Thousands of people made the most of the sunshine to walk more than five miles and enjoy some of the most scenic and often hard to visit places around Devonshire and Paget yesterday.

They were joined by Governor Sir John Vereker and Lady Vereker as well as Community Affairs Minister Dale Butler who were amongst the early starters on the Bermuda National Trust's annual Palm Sunday Walk.

So popular is the event, made even more so because of the warm weather, that many walkers heading for the start at the CedarBridge Academy found themselves caught up in traffic queues for a short time.

The turn-out impressed Bermuda National Trust president Hugh Davidson, who estimated there were "several thousand" participants in what is the society's biggest mass participation event of the year.

The drill was simple ? just turn up and collect a map of the route and then head off for a hike around some well-known and many lesser-known corners of Paget and Devonshire.

So many people from all walks of life and every age group started to show up for the free event, which was sponsored by the Bank of Bermuda Foundation, that the first walkers set off a quarter of an hour earlier than planned in order to make room for others still arriving.

The walk took in a number of sights and locations including the Prospect Garrison Cemetery, Orange Valley Park, the Botanical Gardens, Arboretum and Premier Alex Scott's official residence at Clifton.

Also on the route was the Woodside property built in the mid-1800s and long associated with the Watlington family. Permission was granted by Henry Laing and his family for the walkers to cross through the extensive private estate of farmland, orchards, gardens and woodland.

Mr. Davidson said: "The walk gives people an appreciation of the environment and a good Sunday walk on private and public land."

Walk organiser Dorcas Roberts also paid tribute to the Police who had given assistance to ensure the walkers could safely cross roads on the course.

Each year the BNT's Palm Sunday walk is held in a different location to allow walkers new areas to explore. This year's walk was held in partnership with CADA, the Centre for Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention.