[K]eswick Mountain Festival (KMF) has added a new walking challenge to its 2018 programme. The Jack Wolfskin Keswick 3 Peaks Challenge will involve hiking to three iconic fells which surround the festival site, all on the same day. This year’s festival will run from 8-10 June and is expected to attract over 20,000 visitors to the shores of Derwentwater in Keswick.
Participants in the Jack Wolfskin Keswick 3 Peaks Challenge will set off between 8:00am and 9:00am on Saturday 9 June. Starting in the Keswick Mountain Festival Village in Crow Park, they will follow a route that covers 18 miles and almost 3,300 feet of ascent, taking in the summits of Catbells, Walla Crag and Latrigg. To complete the challenge, walkers will return and check back in at the Festival Village by 5:00pm, after which they will receive a finisher’s t-shirt and be entered into a draw to win a Jack Wolfskin Texapore Ecosphere jacket worth £200. Everyone who enters the challenge will receive a map of the route and a GPX file to download to a GPS device, plus a free concert ticket worth £20 for one of the live music nights at the festival. The challenge is being run on behalf of the festival by an experienced team from local company Lakeland Mountain Guides.
Since its launch in 2007, Keswick Mountain Festival has grown into one of the biggest and best loved outdoor events in the UK calendar, delivering a unique mix of live music, sporting events, outdoor adventures, high profile speakers, taster activities, exhibitor stands and camping. KMF is supported by a growing number of major brands, including festival partners Timothy Taylor and Blacks, and sponsors such as Ordnance Survey, Salomon, Summit to Eat and Suunto. New sponsors for this year include adidas TERREX and Jack Wolfskin. The festival organisers also work closely with charity partner the National Trust, which owns Crow Park. Everyone who books a ticket for the event online is given the option of adding a donation when they make their purchase.
Nicola Meadley, Keswick Mountain Festival director, comments: “Walking activities have always been at the heart of Keswick Mountain Festival and our base is overlooked by some much-loved and very accessible fells. We are delighted to be working with Jack Wolfskin to add this new challenge to the programme, which I am sure will prove to be popular with hikers. The challenge is not designed as a race and there should be plenty of time for participants to complete the route.
“The Jack Wolfskin Keswick 3 Peaks Challenge will give a lot of our visitors a great opportunity to explore these iconic peaks for the first time, while others can re-tread familiar paths. Alongside our sporting events and other outdoor activities, it’s another chance for people to really enjoy and appreciate the spectacular Cumbrian landscape during their time at the festival.”
Places on the Jack Wolfskin Keswick 3 Peaks Challenge cost £26 and can be booked now on the information and registration page of the festival website. Tickets for all KMF events can be purchased at www.keswickmountainfestival.co.uk. To find out more, visit the website or Facebook, email info@keswickmountainfestival.co.uk, or follow @keswickfestival on Twitter and Instagram.
