Lakes 5 Days 2026Sunday 2nd to Friday 7th August
Credit: Catriona Gillespie
The Lakes 5 Days is an event held every 4 years in various locations across the Lake District. This edition covered Askham Common (NE), Bessyboot (central), Yewdale Fell (W), Bigland (S) and Hampsfell (S). A small number of ESOC members attended, with Sarah, Margaret and Mary competing very well, but just missing the podiums in their respective age categories. Kirsten made the top 3 on Days 1&2.
Day 1 had a change of location due to permissions and was at Askham Common hosted by BL. The sun was out and the conditions hot as even up on the fell, as there was no breeze. The start was a 1.6k walk and 90m climb from the arena to the open fell. There were numerous paths for the shorter courses and 2 contrasting areas of heather with deep depressions and sheep cropped grass elsewhere. The features for relocation were few, although there were some shooting butts, boulders and crags. Many of the depressions were large and bracken filled, while the marshes were dry but recognisable by their vegetation.
ESOC results in the top half:
- M18S (4) - William Atkinson 2nd
- M75L (33) - Les Dalgleish 13th
- W10A (7) - Kirsten Tinsley 3rd
- W40L (11) - Sarah Crawford 4th
- W70L (20) - Margaret Dalgleish 8th
- W75L (14) - Mary Williams 5th
- Light Green (81) - Gary Constable 14th
Credit: Emma Anderson
The newly mapped area of Bessyboot and the lower Combe near Seatoller were the locations for day 2 hosted by WCOC. It was another hot and sunny day, but those heading to the far start (2.2k, 300m climb!) were at least treated to a breeze. Bessyboot was an undulating plateau of intricate contour detail with numerous crags, boulders, marshes (again dry) and ponds. The Combe (1.7k, 150m climb) contained glacial moraines, numerous watercourses, marshes and intermittent rock features. This enclosed valley was much boggier than the high fell.
ESOC results in the top half:
- M75L (29) - Les Dalgleish 10th
- W10A (5) - Kirsten Tinsley 2nd
- W40L (10) - Sarah Crawford 3rd
- W70L (18) - Margaret Dalgleish 5th
- W75L (11) - Mary Williams 4th
- Light Green (75) - Gary Constable 28th
Yewdale fell between Coniston and Little Langdale hosted day 3 for LOC, which had challenges with narrow ingress/egress and no access for campervans. Unfortunately the weather had broken the night before and even the thunderstorm at 8am failed to clear the air. Mist, drizzle and torrential downpours were a complete contrast to the previous days and the routes to the high start (1.6k, 130m climb) and finish (1.5k, 150m descent) were rocky and tricky. The courses, however, were great and those with later starts were treated to beautiful views. Marshes, mostly dry, and bracken were the main features with some intricate contours.
ESOC results in the top half:
- W40L (9) - Sarah Crawford 3rd
- W70L (20) - Margaret Dalgleish 3rd
- W75L (12) - Mary Williams 3rd
Credit: Emma Anderson
DEE were in charge for Day 4 as the action moved south to Bigland, where the British relays were held in 2025. The main forest is generally open but there are areas of dense holly and numerous crags from small to large. For those on the blue start, there were controls in some head height bracken, although DEE had kindly trampled/cut some trails. ESOC's Margaret and Les kindly helped out at the higher red start today, which was 1.2k and 70m climb from the arena.
ESOC results in the top half:
- M75L (36) - Les Dalgleish 15th
- W40L (13) - Sarah Crawford 2nd
- W55L (31) - Emma Anderson 8th
- W70L (19) - Margaret Dalgleish 2nd
Credit: Emma Anderson
The final day was in Hampsfell, organised by SROC. It is an area of limestone pavement on both open fell and within a young woodland above Grange-over-Sands. There was also an area of mature woodland, which the longer courses made use of. Again the weather was warm and sunny, although there was a breeze on the open fell.
ESOC results in the top half:
- M60S (25) - Finlay Ross 7th
- M75L (39) - Les Dalgleish 17th
- W40L (12) - Sarah Crawford 6th
- W55L (29) - Emma Anderson 8th
- W70L (18) - Margaret Dalgleish 8th
- W75L (13) - Mary Williams 6th
Overall ESOC results in the top half:
- M60S (29) - Finlay Ross 12th
- M75L (43) - Les Dalgleish 18th
- W40L (14) - Sarah Crawford 4th
- W55L (37) - Emma Anderson 13th
- W70L (26) - Margaret Dalgleish 4th
- W75L (17) - Mary Williams 5th
A special mention should go to very young juniors Isobel and Ross Crawford who both completed the white course every day.
Results for the individual days, routegadget and winspilts can all be found on the Lakes 5 days results page.
The overall combined results, which took into account the best 3 scores from the 5 days, are also on the results page.