People are being invited to become part of a once in a lifetime televised event walking the highest mountain in the Lake District at night.
The dusk ascent of Scafell will be one of four finale events for the Green Space Dark Skies project, which is designed to draw attention to safeguarding the future of the countryside and mountains, as well as the rights to access it.
Hundreds of volunteers will move through the mountain landscape in a participatory outdoor artwork using specially designed Geolights to light the way.
The ‘lumenators’ who carry the Geolights, will gather together and perform simple movements with them to create patterns in the landscape. This will be captured through film, photography and drone imagery.
Mountaineers, climbers and performance captains will be on hand and as night falls, they will guide the volunteers down the mountain and the finale will be broadcast as part of a BBC Countryfile special in the autumn.
Ascending Scafell will take around two hours, with the aim being to reach the satellite peak of the mountain, not the summit.
Lake District National Park Authority’s chief executive, Richard Leafe, said: “We are thrilled to be welcoming the first Green Space Dark Skies Finale gathering to the Lake District National Park in September.
“This is a production that uses sustainable technologies in really exciting and innovative ways, and we’re hopeful that its artistic ambition and inclusive approach will help many new people to enjoy the spectacular Scafell Pike landscape responsibly. It will be a way to see the Lake District in a whole new light and promises to be incredibly special.”
Everyone is welcome to volunteer and become a lumenator, but a good level of fitness is recommended.
Green Space Dark Skies Finale Director Mark Murphy, said: “We ask for three things from Lumenators – your time, your energy and your creativity. In return we will give you an enormously enriching day and night you’ll never forget.”
The low impact Geolights have been developed with graduate engineers from Siemens and Walk the Plank is working with National Trust as supporting partners.
Martin Green CBE, Chief Creative Officer of UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK said: “This Green Space Dark Skies Finale gathering will encapsulate the brilliant innovation and creativity we have seen harnessed through this year’s UNBOXED projects.
“By engaging artists, engineers, landowners and members of the public to create a series of unique experiences, Green Space Dark Skies is enhancing people’s understanding of our natural environment and relationship to the countryside as well as show the power of creativity to inspire change.”
The event will take place on Saturday September 3.
The finale events depend on the confirmation of landowner permissions, approval of event plans and local stakeholder engagement, and therefore event locations and dates may be subject to change.
