Withnail & I Outdoor Cinema at Crow Crag in the Lake District, UK

Among my favourite cinema experiences are watching T2 Trainspotting (2017) with a Q&A from Danny Boyle, going to the Irish Film Institute in Dublin and watching Sing Street (2016) and being given a ticket to an in-competition film at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival. My recent Withnail & I outdoor cinema experience is now up there with the rest of them.

At the end of June, me and my mum (with my dad as our designated driver) ventured further north of the county I call home, Cumbria, to watch a screening of British cult comedy classic Withnail & I (1987) at one of the film’s most prominent filming locations. I know, right? This is kind of the perfect cinema experience for a film location obsessive like me!

And this post is a basic rundown of the whole Withnail & I outdoor cinema experience and how you can attend one next summer. Chin chin!

Withnail & I Outdoor Cinema Experience

What’s the big deal with Withnail & I (1987)?

Oh my goodness, if you haven’t seen Withnail & I please spend the next 108 minutes watching it and then come back to finish reading my post. Withnail & I is about two starving actors (and addicts) called Withnail (Richard E Grant) and ‘I’ (Paul McGann) living in London. They decide to have a change of scenery and head up to the Lake District to stay in Withnail’s Uncle Monty’s cottage. What follows is one of the most hilarious, quotable and quality films in British cinema history. Not nearly enough people have watched Withnail & I. I was lucky enough to study it in Sixth Form College.

The film wasn’t very popular upon its release but its quotability and hugely memorable scenes have elevated it to cult status over the years with a hugely dedicated fan base. Essentially, one of the few films that could attract an audience year after year to re-watch it near a cottage in the middle of bloody nowhere.

Who is Picnic Cinema?

Picnic Cinema is run by Eden Arts, one of the top arts organisations in Cumbria, Northwest England. In summer, they organise classic and popular films to be screened in extraordinary locations all over the county. People bring their deck chairs and set themselves up in front of a big huge screen, wait until the sun goes down and then enjoy the film. Sometimes film-goers camp afterwards, too.

There’s usually food and drink available, a little goodie bag and a pub-style quiz. They really do such a fantastic job of making a night of it. I’ve been to two of their outdoor cinema experiences before, first The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) three years ago and Pulp Fiction (1994) the year after that, both at Muncaster Castle. So, you could say I’m a fan of their events! Watching Rocky Horror at a local castle was particularly amazing because the setting matched the film so well. Though, of course not as well as the Withnail & I outdoor cinema experience for obvious reasons!

If this sounds really interesting to you and you live in/nearby Cumbria, definitely check out Picnic Cinema’s website for upcoming outdoor cinema experiences. Some events (like this one) do sell out really fast so I highly recommend signing up to their newsletter and following Picnic Cinema on Facebook to be the first to know about their events.

Camping at Sleddale Hall in Shap, Lake District

Contrary to Picnic Cinema’s other events, you have to camp if you’re going to the Withnail & I outdoor cinema screening because it’s such a remote location. So, late afternoon, dad dropped me and mum off at Sleddale Hall and we carried our backpacks, deck chairs and tent to the camping grounds. We’re not really ‘camping’ people but luckily I had a tent and some gear from 2015’s Blogstock conference. At least I’ve got some use out of this tent in the five years I’ve owned it!

Good weather, good times

We were lucky. It was actually a really warm, breezeless day and night so camping wasn’t the usual test of my body’s ability to insulate itself from horrifically cold temperatures. Picnic Cinema provided plenty of portaloos and breakfast was available to purchase, which we didn’t partake in because we definitely left the campgrounds ASAP the next day to go home and shower.

But overall camping was actually okay and the surrounding area, especially the Wet Sleddale Reservoir, was just beautiful. As expected, I mean, it is Cumbria after all. Beautiful scenery is kind of our thing.

Sleddale Hall AKA Crow Crag

Back onto food and drink, after pitching our tent and hunting out one last filming location (see my next blog post for that!), we headed towards Sleddale Hall for the evening. Sleddale Hall is called Crow Crag in the film and for years afterwards, it was completely abandoned and falling further into ruin. Luckily, in 2012 it was bought and renovated by someone who clearly loves Withnail & I. The house has been restored, yes, but the outside basically looks like it did in Withnail & I with a bit of a facelift. And if the new owners didn’t love Withnail & I, I’m not sure they’d be too keen on hosting Withnail & I outdoor cinema screenings every year! So really, it’s the perfect outcome.

Food & Drink (AKA fine wine) at the Withnail & I outdoor cinema experience

The evening meal was included in the ticket price and it was bloody beautiful. And was all veggie! Yay! Amazing Grazing did the catering and the choices were vegetable tagine or falafel flatbread. Mum went for the tangine, I went for the flatbread (as did most others) and both were beautiful. Honestly, so lovely I still catch myself thinking about it sometimes because I know I can’t replicate it any time soon. Sad face. Oh, and even though there’s a bar on-site, you can BYOB at Picnic Cinema events!

Activities & the Withnail & I outdoor cinema screening

Because the Withnail & I outdoor cinema screenings need darkness so the audience can actually see the film on the big screen (and it was June!), the film didn’t begin until around 22:30. That’s a lot of people sitting in their chairs for a long time! Luckily, the amazing food, the goodie bags and sweeties, pub quiz and other various activities made the time fly by. Picnic Cinema is obviously pros at ensuring their audiences never get bored.

And watching Withnail & I at the real-life Crow Crag was AMAZING. I noticed things about the film I hadn’t on my small TV screen and it was so much fun to watch with a crowd that actually laughed and interacted with the film. No one was too loud or boisterous or too drunk, everyone was really into the film.

Withnail & I finished at around half past midnight and there was some music and dancing before the noise stopped at 1:00 in the morning. Because we’re such party animals, mum and I went back to our tent straight after the film.

Nearby Withnail & I filming locations…

Of course, I couldn’t go all the way up to Wet Sleddale and Shap (they might both still be in the same county as me but they’re still a 90-minute drive away!) without hitting up the rest of the Withnail & I filming locations in the area. You can read my blog post detailing all of the Withnail & I filming locations in the area (the Lake District) here!

Read next:

Withnail & I Filming Locations in the Lake District, UK

Tickets, Info and how you can attend the next Withnail & I outdoor cinema screenings

Picnic Cinema has run this Withnail & I outdoor cinema event AKA Uncle Money’s Soiree every year for about eight years. I think it sells out quicker and becomes more popular every year. This year, the screening was held four times over two weekends at the end of June. I’ve just checked my emails and I bought my tickets at the end of February. It just goes to show you how early the event goes on sale! And, if I remember correctly, the tickets sold out in something crazy like 10 minutes. Only one weekend is released first, then another weekend is usually announced afterwards.

Tickets

In total, tickets were £48 per person which includes parking, camping and an evening meal. I think the price is quite reasonable considering all the work Picnic Cinema must put into organising such a slick event (and trust me, they thought of everything) and only so many picnickers can fit into Sleddale Hall’s courtyard!

So, the best way to make sure you nab tickets to next year’s event should it take place? As I said before, follow Picnic Cinema on Facebook and subscribe to their email list for updates. You can’t afford to miss them if you want to secure your tickets for Uncle Monty’s next Soiree! Those fine wines won’t drink themselves.

That’s my experience watching the Withnail & I outdoor cinema experience at the real-life Crow Crag cottage in the Lake District! Have you been to one of Picnic Cinema’s Withnail & I screenings? Let me know in the comments below!

Read next:

Withnail & I Filming Locations in the Lake District, UK