Keswick Mountain Festival 2010

Andy Kirkpatrick, amongst others, will be talking at the Keswick Mountain Festival, well worth seeing.
Here’s Andy speaking at the Howies DO Lectures.

WHAT – Five days of adventure with everything from ghyll scrambling to mountain biking, hiking to kayaking in the beautiful Lake District

WHEN – 19 – 23 May, 2010

WHERE – Keswick & surrounding areas

The 2010 Keswick Mountain Festival will see the very best selection of outdoor activities, sporting competitions and great speakers available in the UK this summer.

The festival will bring together inspirational figures from the outdoor world such as Sir Ranulph Fiennes and BASE Jumper, climber and local lad Leo Houlding in the Theatre By the Lake. Throughout the week the venue will play host to mountain heroes galore including Andy Cave, Andy Kirkpatrick, Joss Naylor, Kenny Stuart, Dave Birkett and Doug Scott CBE.

On the shore of Derwentwater, beneath the classic summits of Skiddaw and Catbells, will be the Adventure Base complete with new themed areas BIKE, CLIMB, HIKE, KIDS, PADDLE AND TRIATHLON. It will be the perfect place to pick up handy tips from experts and try out some new activities plus find out about the latest gear from some of the very best outdoor brands.

For those really wanting to push themselves there is an open water swim, the launch of three new Sportives, fell racing and forest trails. The three hour, Epic Trailquest event is a mountain bike orienteering event that will test navigation and biking skills, those taking part can pick the route they ride to suit their ability making it perfect for all abilities.

The main climbing event will be a DMM sponsored Dry Tooling competition, taking place on Thursday 20 between 6pm and 10pm will invite climbers from all aptitudes to climb a freestanding wall using ice-climbing equipment such as crampons and ice tools.

There are climbing, abseiling and scrambling courses provided by Shearwater Adventure Training and More than Mountains along with a Ghyll Scrambling course provided by Keswick Adventure Centres where adventurers can descend a natural water park encountering jumps, slides and dives into plunge pools. It’s adrenaline packed activity suitable for 8 years and above!

Keswick Mountain Festival is now in its fourth year and for the first time it is organised by Bluestone Events, a Kendal-based company.

Kate Thomas, Director, Keswick Mountain Festival, said: “We are really excited about this year’s festival with all the activities it is sure to be an adrenaline packed week.

“Keep an eye on our website www.keswickmountainfestival.co.uk because we’re adding new activities and adventures all the time. There is also a fab Patagonia M10 jacket on there for one lucky winner to kit themselves out in style for the festival.”

Tickets for all speakers are now available directly from the Theatre by the Lake. To book call: 017687 74411 or online: www.theatrebythelake.co.uk.