The Cartmel Show

The Cartmel Show runs on the first Wednesday in August and is always very well attended come rain or shine (this year was a morning of rain and an afternoon of shine). We went in the afternoon!

We were quite taken with the Wood Chopping Competition. It's certainly not something I would want to try. Not only does it look physically exhausting, but I would be slightly concerned about the safety of my toes.

The 'Chopper' stands on the log, lines up his axe and begins to chop, alternating from left to right. Once about half way through, he turns around and does the same to the other side. The first one to chop right through the log is the winner.

The 'Chopper' wears trainers or light boots as these offer more grip - and in times gone by they simply wore socks. As the commentator pointed out, you could wear steel toe caps, but why risk damaging a perfectly good axe?!