Anticipation for this year's Kendal Mountain Festival was palpable after a year's hiatus from meeting in person. Now in it's 41st year, the annual event welcomed the return of over 20,000 festival goers, who relished the opportunity to be in each other's company and share tales of their most recent adventures. In addition to the increased scale of the event was a marked improvement in the diversity of visitors attending the Festival. A more inclusive tone with a greater range of speakers is the result of focussed efforts over the years from the Festival programming team, who engaged in targeted outreach, nurturing initiatives and considered curation to ensure a platform for and encourage the participation of underrepresented communities within the outdoors.