FAIRHOPE — The students of Fairhope West's Walking School Bus celebrated Spring Walk to School Day on April 5.

The students, their parents, community members and even a few four-legged friends joined dozens of students as they made the nearly mile-long trek through downtown from the Fairhope campus of Coastal Alabama Community College to the school.

Art students at Coastal Alabama decorated the sidewalks with chalk art to greet the students when they arrived that morning.

The Walking School Bus was the first program of its kind in Alabama and encouraged students and their families to walk to school each day. Now in its 11th year the program shepherds nearly 75 people on its route some mornings. Many students walk in the bitter cold and the pouring rain.

Each Friday the students are treated to a visit at the Fairhope castle where mythical creatures often wait to wave as they pass by.