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Once upon a time there was a pub in the Derbyshire Dales which ran out of ale. So a spirited group of people from a neighbouring pub just over that there hill carried a keg of ale to its stricken comrade.
Instead of saying something like "I'll never do that again", they made it a regular race - the Great Kinder Barrel Challenge!
Held in the most picturesque of settings, it's a race where teams construct their own beer keg carrying contraption, usually involving an aluminium ladder, and haul it from one pub to the other, just like the original ordeal.
Unfortunately the starting pub was a Covid casualty, so the route has changed to a circuit from the original finish – more convenient for organizers, less convenient for replenishing the pub's ale stocks.
I arrived a bit after the first teams had set off. Before them, a load of individual runners ("fell runners") started the route. I waited for a group to set off and then followed them up the fell (the hill enclosing the dale).
My intention wasn't to do the entire course, just, go up and grab a few photos. Nor did I appreciate that the first hill was the only hill. But it was, and it was a big hill – Grindslow Knoll – leading up to the moorland of Kinder Scout.
I was passed by several teams before I got to the top. One lost a member right by me, the hill was too much so his team left him coughing and spluttering by the side of the path. Many teams were in coordinated costumes which fell just short of the full-on fancy dress I've seen at other events, although one guy did it dressed as a bottle of Budweiser. The scenery was hands-down the most spectacular. Enclosure was rather brutal to people at the time, but it did wonders for the aesthetics of the English countryside. It was partially the views that spurred me on and I made it to the top of the fell.
From here the route flattened out as it continued along the ridge line and then down into the village again. From the summit, I could see wee dots descending into the valley, which were earlier teams making their way back – maybe those who'd passed me as I ascended.
There were also plenty of other hikers. This is part of the Pennine Way and several day hikers were bemused by these teams carrying barrels on ladders and poles.
I decided to descend the way I came, arriving back in the village in time to see six teams finish, although I missed one as I was buying a cheeseburger.
A children's fell race followed and then some time later was the awards ceremony where we learnt a few things about the day, such as how the mountain rescue team finished their race before running back up the hill to attend to someone on a different team who had gotten injured.
Each runner was given a can of beer. The winners celebrated by taking off a shoe, pouring the beer into it and guzzling it right down.
Event over, I made my way back to the car as Queen's We Are The Champions was playing.