UKC

National Mountaineering Exhibition - Closed

© Rheged
The National Mountaineering Exhibition, which was opened at Cumbria's Rheged Centre in 2001 and has been enjoyed by tens of thousands of people, has come to the end of its natural life and funding has not been forthcoming to refresh it.

The National Mountaineering Exhibition that featured an historic collection of Mountaineering artefacts - closed on the 24th December 2007.

The BMC reports that, "The current owners of the exhibition, Westmorland Services Ltd, have tried to find ways of seeking funding so that the exhibition can be made free to visitors. However, it has not proved possible to do this.

The exhibition was opened in 2001 by the Prime Minister of the day, Tony Blair, to a fanfare of positive enthusiasm. At the start, visitor numbers were high. However, there has been a steady downward trend in visitor numbers in recent years."

More information at www.rheged.com and thebmc.co.uk/News


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28 Dec, 2007
its not that great anyway.
28 Dec, 2007
I thnk there's going to be a mountain rescue exhibition there at some point in the not too distant future, charting its roots up to the present day, should be good.
29 Dec, 2007
Never, it was ace! I went twice. The entrance room with the panoramic photo, (taken from balloon above Everest), wrapped around the walls with the recording of the wind and Buddhist bells playing in the background was inspiring on its own. Never mind the history contained in the exhibition itself. If I'd known it was coming to and end I would have made another visit specially.
29 Dec, 2007
I thought it was a superb exhibition. This country is woefully devoid of tributes to our rich mountaineering history and heritage. Rheged went some way to addressing that, and it did it well. It was put together by people who cared; people many of us know even if only by repute, and they should be congratulated for putting so much time and effort into it. The custodian, Robin, should be given special mention and it must be a very sad time for him. I'm not surprised it closed. It was in the wrong place. To get to it meant driving a long way out, battling the traffic and then running the gauntlet of a tourist centre that represented everything I try to escape from in the mountains. Like the Zermatt museum it should have been located where mountaineers and hillwalkers congregate naturally; somewhere to wander into after a half-day on the hill or on a rest day or when it's raining. I went to it twice; and I'm glad I went. This is a sad time.
29 Dec, 2007
I managed to go visit and do Sharp edge the same day, saw the Everest IMAX 96 film there too Its a quality venue with quality content and it would be a shame if because of lack of interest it became something dumbed down taht theres plenty of already in the country
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