the current economic climate in mind, we have decided that, while this year's walk will go ahead, it will unfortunately have to be a scaled back version - literally a 'Southwold Sausage Walk' without the bells and whistles."

The Southwold Sausage Walk is to be scaled back this year. (Image: Charlotte Bond, Newsquest)

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Organisers added that the administration behind music licences, permits and insurance takes hours, citing "increased demands from the council in terms of requirements and health and safety regulations".

The annual Sausage Walks are held in support of Dedicated to Dachshunds with IVDD, a disease often caused by slipped or ruptured discs in the back and is common in Dachshunds.

While they managed to raise £1,800 at last year's dog walk, the music licence will cost them £1,000 as well as additional costs for toilets and stewards.

"We are so sorry we cannot put on one of our big events this year," they added.

"As you've all witnessed they get bigger and better each year, but sadly we do not have the funds behind us to hold an event like we had in 2022."

The Sausage Walk team are hoping for the return of a larger-scale event in 2024 if they manage to obtain the help of volunteers and sponsors.