Established in 1970 by the Kendal and District Tourist & Publicity Association, the Kendal Torchlight Procession was the main event in the Kendal Gathering. It was set up in response to the opening of the M6 and the Kendal Bypass, to help define Kendal as a destination and good place to be in its own right, as it was no longer on the west coast arterial route to Scotland or the actual ‘gateway to the Lakes’.