Pump track laps, penguin talks and a late night in the Foundation Bar: a look back at Big Shakeout 2026 at Thornbridge Outdoors. See you next year.

This was always going to be a special one, for lots of reasons, and plenty of them personal.

It wasn't an easy one to put on. There's been a lot of change this year, so before anything else, thank you to the staff who pulled it all together, and to everyone who came along to support it.

Now to the matters at hand. I missed the pre-event planning meeting, and quite rightly got handed writing the recap as my penance. Perfect: give it to the guy with the eight-year-old, he'll be at the heart of the action.

Setting up

If you've never been to Big Shakeout, or even if you have, it might (hopefully) surprise you to learn that we don't hand the event over to full time event organisers. We do it all ourselves. We decorate the site, run reception, help you park your car in the dark, pour your pints and empty the bins. But wait, that's not entirely true. We get a lot of help from our fantastic volunteers and team of cadets. They make our lives much, much easier. The rest of the crew all have day jobs here: they pack your orders, design your kit and answer your emails the rest of the year.

So on Friday morning we learned, quickly, how to build an outdoor cinema, and ticked off everything else on the list. By 4pm people were arriving on site, ready to Shakeout.

The view from the pump track

I spent most of my weekend on the corner of the pump track, watching my son do endless loops. Each one was faster than the last, and his little tyres got further and further off the ground while I waited for the moment he pushed it too far.

As I stood there, I tuned into the chatter. And boy, was there a lot of chatter. "Follow the blue bike, she's pro." "This little kid is just getting in the way, I need to leave space to get some speed up." Sometimes a group would set off and not reappear. Congestion on the far banked corner would bring everyone to a halt, and they'd stand on the tabletop chatting, working out between themselves how to get moving again.

When the sudden realisation that he hadn't eaten for at least 15 or 20 minutes kicked in (actually two hours of real adult time), we descended on the scouts' activity area. We wanted to throw sharp things (throwing angels and tomahawks), and some of them even landed in the wooden target, all under the watchful eye of the scout instructors.

The scouts have run activities at every Big Shakeout there has ever been, and that deserves a special mention. Think how many kids they've introduced to fire lighting, whittling, bracelet making and the rest over the years. If we had a hall of fame, they'd be in it.

All around us, School of Adventure courses were taking place. Groups of kids and adults in climbing helmets and harnesses were getting ready to scale scary heights or crawl through dark mole holes, while others headed off-site to spend the day climbing, hiking, caving and biking.

We had our own adventure to go on. Yes, bad dad had forgotten the cheese for the pasta, a crisis so grave it called for an emergency bike ride into Bakewell for Parmesan.

The talks

The Foundation Stage was packed for Rachel Wilkinson, who gave a really entertaining account of her team's work preserving Britain's Antarctic outposts. We were there, unashamedly, for the penguins, and she didn't disappoint. Things we learned: penguins smell of chicken poo and fish, it costs £5 to send a letter anywhere in the world, and the buildings need so much attention because they were designed for the cold, not the wet conditions that global warming has brought.

Alastair Humphreys and Sam Murray were up next, with a fascinating look at how approaches to cycling round the world have changed over 25 years, particularly with tech like mobile phones. It was Sam's first public talk and he nailed it: down to earth, funny, and full of tales that broke down the barriers of what any of us think we can achieve. Day one, he forgot his passport. Day two, he got a puncture he didn't know how to fix. It went on like this from there.

My favourite moment came in the Q&A. Someone in the audience who was expecting their first child asked Al if he had any advice on how to keep adventuring once family life comes along. Al thought for a moment, then pointed to a family in the front row, whose kids were still sitting there in their bike helmets, and said, "Ask them."

It stuck with me. As a parent, I know the struggle of trying to hold on to adventure: the plans that don't happen, the forgotten cheese. But there's a reason I'd spent the day on the corner of a pump track rather than somewhere else. And I knew there were plenty of people like me here at Big Shakeout.

Then we swapped seats for the Daring Deeds Yurt, after being told off for letting it get too dark to still be on the pump track. Charlie Walker's account of his self-supported ride was packed with unbelievable exploits, like cutting through the fence at a border post into Tibet with his Leatherman, and leading an unwilling horse across Mongolia.

Thank you to everyone who shared their stories on the stages this weekend. If you caught a talk I missed, please do share what you heard and let me know what I missed out on.

After dark

For me and the kid it was bed by 10pm, but back in the Foundation Bar the party was really only just getting started. As the fire crackled away outside, and the last brave souls emerged from the Scandi Box Sauna, the Ramrods were heating up the marquee for Jamie Berry to work the crowd into a frenzy with his electro swing and Ibiza-flavoured samples. For anyone who hadn't already braved an ice bath, now was a very good time to let off some steam.

There are rumours of a vegan crew taking over the DJ decks in the food village, firing up a party of their own. I can neither confirm nor deny.

Everyone has their own story

This is just my version of the weekend. Speak to anyone else and they'll have their own stories to tell, and that's what's magical about Big Shakeout. It's a place to catch up with old friends, share your love of the outdoors and take a little bit of time to look after yourself.

There were memorable sights everywhere. If you don't think kids can learn first aid, send them to Challenge First Aid. They had them transfixed for 45 minutes on their emergency trail first aid courses. The Peak Park team showed us how to build a dry stone wall (we won't be changing careers any time soon). Wild Sole had people swapping their shoes for barefoot sandals, which isn't bad going as we head into autumn. Ordnance Survey showed us how not to get lost, and of course the Sonder team were running bike demos, including a sneak peek of our soon-to-be-released Rubicon gravel bike.

The crew

A weekend like this takes a lot of hands. Thank you to everyone who planned it, built it and took it all down again. To the reception team who signed you in and the car park crew who got you parked in the dark. To the School of Adventure and talks teams, and everyone behind the bar, in the shop and on the Sonder stand. And to our volunteers and cadets, and every member of the Alpkit crew who gave up their weekend: we couldn't do it without you.

Roll on next year

Every penny of the proceeds goes to the Alpkit Foundation, which gives small awards to people, groups and schools working to remove the barriers to getting outdoors. So thank you.

And if you're wondering how the pasta and Parmesan turned out: it never got cooked. Lunch was trumped by the immense waffles from the Hungry Litter Critters.

Big Shakeout usually takes place on the last weekend of September, and we'll share next year's dates as soon as we have them. It's our end of summer Alpkit Foundation fundraiser, a festival of adventure and entertainment, and we'd love to see you there.

No tents left behind

And just for the record we (you) left it just as we found it: empty and handed back to nature.

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