Last weekend Adventure Queens descended on Kendal Mountain Festival and, honestly, we’re still buzzing. KMF was absolutely brimming with women-led adventures, community joy, and just the right amount of chaos (mostly transport-related).
Here are a few snapshots from a jam-packed few days…
🦉 Thursday: Owls, Icons & Everest Energy
We kicked things off in style at the Opening Ceremony — and if you were wondering, yes, the giant owls were every bit as magnificent as rumour promised. Truly the feathery overlords we didn’t know we needed.
Later, we celebrated Junko Tabei and 50 Years of Women on Everest, a powerful tribute packed with stories, inspiration, and a very special AQ connection. The session also included a screening of documentary film “More than a Mountain” with 15 women following in Junko’s footsteps climbing Yala Peak in Nepal with 7 Summiteer Jo Bradshaw and Adventurous Ewe earlier this year. Our very own AQ volunteer Sue Blunt was involved in the project and featured on a panel. Queens celebrating Queens — we love to see it.
❄️ Friday: Ice, Cake & Winning Films
Friday morning, we cheered our hearts out at the BMC Women in Adventure Film Competition. The films were bold, brilliant, and full of women doing downright incredible things.
A massive AQ shout-out to:
- Sue Barrett & Nicola Hobbs: winners in the Best Reel category for their joyful film Bothy. The Reel category was brand new this year, and we’d love to see even more women entering in future – so if you’ve got an idea brewing, consider this your nudge. Sue and Nic also had the opportunity to talk about their short film at the Sisters in the Wild bikepacking session.
- Jo Moseley: runner-up in her category for Skinny, and also led a panel on “You’re Not Too Old and It’s Not Too Late.” Spoiler: you definitely aren’t.
Later, a duo of hardy AQs embarked on a walk and dip in a tarn covered in actual ice. Yes, we all survived. And yes, the homemade cake and hot chocolate afterwards tasted like victory.
Friday also saw AQ Ade Eribake talk about her cycling adventures and her brilliant work with the Women of Colour Cycling Collective.
🌫️ Saturday: A Spooky Castle & Tales of Thru Hiking
Saturday brought us an AQ castle walk complete with thick fog and suspiciously moody weather. It was giving “Victorian ghost story” but with more Gore-Tex. Luckily AQ volunteer Natasha Sones kept spirits high by getting us to pose. Britain’s Next Top Model here we come.
Meanwhile, indoors (and marginally warmer), past AQ grant winner Fredi Chohan took to the stage for a panel on thru-hiking, sharing stories from her Pennine Way adventure.
🌟 Everything Else We Squashed In
Kendal is always full on, and this year was no exception. In between the big events, AQ folk and volunteers squeezed in:
- Sunny-ish runs
- Powerful talks
- Film screenings
- Pilates classes
- Getting inspired at the Head Outside Awards
- Brewing coffee in the park
- Picking up goodies and chatting with partners at Basecamp
- An appropriate amount of fangirling over adventure legends
- And a very welcome hot lunch at Waste into Wellbeing, Kendal’s community cafe
It was also brilliant to catch up with some of our partners including komoot and The Bucketlist Company — thanks for all you do to support adventurous women.
💛 A Festival Celebrating Women in the Outdoors
Huge credit to the KMF team for giving so much space, visibility, and love to women in adventure this year. From panels to films to the festival buzz itself, the spotlight was firmly on the incredible things women are doing outside — and we were absolutely here for it.
Were you there? We want to hear your stories!
These are just a few snapshots from a mega weekend — so much more happened.
Were you at KMF? What did you get up to?
And most importantly…
Will we see you next year? KMF 2026 19th- 22nd November
Adventure Queens out. 💛🏔️