Step Back in Time for a Traditional Bank Holiday Day Out

Step back in time and celebrate all that’s enriching and wholesome about a traditional day out in fresh countryside air, by heading to the glorious Grasmere Lakeland Sports and Show in the Lake District, Cumbria, on August Bank Holiday Sunday (August 25).

170+ years of tradition is woven into the fabric of an event combining rural life with Cumbrian culture.  Become absorbed by incredible Cumberland and Westmorland Wrestling bouts, in which some wrestlers still compete in traditional costume, unless they have arrived from afar, to practice the skills of their Viking forefathers from Iceland, or those of their Breton ancestors.  

Get to grips with the unique backhold, learn the technique lingo of hipes, hanks and chips and maybe have a go yourself, whether you enter men’s, women’s or children’s competitions, to prove to friends and family that you literally threw yourself into Lake District life.

Keep eyes trained on the fellside and fell running will become your new addictive spectator sport, as you watch those as young as seven dash up seemingly impossible hillsides, battling not just the incline but rocks, walls, bracken and long grass too, whether heading to the summit or their own age group’s ‘turning point’.  All-comers are welcome, so pop on those running shoes and you too could become a champ.

Keep an ear out for excited dog barks, grab some ‘binos’ and follow the action from the hound trailing events, as eager canines follow an aniseed and petrol trail laid out on the hillside and then make a final dash for the finish line.

Traditional track and field events are something you might like to enter, to prove mum or dad has still got it or let the kids burn off some energy, or how about putting your pooch into the dog show?

Check out circus entertainment from Dimitri, tap your feet to the sound of the drum-beating, stilt-walking musicians in the Fat Cat Brass Band and indulge in fabulous Lakeland edible treats, including possibly some local and amazing Herdwick shepherd’s pie.

Trade and craft stalls, classic cars, an array of weird and wonderful of bicycles to ride and musical entertainment all add to the buzz.  You might even bag a shot of a paraglider – obligingly wafting down from the fells as you grab your glorious Lakeland photographic gems.

The gates open at 9am (official show opening by the Bellman at 10am) and the show closes at 5pm, giving you a full day of fantastic rural entertainment and absorbing competitive action in a stunning natural arena.  Tickets cost £12 for adults, £5 for children (under 5s free) and £28 for a family of two adults and two children, if bought in advance.   All can be bought online at www.grasmeresports.com

On-the-day tickets will also be available but at a higher price and with no family tickets on offer, so save money by pre-planning your brilliant August Bank Holiday day out!   Parking is free and so is entry into any events that you fancy having a go at. 

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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.