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As a 45 year old tradition in the Ullswater Valley, join locals and regulars to the valley to 'Beat The Bounds' of the Patterdale Parish Boundary, following the Parish Bounds as much as possible.

​The Full Parish Boundary Event is almost 30 miles long with approximately 10,300 feet of ascent, and covers many famous mountains including Raise, Helvellyn,  Nethermost Pike, Dollywaggon Pike, Grisedale Tarn, Fairfield, Red Screes, the Kirkstone Pass, High Street, Angle Tarn, and Place Fell.  On a good day there are stupendous views throughout the length of the walk.  Think of it as a high-level companion to the Ullswater Way! There is of course, a little twist in the route to follow the ‘actual’ parish boundary on the OS map… so your navigation skills will be put to good use!

The record time to complete the full route is: 6 hours & 41 minutes.

The route will start and finish at Patterdale School, Ullswater CA11 0NL

Events Options & Start Times:

• Full Boundary Event: 30 miles and 10,300ft ascent 
  Start: 6am - 9am - Strict Kirkstone Pass cut off time 3pm
  Checkpoint: Kirkstone Pass with snacks (sweet and savoury), VOOM Nutrition (bars and hydration), hot and cold drinks, soup
• Half Boundary Event (top of Kirkstone Pass to Patterdale): 14 miles and 3,500 ft ascent
  Start: 11am - 3pm
  Transport arranged form Patterdale School to the top of Kirkstone Pass for your start
• Family Walk: 7miles via Hartsop Hall, downhill!
  Start: 12noon - 3pm

A rolling start means you will be able to start between the 2 set start times at your leisure.

You will be provided with a tracker, which not only gives us reassurance of your location and safety, but also enables the organisers to ensure you have ticked off a few strategic points along the route, even more reason to make sure your Navigation Skills are spot on... The strategic points will not necessarily be Mountain summits - we will be watching, which is half the fun of this event!  After all it's the Parish Boundary, not a route only following the trails...

Family and friends are welcome to Kirkstone Top to cheer you on.  Why not suggest they take part in the Down Hill 7 Mile Treasure Hunt for families/friends - £10 per family, individuals £5 (local families walk for free). This route starts from Kirkstone Pass to finish at Patterdale School.  This is available to book on line and entries are accepted on the day.

You will be sent participant information by email on the lead up to the event.

Patterdale Parish Boundary Neck tubes, designed by Patterdale School, will be available for purchase to increase fundraising profits.

This event is being reinvigorated by Nicky Merrett, founder of Hiking Highs, on behalf of Patterdale School and St Patrick's Church, Patterdale.  As a resident of the parish and also a family friend of Stephen Gorton, the Parish Boundary Walk has been talked about in her family since she can remember.  Who better to turn this around to be a flourishing event once more, in aid of the local community?

We would like to thank VOOM Nutrition for backing this event with a supply of hydration and energy along the way for hikers and runners

Traditionally the event has been a walking event and has been conducted to raise funds for Patterdale Church of England School (the second most remote school in England, and which could not survive financially without generous donations from fund-raising events, they need to raise £17,000 per annum in order to stay open) and the ministry and work of St Patrick's Church, Patterdale.  This has become a local tradition, to Beat The Bounds, since founded 45 years ago by Stephen Gorton, a resident of Hartsop and long-standing member of the church and founder member of the Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team.  

This event has historically been a free event where folk raised money in the form of a sponsored walk independently and can obviously still continue to do so.  Confirmation of how to donate your fundraising will be given to all those partaking in the event, and there is an option to donate additional funds when you enter via SI Entries.

In order to help the event to grow safely, the school, and the church in Patterdale feel adequate insurance and other safety features, such as participant trackers will further ensure the safety of hikers and runners alike.  Event organisers will see where each participant is currently located at any one time.  Poor weather conditions can seriously obscure navigation features and therefore give cause for concern for those out in the mountains.  These added features for this year will mean that participants will be allowed to enter solo, whereas historically they needed to be in groups of 3 for safety reasons.   The event will also have a team of Event Staff including a sweeper who will follow the final participant to ensure everyone is safely moving through the mountains.  Cut off times will also be applied, again to ensure the safe return of all participants to the valley.  To make sure this all happens safely and smoothly, Nicky will organise the event with her team of experienced Mountain Leaders, First Aiders and Event Staff for many years to come.  We hope that the volunteers from the valley and community will also remain highly involved.  It is for these reasons that there is now a charge for this event.

There will 100% discount for residents of the Patterdale Parish, the discount code will be circulated around the parish or available by emailing nicola@hikinghighs.co.uk. Regular supporters of the event from outside of the Parish, will be emailed an invitation with a 50% discount code to use.

SUMMIT ULTRA - Teaming Up with "Patterdale Parish Boundary - Beat The Bounds" event, to provide a training program for our event.  There is a free suggested training program available from Summit Ultra, or a bespoke package can be offered tailored to your needs on request.  Please message paul@summitultra.co.uk for more information.  A few words form Paul and Angela, founders of Summit Ultra:

Summit Ultra is the fastest growing running community in the Lake District. We offer online training, along with weekly coached sessions, route recce's and social meets. 
We offer bespoke training for beginners to experienced runners, from couch to 5k to ultra marathons.
Whatever your goal we can help you achieve it.

Hiking Highs are delivering 3 Recce Days with navigation tuition along the way.  The route is split into 3 sections, of which you are welcome to book 1, 2 or 3 of them. They will be set as activities to book online via SI Entries events list.

Recce Dates: 

• Sunday 5th May: Glencoyne up over Helvellyn Range to Grisedale including Seat Sandal
• Sunday 26th May: Grisdale Tarn onto Fairfield Range to Threshthwaite Mouth
• Sunday 23rd June: Thornthwaite Beacon to the finish, Patterdale School

 

View the Event Disclaimer / Terms and Conditions.

View the Event Cancellation / Refund Policy.

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