Wheel off to Scorton for a fabulous May Day weekend festival
Get in the right gear and head to the quirky, rural festival combining cycling with wheelbarrows and the delights of Lancashire village life with a brand new athletics event that’s a perfect prelim for the Great North Run!
‘Bikes & Barrows’ is lighting up one of the Forest of Bowland’s most iconic villages – Scorton – from May 4-7, 2012 and celebrating life with two and three wheels in a village that is a hub for cyclists, but also very much at the heart of the agricultural community.
Bikes and Barrows is organised by the village, for the village, with everyone involved, from the committee to children in the village school, throwing themselves into entertainment. This is an open invitation for those appreciating the wholesome values of rural life to visit and help raise funds that will keep Scorton as idyllic in the future as it is today.
Throughout the festival, a host of decorated bicycles and barrows adorning the routes around the village, gateways, gardens and even the walls of houses, will thrill visitors. This burst of floral colour is a warm introduction to Scorton, where treasure trails, a Lancashire quiz and, at certain times, guided tours of the village church also await.
The festival’s events programme kicks off with a ticketed, music-focused soiree in The Priory, Scorton on the evening of Friday, May 4 - the perfect entrée for the Rose Queen parade, fête field – with fairground rides, stalls and Cadbury’s Spots and Stripes games - and Spring Fair in the village hall on Saturday, May 5. This is followed by another ticketed, themed entertainment evening in The Barn, Scorton, where fancy dress is essential!
In this Olympic year, the festival features some new sporting events, including a 10k run, a bike race and a family cycle ride. The sporting action hots up on Sunday, May 7 with a brand new 10k run taking amateur competitors on a hilly, scenic route through the glorious Trough of Bowland. UK athletics rules apply to a race that’s ideal preparation for the Great North Run.
The Bikes & Barrows Festival is teaming up with local Garstang Cycling Club to host two cycling events to suit varying abilities. A further gentle, family cycle ride will be held around Wyresdale Park Estate where a £5 family ticket includes route and drinks. If you fancy swapping a bicycle for a wheelbarrow, then why not battle it out for three-wheeled supremacy in wheelbarrow racing on the village playing field on Sunday afternoon (May 6).
Think wheelbarrows, think gardeners and fill your boots with knowledge at a Gardeners’ Question Time at Scorton Village Hall (Sunday, May 6 at 2pm), featuring a panel of four local gardening experts specialising in aspects such as orchids and veg growing. With a cream tea and a demonstration of hanging basket planting included, this is a not-to-be-missed gardeners occasion (£5 per head).
Cyclists can get in the saddle on Monday, May 7, to tackle two routes created by the Garstang Cycling Club, while a for foodie and craft types there is a wonderful array of local and Lancashire food and gifts on sale all day at Scorton Village Hall.
Aptly-named Bikes and Barrows ‘spokesperson’, Joanne Golton, says: “Bikes and Barrows is an exciting, charming event, which celebrates rural life in Lancashire, the great outdoors and the world of cycling and outdoor sport. Everyone is welcome and we invite those who have never visited Scorton, or the Forest of Bowland, to come and see why we are so proud of our village”.
More details are available at bikesandbarrows.co.uk.