Lakeland Summer Oddities

There are strange happenings in the Lakeland valleys in the summer time.<\/p>

Traditional Sports and Sights

Grown men…often very large grown men….can be seen in an unusual costume, comprising white long johns underneath brightly embroidered shorts. And thus attired, they grapple with one another in the middle of a field.<\/p>

Unusual Competitions

Meanwhile, the betting booths are open not for horse racing, but for dog races the like of which you’ve never seen before. The trail hounds leaping around the fellside for miles, on steep and rocky ground, is a spectacle like no other.<\/p>

But if neither Cumberland and Westmorland wrestling , nor hound trails, take your fancy, how about watching the very antithesis of the Tour de France, grass track sprint cycling? And then there’s always the fell races, where mere mortals (from the age of 8 upwards) run as fast as possible up a steep hillside and then plummet down again.<\/p>

Ambleside Sports and Country Fairs

It’s showtime in the Lakes, from the small but perfectly formed Coniston Country Fair this weekend, to the massive Westmorland County Show in September.<\/p>

But our favourite is on next week, Ambleside Sports, always staged on the last Thursday of July at Rydal Park, about five miles north from here (and on the bus route). This is the oldest and most traditional of the Lakes’ sporting events, running for well over 130 years.<\/p>

There are craft stalls and local produce for sale, a beer tent, and plenty of opportunities to eat Cumberland sausage, but the sports themselves are the real attraction. As well as the guides races – that’s the short dash up and down a steep slope – there’s also the gruelling nine mile chase of the Rydal Round, over all the summits in the Fairfield Horseshoe. Come and see some of the country’s top athletes in action.<\/p>

The grass cycle track racing is held in the central arena, with a spectacularly exciting event called Devil Take the Hindmost. And in the wrestling arena, this year they are hosting the world championship for juniors.<\/p>

It’s a brilliant day out, and if you’re coming to stay we can provide you with plenty more information about this and other Cumbria country fairs. You might even be tempted to join in if you’re a good sport!<\/p>