Pillar, Rock & Beyond: 200 Years of Rock Climbing

Contact

Organizer: Keswick Museum

Name: Keswick Museum

Phone: 017687 73263

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://keswickmuseum.org.uk/whats-on/event/pillar-rock-beyond-200-years-of-rock-climbing/

Address

Fitz Park
Station Road, Keswick, Cumbria,
Keswick
CA12 4NF

Price Notes

Free entry

Direction

Travelling from Penrith on A66, follow signs for town centre. Turn right after war memorial on to Station Road.

Details

FREE EXHIBITION

Imagine climbing a sheer 500-foot cliff in 1826 with no modern ropes, no sticky rubber shoes, just pure grit.

Two centuries ago, a local farmer named John Atkinson scrambled up the formidable Pillar Rock in Ennerdale. He wasn't chasing lost sheep or surveying land; he did it purely for the thrill of the challenge. With that single ascent of what we now call The Old West Route, recreational rock climbing was officially born. By the late 1800s, this single peak had drawn over a hundred pioneering adventurers, sparking a global passion for the crags.

Until August 31, you can visit the Pillar Rock and Beyond: 200 Years of Rock Climbing at Keswick Museum's Community Gallery.

Event Details