Grasmere Sports 2016

After a night of torrential rain it was a pleasant surprise that the weather for the 166th annual Grasmere Sports and Show was dry and fine.

Adamson Brass Band

Proceedings were given a rousing start by the Adamson Brass Band, always a crowd pleaser.

Young Runners Grasmere

Young runners first and there were plenty of entrants for the sprint and fell races.

Fell Race Route Grasmere

Meanwhile the crowds were being entertained by Andy Jester who was keeping everyone amazed by a bit of nifty fire balancing and eating.

Andy Jester

Breathing Fire

Cumberland and Westmorland Wrestling is always an important part of Grasmere Sports and this year the 11 stone World championships were held in Grasmere. I spotted competitors from Scotland who call their style “backhold”. There were also competitors from Brittany France recognisable by the word Gouren on their tops.

Grasmere Sports Wrestling

Icelandic Wrestler

Icelandic wrestlers also took part. Their style is called Glima. Glima was the most widespread sport in the Viking age, and was practiced by both men and women. Glima was so important to Viking society that their god Thor was also the Viking god of wrestling.

More info at http://www.cumberland-westmorland-wrestling-association.com

French Gouren Wrestler

Time for a cup of tea or coffee, thirsty work this Sports watching!

Thelma the Tiny Tearoom

A new addition this year was Thelma the Tiny Tearoom, while old friends were also doing good business at the Coffee Bug. Too much choice.

Coffee Bug

Elsewhere on the field our very own Taffy Thomas the Storyteller was keeping everyone entertained.

Taffy Thomas Grasmere Storyteller

Further along the field the hounds were going through their paces.

Hounds at Grasmere

Hound trailing is a very popular event. More information can be found here. http://www.houndtrailing.org.uk 

Fell gathers Roadshow

Animals of another type were also attracting attention. Herdwick and other breeds of sheep were shown and discussed.

Sheep Watching

It’s always good to see children taking part in the good old classic egg and spoon, Sack race and three legged race.

Three legged race

and parents like to get involved too. Balancing a bean bag was very popular with parent and child teams.

Family races at Grasmere

Of course the main feature at Grasmere are the Guides Races. An amazing feat as runners head up and down the fell side. This year there was a bonus £500 to run for, for both men or ladies beating the current records. No records broken this year so the money rolls over again to next year.

Senior Guides Race Grasmere

I really don’t think there is a finer sight than all the runners streaming up the fell side.

Grasmere Race close finish

It was an exciting race to the finish!

Guides Race Winners 2016

Well done Sam Tosh, Simon Bailey and Rob Hope.

The ladies weren’t far behind.

Female Grasmere race winners

Sharon Taylor, Steph Curtis and Ruby Sykes ran a brilliant race.

Grasmere Tigers

I noticed one of our oldest residents Mary watching the race. Wonder what she thought of the two tigers next to her? Mind you there have been reports of a large black cat like animal at Penny Rock so watch out!

While the race was on I had been keeping an eye on a special bunch of runners. I had met them earlier as they prepared to race for the Rosemere Cancer charity http://www.rosemere.org.uk

Rosemere Foundation Runners

Fresh and raring to go, they still had a smile on their faces right at the end!

Made it to the finish

A friend of mine Alison comes up from York especially to help at Grasmere Sports. She took this great photo of the Guides race flag the night before.

Guides Race Flag Grasmere  by Alison Taylor

So it will be the 167th Grasmere Sports Next year to look forward to. We do however have another sporting event passing through the village this Monday. The Tour of Britain is cycling through Grasmere this Monday. Can’t wait as several Olympians will be taking part. Just got to decide where to watch it.