Another brilliant Illuminations Masters Festival!
What a week!
The 2026 Illuminations Masters Festival has come to a close, and once again it has been a fantastic celebration of bowls, friendship and everything that makes our bowling holidays so special.
We were incredibly lucky with the weather, with plenty of sunshine helping to create the perfect backdrop for a week of competitive bowling, good times and plenty of laughs along the way. Numbers were up for the third year running, with lots of familiar faces returning, including some bowlers who had not joined us for many years. It was brilliant to welcome you all back.
And the feedback has been fantastic. We’ve heard from lots of bowlers who said this was their best holiday yet and, perhaps most importantly, they’re already looking forward to coming back!
Congratulations to our champions
There was some fantastic bowling throughout the week, with two new champions taking the Men's and Ladies' Main titles. Congratulations to everyone who reached a final and to all our winners and finalists:
Men's Main
Champion: Mark Harrap
Runner-up: Neil Slater
Ladies' Main
Champion: Michele Cubbon
Runner-up: Joan Jolly
Mixed Pairs
Champions: Dave and Elaine Norris
Runners-up: Les Haylor and Sonia Robson
Men's Consolation
Champion: John Thackery
Runner-up: Derek Storer
Ladies' Consolation
Champion: Doris Cargill
Runner-up: Cath Holt
Men's Plate Pairs
Champions: Will Honeyman and Ken Simmons
Runners-up: Liam Lambert and Mark Sattler
Ladies' Plate Pairs
Champions: Pat Roscoe and Barbara Baldwin
Runners-up: Leslie Davies and Angie Bennett
A huge well done to every one of you.
Great greens and a new format
The festival made use of five excellent greens across Blackpool and the surrounding area - Bispham Conservative Club, Cavendish Road Bowling Club, Jubilee Gardens, Anchorsholme Bowling Club and Marton Institute.
All were in very good condition and provided a great test throughout the week.
We also introduced a new round-robin format for the latter stages of the Mixed Pairs. It was well received by the bowlers and added another interesting dimension to the competition.
Our thanks also go to the referees from North Lancashire and Fylde, whose experience and support helped everything run smoothly.
A warm welcome to Rob
This year we were delighted to have photographer Rob Meadows join us for the first time.
Rob has captured some fantastic moments from across the festival, and the photographs are now available in our online gallery.
The photos are yours to enjoy, so please feel free to download, print and share them with friends and family. If you share them on social media, we’d love it if you could tag Esselle Bowling and help us spread the word about the festival and our brilliant bowling community.
View the Illuminations photo gallery here
Thank you for making it so special
A festival like this doesn’t happen without a huge amount of support behind the scenes.
Our thanks go to Taylor Bowls for their continued support, to all the clubs who welcomed us onto their greens, to our referees, our accommodation partners at the Cliffs Hotel and Norbreck, and of course to everyone at Esselle who helped make the week happen.
But most of all, thank you to you.
Whether you were competing, supporting friends, enjoying the social side or simply soaking up the atmosphere, you are what makes the Illuminations Masters Festival what it is.
The numbers are growing, familiar faces are returning, new friendships are being made and the feedback has never been better.
We can't wait to welcome you back.
See you at the next Bowling Festival! Check the details and book on here.
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