THE LAKELAND FESTIVAL OF LIGHT SERIES
Mountains are our passion, and so is delivering unforgettable experiences. For 8 years now we've been merging the two and have been using Lakeland Mountain Guides as a platform to raise funds for various charities. It all started back in 2015 when we did our first ever 'Striding Edge by Torchlight' event. This fundraiser sees participants tackle Striding Edge at night in aid of the Lake District Search & Mountain Rescue Association. Even though we were joined by only 7 people it was the seed that has now developed into a budding tree. On the same day as that first event (April 25th, 2015) an earthquake rocked Nepal and killed over 9,000 people. With Nepal being close to our hearts we quickly organised 'Blencathra by Moonlight' which saw us lead over 150 people up Blencathra at night and raising over £5,000. In 2016 we hosted the incredible 'Catbells Festival of Light' and then 2017 saw the ' Lakeland Festival of Light' over Braithwaite. Between these two events we have raised an additional £25,000 for charities which send funds to the people of Nepal. In the intervening years we have also held our annual 'Striding Edge by Torchlight' events and our total raised for LDSAMRA now exceeds £4,000. The 2018 Lakeland Festival of Light returned to Catbells and raised over £13,500, but this was smashed in 2019 when 2000 people joined the event, which was again on Catbells, and raised over £16,000 for the Lake District Mountain Rescue Search Dogs Association. In 2022 we saw a return of the Festival of Light after the pandemic. A first wet year for us which dented attendance and sonations, but a fab year all the same! 2023 was back to record attendance with over 2,500 people
These events donate 100% of the profits to charity and so far we have raised in excess of £75,000 for 6 different charities and had more than 6,700 people come light up the fells .
The videos below will tell you more about our story and the Lakeland Festival of Light event.
The Official Festival of Light Team
MATT LE VOI
TOM MCNALLY
Owner of Lakeland Mountain Guides and founder of the Lakeland Festival of Light. He has a passion for the mountains and raising funds for charity...
Keen Adventurer, usually with camera in hand. Tom runs Tom Mcnally Photography and is also a very popular choice as a wedding photographer!
MATTYY SIMPSON
Professional photographer at Mattyy Simpson Photography.
Specialises in Wedding Photography in the Lake District and beyond!
Professional photographer at Lakeland Photo Walks. A real passion for Landscape Photography and always on the search for that different angle!
CARMEN NORMAN
Professional photographer at Carmen Norman Photography. An early start to get that epic shot isn't a bother for Carmen!
Sponsored By
Since 2015 we have supported
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The Lakeland Festival
of Light 2024
LFOL 2024 will take place on Saturday 6th April 2024
We will be raising vital funds for Michelle Jurd Trust
for the second year.
The event will meet at 5:30pm at the Rawnsley Centre in Keswick, and after a briefing and raffle we will walk to Catbells (2.5miles). Once the mountain is lined, and it's dark, we will capture the image of the mountain lit up.
Further information on the event can be sen here
Ticketing and donations information will be released soon.
The Lakeland Festival of LIFE
Imagine seeing the Kin Ridge of Grisedale Pike lit up from bottom to top, with each light being an act of remembrance or support for a charity - well that is exactly what we are aiming to achieve here. What's more, each light holder will be fundraising for a charity of their choice, so this event will raise thousands for dozens of charities across the UK.
As with all of our events, we will have pro photographers there snapping the spectacle.
This event has been postponed for 2022 - a 2024 date will be posted soon.
Striding Edge by
Torchlight 2023
Join us on Saturday 14th October 2023 for our 8th Striding Edge by Torchlight. This our most daring of all the events as it sees participants traverse Striding Edge onto Helvellyn under darkness. This is a fully guided event however you must have previous experience of scrambling in order to attend.
Our charity of choice for this event is the Lake District Search & Mountain Rescue Association. LDSAMRA is the umbrella body for all the rescue teams here in the Lake District and so they all benefit from the funds raised on the night.
The event is £60 to attend and 50% of profits go to LDSAMRA. The final few places are available here
