Kendal Mountain Festival took place over four days. Photo: Bob Smith/grough

Kendal Mountain Festival continues to grow in popularity, with more than 25,000 tickets sold for the recent events in the Cumbrian town.

Organisers staged more than 300 film screenings, talks, outdoor sport sessions, panel discussions, activities and art exhibitions over four days at the weekend.

Festival chief executive Jacqui Scott said: “Historically, Kendal Mountain Festival was considered a niche event; just for those who summited the highest peaks or established the hardest rock climbs, but year after year our programming team have continued to challenge perceptions of who the mountains are for and welcome and celebrate a much broader cross section of society to the festival.

“This year it was clear that we have finally reached a tipping point in acknowledgement and acceptance that the outdoors at once belongs to no-one and to everyone and that we all have a responsibility to protect our natural spaces.

Chief executive Jacqui Scott. Photo: Bob Smith/grough

“One of the silver linings of the pandemic was that people reconnected to the green spaces and nature around them, with a mass reassessment of how we value and chose to spend our time.

“We have seen this reflected in the number and diversity of those attending Kendal Mountain Festival 2022.”

Festival patron, mountaineer Sir Chris Bonington described the line-up as ‘incredible’, with thousands of visitors attracted to the Cumbrian town

The Adidas Terrex 10k trail race was staged again and networking and social events included BBC 6 Music presenter Nemone taking to the decks for the Arc’teryx Party, with a full-blown club night at the Brewery Arts presented by The North Face.

A festival spokesperson said: “A series of Montane ‘secret sessions’ in keeping with the festival’s brand of enabling surprise encounters and fostering community connection ensured a jam-packed long weekend of fun, insight and inspiration.”

Ultrarunner Damian Hall makes a point during the discussion on his book. Photo: Bob Smith/grough

Filmmakers from across the globe submitted entries to the Kendal Mountain Festival International Film Competition and record numbers joined the festival in person.

The People’s Choice Award went to 29-year-old Sheffield-based filmmaker Jessie Leong with her take on The Last Forgotten Art of wide-crack climbing. The panel of judges gave a special prize to An Accidental Life directed by Henna Taylor, telling the recovery story of alpinist and speed climber Quinn Brett who experienced one of the most traumatic accidents in the history of rock climbing.

The sixth year of the Kendal Mountain Book Festival played host to authors and their works from the UK and beyond. Headline speaker George Monbiot spoke about alternative farming techniques. Organisers said audiences were moved to tears by Manni and Reuben Coe’s account of unconditional brotherly love in the face of challenges resulting from Reuben living with Down Syndrome.

The Basecamp village in Abbot Hall Park. Photo: Bob Smith/grough

Author Pradeep Bashyal joined in person from Nepal to share his account of being a Sherpa, told in Sherpa: Stories of Life and Death from the Forgotten Guardians of Everest, written together with Ankit Babu Adhikari. Audiences were treated to a live performance of music by Cumbrian solo artist Hayden Thorpe and clarinettist Jack McNeill who accompanied biologist Amy-Jane Beer, award winning poet Zaffar Kunial and Kendal Mountain Book Festival Patron Robert Macfarlane to trace the connections between nature and sound.

Book festival director Paul Scully said: “One of the most exciting aspects of the Kendal Mountain Book Festival is the opportunity for our audience to discover authors and books that they might otherwise never have heard of. In an extension of the Kendal Mountain Festival remit, to Share The Adventure, the book festival does so through words, wanderings and wonder.”

Kendal Town Mayor Councillor Doug Rathbone pair a visit. Photo: Bob Smith/grough

The festival’s 1,100 sq metre Basecamp was located in Abbot Hall Park for the second year. The venue was free to enter became the social and industry hub of the festival, adding to the venues dotted throughout the town, forming what organisers claim is the world’s biggest adventure festival, which annually boosts the local economy by more than £4.5m and increases the international presence of Kendal.

More than 80 local, regional and global brands and organisations, along with a team of more than 100 volunteers took part in the festival. New partners to this year’s festival included Cornish surf brand Saltrock, Jack Wolfskin and national outdoor activity centre Plas-y-Brenin, who hosted a programme of free workshops from their Basecamp tipi.