Light the Lakes – Conquering peaks in remembrance of fallen colleagues. We’re proud to be supporting Light the Lakes with our 2023 photo competition.
Mark your calendars for the 23rd and 24th of June 2023, as climbers embark on a journey to conquer the peaks and light their blue flares at the summit.
We’re thrilled to have the opportunity to support this remarkable event once more and encourage the participants to take part in the photo competition.
Simply capture the moment you reach the top and send in your photographs for a chance to win a £100 Amazon.co.uk Gift Card, £25 runners-up Gift Cards or donate the value of your prize to COPS. Let’s make this year’s Light the Lakes event one to remember!
About the Event
Light the Lakes is a fundraising event that has continued over the years in honour of fallen Police Officers. It’s an opportunity for those participating to remember the friends and colleagues they’ve lost and reflect in the light of their flares at peaks around the lakes.
The event first took place in 2012, organised by retired PS Ian Davis. Back then, 594 members of the Police Family got together to climb Wainwright peaks in the Lake District and raised over £30,000 to support the orphaned children of murdered Surrey DC Heather Cooper.
Since then, the event has gathered momentum and become an annual event where Police Officers, colleagues and friends get together to climb the peaks. In turn, participants raise money for COPS (Care of Police Survivors), a charity dear to Metfriendly’s heart which supports family members who have lost a loved one in service. Over the past 9 years whilst supporting COPS, Light the Lakes has raised over £100,000.
The Climb
Ian Davis’ vision was always to complete all 214 Wainwright peaks, lighting a flare at each in honour of fallen colleagues. Since stepping down, one of the key organisers of Light the Lakes, DS Vinny Wagjiani, picked up where Ian started and has his sights firmly set on covering all 214 Fells.
208 peaks were covered at the 2019 event by over 1,500 participants. It was one of the clearest nights in the history of Light the Lakes and climbers were able to see many of the peaks around them being lit.
Notable past climbers include COPS Patron Penny Lancaster COPS and Lissie Harper, widow of the late Andrew Harper who was killed as he tried to detain a gang of teenage quad bike thieves in 2019.
DS Vinny Wagjiani said:
“I am humbled to be leading this great event, and to see so many people from across the UK raising funds for COPS in memory of lost colleagues. For me, it is a special moment just after the peaks are lit up to reflect and to think about my fallen workmates, their families and how honoured we are to be Police Officers.”
2023 Photo competition
To take part in this year’s photo competition with the chance to win a £100 Amazon.co.uk Gift Card, a runner-up £25 Gift Card or donate the value of your prize to COPS:
- Send your entries in to [email protected] and cc in [email protected]
- Please send a high resolution file of your photo entry
- All entries must include the following wording in their email:
I own the rights to the photo(s)/ video(s) submitted and agree for it/them to be used for Metfriendly’s marketing purposes. I confirm that all persons pictured give their consent for the picture to be used for Metfriendly marketing purposes and that my name as the competition entrant may be posted.
Competition terms and conditions apply.
We had a great response to this competition previously and below are some of the winning entries. You can follow Light the Lakes on Facebook @LightTheLakes and Twitter @LightTheLakesUK.
We’d like to wish all those taking part in this year’s Light the Lakes the best of luck on their upcoming climb and we look forward to receiving their photo entries.
