THE LAKELAND FESTIVAL OF LIGHT SERIES
Mountains are our passion, and so is delivering unforgettable experiences. For 6 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 Association.
These events donate 100% of the profits to charity and so far we have raised in excess of £63,000 for 5 different charities and had more than 3,600 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!
HARRY BAKER
CARMEN NORMAN
Professional photographer at Carmen Norman Photography. An early start to get that epic shot isn't a bother for Carmen!
Professional photographer at Harry Baker Photography. A very talented photographer in all disciplines - from landscape to wedding.
Sponsored By
Since 2015 we have supported
Helm Crag - LFOL
Special 2021
Our 'Special Events' are essentially mini-festivals! The benefit of these is we can create mountain art on hills that can't cater for the thousands that come to the main event in May. For this special event we will be supporting PHASE Worldwide once more by lighting up the southern ridge of Helm Crag!
Date: 10th April 2021
Time: 5:30pm Meet
Where: TBC
What: Light up Helm Crag for PHASE Worldwide
Tickets & Donations: TBC
The Lakeland Festival
of Light 2021
Join us for our 6th Lakeland Festival of Light!
Date: 1st May 2021
Time: 6pm Meet
Where: Meet at the Rawnsley Centre, Keswick.
What: Light up Catbells in support of the Lake District Mountain Rescue Search Dogs.
Tickets & Donations: TBC
Striding Edge by
Torchlight 2021
Join us on Saturday 16th October 2021 for our 7th 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 £50 to attend and all profits (after guiding fees have been removed) go to LDSAMRA.
