Another edition of our Big Shakeout weekend has passed and once again we had a fabulous time, which means a Big Thank You to all of you for throwing yourselves into the festival and making it what it is.
We no doubt say this every year but, as much as we organise the weekend it is you, our guests, that make it. The people who come that make it such a special event in our hearts and why, despite the chaos, the juggling of jobs, the mad panics and vacant stares back at the office on the Monday morning, we sign ourselves up to it again each year.
If you left with new friends, big plans, or even just a little bit more enthusiasm for the outdoors then we're happy. Plus of course all proceeds will be going towards our Alpkit Foundation, where the money will really help those who struggle to get out and enjoy the activities and beautiful places that so many of us get to. So thank you.
We pretty much throw the whole Alpkit shebang at this weekend, literally. With the support of the Alpkit crew to pick up jobs and get stuck in for the weekend, hopefully this gives a real reflection of our personalities and passions and we hope this made it a little bit more special.
The whole event was organised by Adam and Scott from our Hathersage store, product developer Joel ran the site management, Simon from our Supply Chain team ran the bar, Caroline who runs our web store signed you all in from the beautifully run registration point.
A huge shout out to Keira, Elly, Beth, Scott who ran our School of Adventure. Maria, Dan and Frit who helped with the talks. In the shop we had Liam, Hannah and Joren. The car park crew was Jon, Matt, Leighton and Bailey. And you probs spent time with Tim, Andy, Zack and Joe were on the Sonder stand. The put up crew also include Steve from our web team and Lauren and Emily from our clothing design team. And I’m very sorry if I’ve missed anyone.
Of course we'd have made the most of it anyway, but we were once again blessed with some beautiful weather, with a nice crisp frosty morning turning into a blue skied delight of a day. Learning, inspiring, teaching, laughing and playing. Meeting up with friends, making new ones and planning those next adventures. It just goes to show that if you’ve got the right people, with a similar passion, all in one place then it can result in a special weekend.
Thornbridge Outdoors welcomed us back to their beautiful site and gathered a load of instructors to allow us to open our School of Adventure. Throughout the Saturday and Sunday morning it was very busy once again, when there were around 1500 adventure course places packed into this whirlwind period of activity! We hope you managed to brush up on a few skills, pick up some new ones, or just go away inspired to learn more.
It’s not just about being active, oh no, as after a busy day we’re always keen to be able to relax a little.
We had some nice nosh to keep us fuelled into in the evenings, with Nether Edge Pizza back again with their ovens, the Freakin Vegan packed full of middle eastern flavours, Jamaican delicies with Little Critters and of course the chippy van. Thanks to Kick Back Coffee for extra special coffees and getting up super early to catch those dawn risers. And of course thank you to Stu Taylor at Kirby Lonsdale Brewery for the beer.
We love music here at Alpkit, so as always we made sure there was plenty going and this year there were 12 acts covering two stages of live music over the weekend.
Until next time
What a wonderful weekend and just leaves me to say. Save the date!
Big Shakeout is the last weekend of September and the next festival will be 25-27 September 2026. Join us for our end of summer Alpkit Foundation fundraiser. It's our festival of adventure and entertainment.
Dave Hanney
Go Nice Places Do Good Things