Grasmere Sports is Ready to Boom!

Iconic Lakeland event, Grasmere Lakeland Sports & Show is back with a bang on August 28, 2022 (Bank Holiday Sunday) and going all out to rekindle its engagement with local Lake District residents.

The show, which started in 1868, has only ever been cancelled three times – during the Second World War and, due to Covid, for the last two years. It was so missed in the calendar that some fell runners turned up to run last year, even though there was no official race!

To come back with a bang, it has created a special extra-low advance ticket price for locals only, details of which are posted around the village. From July 1, it will have discounted advance tickets for other visitors, including a family ticket, exclusively available online.

The event, which takes place on The Showfield, at Stock Lane, Grasmere, is determined to enjoy the best possible renaissance, kicking off its 2022 campaign as part of a podcast, which communicates the show’s essence through audio.

The podcast is focused solely on Grasmere Lakeland Sports & Show and various facets of Grasmere village, and is available for download at major podcast libraries, as part of the ‘Poodling Around’ podcast. The intention is to attract new visitors, but also help promote tourism in the wider Lake District and World Heritage Site, at the time of the event.

The show also feels very strongly about ensuring that the fell racing – or the Guides races as they are known – are particularly well-supported, as their long-time organiser, Pete Bland, passed away from Covid and his son, Matt, has now taken over.

There is everything to go for with the Seniors’ race in particular, as the record of Fred Reeves has stood for 44 years! The show is keen to see whether new runners have emerged, who might be able to take this, and the five-year-old ladies’ record, on.

Cumberland and Westmorland wrestling will make a welcome return and the show expects to welcome Breton, Scottish and Icelandic competitors once again. This ancient sport is very much part of local heritage, but not something everyone has had the opportunity to enjoy.

Grasmere Lakeland Sports & Show is also appealing to all the pandemic pet parents, now often firm staycationers. It will offer dog lovers and owners the huge fun and noise associated with the stunning spectacle of the hound trails and also allow on-the-day canine visitors, of all breeds, to have a go in the terrier racing ring, once the ‘Little Nippers’ terrier display has run. They can enter what is a fun dog show, albeit one judged by a former Kennel Club judge and, with a prize for a child handler, young owners can get fully involved.

Brand-new for 2022 is a Wheelbarrow Garden competition, with the show encouraging locals to plant up a floral wheelbarrow display and bring their barrow along, to contend for prizes.

Locals with a keen interest in ancestry can also view a large number of photos from the Armitt Museum’s Hardman photographic collection. Taken by a former Westmorland Gazette photographer, and dating from the 1930s to the 1960s, these feature many local people who could be grandparents, uncles and aunties, or other relatives, of younger people visiting today.

The child-friendly event will let little ones shine in sack, egg-and-spoon and track races and allow budding Greg Rutherford’s to take on the ‘long leap’ long jump competition.

A range of children’s bicycles can be tried out as part of a Wonder Wheelers display, with kids getting the chance to try everything from a toddler’s balance bike, to penny farthing, unicycle and even a bike that pedals backwards!

Falcons will be on-hand in static and aerial flying displays, the Fell Gather Roadshow will be talking all things Herdwick and shepherding, and trade and craft stalls will tempt the purse. Swill maker Owen Jones will no doubt cause a stir and the Fat Cat Brass Band, who debuted in 2019, will return with stilt walking drummers and all the razzmatazz that thrilled last time.

As always, the show will open with the atmospheric ringing of a bell by the Bellman and the playing of the national anthem. Never before, however, may it have symbolised such a rebirth for Grasmere Lakeland Sports & Show.

The show’s Sports & Field Manager, Deborah Black, who features on the podcast, says: “We will be leaving no stone unturned in making this year’s show one of the best ever enjoyed on the field. We wish to convey the essence of our unique and historic event to as many people as possible, welcoming back long and loyal supporters and saying ‘hello’ to new faces, experiencing this inimitable insight into Lakeland life for the very first time. Who knows, we may even attract more foreign visitors.

“We hope that everyone will take up the heavy early-bird discounts available and come along and join us on the day, and that various local businesses will exhibit their wares on a trade stall. It’s time for us all to get back to the things we used to do and appreciate them all the more.”

To listen to the podcast and discover more about the event, head to https://bit.ly/3w8vwlQ

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Editors notes

Grasmere Lakeland Sports and Show is an iconic event taking place in the heart of the English Lake District on the August Bank Holiday weekend. Its long historic roots date back to 1868 and it is renowned for its fell running, hound trails and Cumberland and Westmorland wrestling competitions, as well as being a fantastic family day out.