Top mountaineer Alan Hinkes is to be patron of the first Festival of the Fells, in Ambleside this autumn.
We revealed back in February that the town would be staging the brand new event - which organisers say the event will offer what they're describing as "a feast" of walking, swimming, scrambling, food, and music.
It's being set up by 'Ambleside Together', from September the 22nd until the 25th.
Alan, the first Briton to climb all the world's 8000m mountains, is an international mountain guide, writer, photographer, environmentalist and an active campaigner for a number of charities. He will also give a guest lecture at the festival.
Awarded the OBE in 2006, Alan is an Honorary Citizen of his home town, Northallerton, and holds honorary doctorates and fellowships from the Universities of York, Teesside and Sunderland. Though based in North Yorkshire, he spends a lot of time on the Lakeland fells and rocks.
In his book ‘8000m: Climbing the World's Highest Mountains’ Alan recounts his expeditions, from the first British ascent of Manaslu to the final climb on storm-bound Kangchenjunga. Most of the climbs were made Alpine-style, as part of small, lightweight expeditions. A number of summits, including K2 and Kangchenjunga, were climbed solo.
Festival organising committee member Clive Hutchby, who is currently revising Alfred Wainwright’s Pictorial Guides to the Lakeland Fells and who also will be giving a talk at the festival, said: “We are delighted to have the biggest name in British mountaineering associated with our new event. It promises to be an exciting festival and we hope that it will become an annual highlight for Ambleside.”
Ambleside Together chairman Andrew Hewitt said: “This is a really exciting opportunity. The town is known in the equipment world as the European outdoors capital, and we have so much to celebrate here on our doorstep. We hope that this will be appreciated and enjoyed by regular visitors and newcomers to the area.”