The Fred Whitton Challenge is a charity
cyclosportive
A cyclosportive, or often simply sportive, is a short to long distance, organised, mass-participation cycling event, typically held annually. The Italian term ''Gran Fondo'' is commonly used for these events in the United States, Australia and som ...
event held annually in the English
Lake District
The Lake District, also known as ''the Lakes'' or ''Lakeland'', is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in Cumbria, North West England. It is famous for its landscape, including its lakes, coast, and mou ...
, in aid of
Macmillan Cancer Support
Macmillan Cancer Support is one of the largest British charities and provides specialist health care, information and financial support to people affected by cancer. It also looks at the social, emotional and practical impact cancer can have, an ...
, Cumbria's air ambulances, the mountain rescue service and various youth cycling projects. It is held in memory of Fred Whitton, racing secretary of the Lakes Road Club, who died of
cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...
at the age of 50 in 1998. The event started in 1999 and has been held every year since, except for 2001 and 2020 when it was cancelled due to the
foot-and-mouth epidemic and the
international COVID-19 pandemic respectively.
The event has raised over
£2,000,000 (two million pounds) and is Macmillan's biggest fundraiser in
Cumbria
Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...
.
Starting and finishing in
Grasmere, the route is long, with elevation gain. 2,500 riders take part in the challenge. The route heads for
Ambleside
Ambleside is a town in the civil parish of Lakes and the Westmorland and Furness district of Cumbria, England. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Westmorland and located in the Lake District National Park, the town sits at the ...
, before crossing
Kirkstone Pass
Kirkstone Pass is a mountain pass in the English Lake District, in the county of Cumbria. It is at an altitude of .
It is the District's highest pass traversed by road; the A592 between Ambleside in Rothay Valley and Patterdale in Ullswat ...
. It descends through
Glenridding
Glenridding is a village at the southern end of Ullswater, in the English Lake District. The village is popular with mountain walkers who can scale England's third-highest mountain, Helvellyn, and many other challenging peaks from there.
Et ...
, on the shore of
Ullswater
Ullswater is a glacial lake in Cumbria, England and part of the Lake District National Park. It is the second largest lake in the region by both area and volume, after Windermere. The lake is about long, wide, and has a maximum depth of . I ...
, before heading for
Keswick. It then crosses
Honister Pass
Honister Pass is a mountain pass in the Lake District in Cumbria, England. It is located on the B5289 road, linking Seatoller, in the valley of Borrowdale, to Gatesgarth at the southern end of Buttermere. The pass reaches an elevation of ...
, before reaching
Buttermere
Buttermere is a lake in the Lake District in North West England. It has a length of approximately and a maximum width of , an area of , a maximum depth of , and a surface elevation of above sea level. Its primary outflow is Buttermere Dubs, a ...
and climbing
Newlands Pass. From here, the route takes in
Whinlatter Pass
The Whinlatter Pass is a mountain pass in the Lake District in Cumbria, England. It is located on the B5292 road linking Braithwaite, to the west of Keswick, with High Lorton to the south of Cockermouth.
To the north the pass is flanked ...
out of
Braithwaite. Riders then head south down the Western Lake District, including climbing
Cold Fell out of
Ennerdale Bridge. Finally, the route turns eastward towards the finish, taking riders through
Eskdale, crossing the famous
Hardknott
Hard Knott is a fell in the English Lake District, at the head of Eskdale.
The northern and western slopes of Hard Knott are in the civil parish of Eskdale, while the southern and eastern slopes are in the civil parish of Ulpha. Both are i ...
and
Wrynose Passes (after almost of riding) and then past Blea Tarn, down through Langdale to the finish in Grasmere.
See also
*
Cyclosportive
A cyclosportive, or often simply sportive, is a short to long distance, organised, mass-participation cycling event, typically held annually. The Italian term ''Gran Fondo'' is commonly used for these events in the United States, Australia and som ...
*
Challenge riding
Challenge riding is a form of cycling where the riders challenge themselves rather than each other. Some challenge rides are charity events or pledge rides. Some are organised as pre- or early-season training events (sometimes in the UK called r ...
External links
The Fred Whitton ChallengeOfficial Website
MacMillan Cancer Support
References
{{reflist
Sport in Cumbria
Cyclosportives in the United Kingdom
Charity events in the United Kingdom
Lake District