BIKE BATH CELEBRATES 7 YEARS OF SPORTIVE SUCCESS
Cycling experts Iconic Cycling Events( ICE) hosted a VIP reception for key partners and supported charities to officially launch popular annual cycling sportive, Bike Bath.
Held at Graze, Bath on April 24, the event which is championed by Redrow Homes, celebrated the seventh Bike Bath and was attended by long standing key partners including Hawke Ridge Business Park and Carter Jonas, as well as triathlete Heather Fell and skeleton racer Amy Williams. Guests enjoyed regional cheeses from around the UK – Barbers Cheddar, Oxford Blue, and Yorkshire Wensleydale – a feature at all this year’ s ICE events.
This year’ s Bike Bath, taking place on Sunday July 1, is once again raising money for local hospice, Dorothy House Hospice Care. The event will start and end at the Rec in the heart of Bath. Riders will have the choice of three new rides this year – the 25-mile social, or the 50 or 80-mile challenge. Riders will also enjoy some of the region’ s finest food and drink at food stations along the routes and a celebratory pint of Bath Ale at the finish.
Bike Bath has grown year on year and last year attracted more than 1,500 riders from across the region. The event is fully supported, and features food stops and route signs, as well as mechanical support.
Established in 1976, Dorothy House Hospice Care provides free palliative and end of life care and support to people with a life-limiting illness, their families and carers across Bath and North East Somerset, Wiltshire and Somerset.
Henrietta Beard, Corporate Fundraiser at Dorothy House Hospice Care said:“ Our thanks to Bike Bath for raising significant funds for the hospice in recent years, it is greatly appreciated and will help Dorothy House continue to provide specialist care for local people living with a life-limiting illness.
Good luck to the team for another successful event in July.”
Richard Best, CEO of Iconic Cycling Events, said:“ Without the help of the partners and supporters of Bike Bath, we couldn’ t put on such a professional and highly-regarded sportive so we wanted to take this opportunity to thank everyone who supports us. I’ d like to thank everyone who attended the event to help us celebrate cycling and make the launch such a success.”
Entry is £ 36 per ride for the 80 and 50-mile rides or £ 26 for the 25-mile ride. New to 2018 is a family entry for the 25-mile route at £ 70 for two adults and two children under 16. For more information and to register visit the website: www. bikebath. co. uk To keep up with the action on social media follow @ BikeBath on Facebook and @ bikebath on Twitter. To find out more about Dorothy House visit www. dorothyhouse. org. uk
Organising a summer party?
If you’ re looking to host a summer party or event Bath’ s Assembly Rooms has put together a special offer to whet your appetite.
This summer the spacious Card Room and south facing garden can be all yours for the evening for just £ 600. You will be catered for by esteemed caterers Searcys, offering dining packages from £ 25- perfect for an evening rendez-vous after work, an impressive birthday party or an anniversary celebration.
Sample menu for £ 25 per head:
Glass of Pimms No. 1 on arrival Bowl Food per person:
• Maize fed chicken marinated with tomato, chorizo and rice
• Magrim sole goujons with hand-cut chips and tartare sauce
• Penne pasta with peas, tarragon and parmesan shavings
• Mini pavlova with strawberry fool
• Rich chocolate pot with orange confit
To find out more and to book call 01225 477786 or email: bath _ venues @ bathnes. gov. uk
Bath Tourism
Leslie Redwood, Head of Business Development and Partnerships at VisitBath gives us his update on current projects and initiatives for Bath and its surrounds.
As we move into another beautiful summer season in Bath( hopefully!), Visit Bath has some exciting news in the spirit of summertime success, prosperity and growth.
Working with our national and international partners Visit England and Visit Britain we have been lobbying the Government departments of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport( DCMS) and Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy( BEIS) for more direct support of the visitor economy in The West of England. This included a meeting organised by Visit Bath at the Houses of Parliament. This has started to yield success with a recent follow-up meeting at Visit Bath HQ with DCMS, Visit England and an extremely supportive Mayor of The West of England, Tim Bowles. This, in turn, is tying in with national discussions around the government’ s Industrial Strategy and a possible settlement for the visitor economy sector across the country. It is becoming even more important for our industry to secure central government support, as all the local authorities have cut back on any direct support they are able to give. These strategic discussions are vital to the success of our economy, especially in Bath and the surrounds where tourism is such a key industry.
On a more local level the substantial change and great progress continues at Visit Bath HQ. Our new head of marketing, Neil Priscott, is busy delivering eight new marketing campaigns as part of our renewed marketing strategy, all supported by a new digital team under Charlotte Stephens. This includes a brand-new website and much enhanced social media activity.
Our events team are also busy planning another year of our national award-winning Christmas Market, as well as working on two new major citywide events for Bath and region. Our recent Comedy Festival partnership delivered the biggest and most successful Comedy Festival in the last ten years.
The Visit Bath memberships team continues to thrive with many increased membership benefits, networking events and development of strong partnerships across the city and region. And finally, our new Visitor Centre and Bath Box Office continue to trade strongly in our new location on Terrace Walk, with our new ways of working delivering increasing success for these operations. All in all, a great summer success story for Bath- long may it continue.
For more info: www. visitbath. co. uk
@ VisitBath Leslie _ Redwood @ bathtourism. co. uk
32 THE BUSINESS EXCHANGE 2018