Mountain festivals seem to be the coming thing at the moment and
the good news is that northern Lakes outdoor metropolis Keswick has
joined the party with the first Keswick Mountain Festival
scheduled for 16-20 May 2007.
We're
liking the timing already - May is a great time to head for the Lakes
with good weather likely but before the annual summer invasion gets
into full swing - and the format of the festival looks great as
well.
It's taken ideas from other events and mixed them up, so you get a
combination of guided walks, lecture and films, seminars and
demonstrations and a great opportunity to get hands-on experience of
a wide spread of outdoor activities ranging from climbing, mountain
biking and nordic walking right through to dry stone walling, yes,
really.
There's support from a hard core of local outdoor retailers plus
top brands like Berghaus, Lowe Alpine, Paramo, Craghoppers and
Sheewee.
There will also be a unique opportunity to go for a walk with
Challenge 8000 legend Alan Hinkes - right, but we'd expect less insulation for the Lakes - in conjunction
with Berghaus. Not only will Al guide you across spectacular mountain
scenery but you'll have the chance to chat with him. The bad news is
that places are very limited and effectively unobtainable.
The good news is that five lucky OUTDOORSmagic members will be
joining Alan on this unique walk, just watch this space for full details of how you could win the chance to go walking with Hinkesey.
The Keswick Mountain Festival web site is up and running at
www.keswickmountainfestival.co.uk.
Right now and there's live streaming video with the likes of Bonington and Houlding too.
