Organisers of Knaresborough Bed Race have extended the entry period after failing to get its usual number of entrants.

The historic event which sees teams take part in a 2.4 mile course through the town in fancy dress, pushing a bed, before finishig with an icy swim through the River Nidd.

Each year more than 90 teams enter the race however this year just 83 teams have signed up to take part.

Bed Race chairman Kevin Lloyd said after two years away, due to covid, the organisers want to make sure this event is better than the last so will keep the entry period open until they get 90 teams:

“We are keeping the doors open on a first-come, first-served basis. But teams should be sharpish as we need only a few to reach the 90 figure.

“We normally have more than 90 teams enter, sometimes as many as 140 or 150, and we hold a lottery to decide on the 90 who can run. This year will be different. We have just over 80 and this gives us the opportunity to keep receiving entries for a few more weeks.”

Read more:

• £17m Knaresborough Leisure Centre approved
• Knaresborough Museum to open doors for first time in June

As many as 30,000 people line the streets for the event which is due to return on June 11. Since the first in 1966 the tradition has been picked up across the world with similar events being held in USA, Germany and New Zealand.

This year’s competitors will have to base their costume and bed design on the theme ‘The Environment: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle’. 

Knaresborough Bed Race is set to make its comeback next summer after organisers announced plans are in place for it to return.

The event has been cancelled for the past two years due to covid but is due to return on June 11, 2022.

Around 30,000 people line the streets of Knaresborough to watch the bed race, which sees teams complete a 2.4 mile course whilst pushing a bed.

People from across the town get involved by volunteering, dressing up or making one of the famous beds.

The themes for decorating the beds and runners’ costumes change each year. For 2022 it will be ‘The Environment: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle’.

Kevin Lloyd, chairman of Knaresborough Lions’ organising committee, said:

“Teams can even reuse and recycle decorations from previous years. As ever, the accent is on fun for what is a tremendous family day which has caught the imaginations of people all over the world.

“We get plenty of interest and bed racing in Knaresborough has spawned similar events in many countries.

“We will ensure that it remains one of the finest, funniest and fiercest encounters of the annual sporting calendar in Yorkshire.”

The organising committee said it didn’t plan to change too much from the original 1966 format and hoped next year’s event would be memorable after covid led to its cancellation this year and last year.

The course runs through parkland, along Waterside through the Nidd Gorge, up Castle Ings, through the cobbled street of the town, down Bond End to High Bridge, through McIntosh Park, and finishes with a 35 yard swim through the cold River Nidd.

Read more:

• Harrogate Swedish-inspired cafe to expand into Knaresborough
• IMAGE GALLERY: Knaresborough Christmas lights switch on

In previous years, the fastest team has completed the course in under 14 minutes, the slowest around double that. There are prizes for fastest teams in different categories, for best dressed beds and for entertaining teams.

It costs about £30,000 for the event to be staged, which involves charges for road closures, crowd barriers and licenses. The costs are covered through sponsorship, advertising and income from spectators entering Conyngham Hall fields.

Any additional funds go to charities chosen by the Lions.

Entry forms will go live on the Bed Race website on January 1. Teams have to enter before the end of February. The race field is for 90 teams and their beds and if needed a public lottery will be held in March to decide the final race card.

Birstwith Duck Race returns tomorrow after a five-year absence with around 1,000 toy ducks set to race to the finish line in this wacky village tradition.

The ducks will be dropped off Packhorse bridge, a village beauty spot, into the River Nidd and race downstream towards the finish line just before the weir.

The village tradition was first held in 2013 in conjunction with neighbouring Hampsthwaite but the course took over three hours to complete so the villages decided to do it independently instead.

But this will be the first one in Birstwith for five years.

The event starts at midday with tea, coffee and cake available in the show field, next to Kerry’s mill, and the ducks are due to be dropped at 2pm.

Organisers from Birstwith Horticultural Society and Birstwith in Bloom have said the ducks normally take about an hour to get to the finish line.

They added lots of tickets have been sold so they are expecting a few hundred people to visit.

Amy Howard, who sits on both committees, said:

“People have gone mad for the ducks, we haven’t had any village events for five years so I think everyone is excited to get out there again.

“It’ll be nice to welcome people back into the area.”

After the event, people are invited to The Station Hotel for food outside.

Read more:

• Harrogate’s Great Yorkshire Show to remain four-day event
• Stray bonfire and fireworks officially given go-ahead

Kirkby Malzeard Flower and Produce Show returns today after a two-year absence.

The show, held at the Mechanics Institute, features 115 classes, including floral bouquets, photography and wonkiest vegetable.

Now in its 39th year, the event was originally known as The Marrow Show and saw local growers present their biggest marrows in the local pub.

Tomorrow’s event is open to the public between 1.30pm and 4.30pm. Entry is 50p.

Exhibitors can drop off their entries from 7.30am ready for judging later in the day.

Cash prizes are being offered thanks to funding from local businesses and people.

Committee member Heather Clark-Kelly said:

“It’s a village tradition, everyone loves getting involved. This year we have new categories including the showstopper, like from Bake Off, and new children’s categories too”.

Read more:

• Ripon company that played key role in covid marks 50 years in the city
• Your chance to get involved with £2.5m Skell Valley project

Long-standing volunteer Arnie Clements will be handing out the awards at the end of the day. Mr Clements has been involved in the show since it first started as The Marrow Show but this year is his last.

After the prizes are awarded all leftover produce and floral displays are auctioned off to the public.

It has been announced today that the 2021 Bed Race has had to be cancelled due to the uncertainty of the pandemic.

Knaresborough Lions Club said it was a decision they didn’t want to make but the health and safety of everyone involved had to come first.

The event has become an institution for the town, welcoming around 30,000 people each year to enjoy the fun and laughter of the day.

People from across the town get involved through volunteering at the event, dressing up or making one of the famous beds.

This is the second year in a row the Bed Race has been cancelled due to covid.

The Bed Race encouraged crowds in their thousands. Photograph: Charlotte Gale Photography

The committee’s chairman Kevin Lloyd said the day takes four months to organise and he assures the public that the event will return when it can. He said:

“We said we were looking for a clear horizon, but there is just so much uncertainty around. This is really breaking all our hearts, but we have a responsibility to put first the health and safety of everyone involved.

The Lions said they looked at later dates but were concerned this would clash with other activities and there would still be no certainty regulations will have changed.

The hope is the group can organise a similar virtual event as 2020.

Read more:

• Designs for Knaresborough’s new museum are revealed.
• Third lockdown threatens Knaresborough businesses.

Mr Lloyd added:

“But Bed Race will not be forgotten. It has become an institution. The people of Knaresborough will not give it up and for the Lions it will remain in our hearts.”

The Great Knaresborough Bed Race has been running since 1966 and raises significant amounts for local charities and organisations.

As well as the 30,000 visitors, there are 300 volunteers who organise the event and and another 630 people becoming bed riders.

The event is known around the world inspiring other Bed Races in the USA, Australia, South Africa and Europe.

Art workshops, exercise classes and even beer-tasting will all be on offer this weekend as HG Community Lockdown Fest gets under way.

The event, masterminded by Harrogate women Rebecca Oliver and Catherine Wright, is designed to replace the weekend of activities cancelled because of the coronavirus lockdown. Rebecca said:

“All the things you take for granted on a bank holiday weekend – going to the coast, spending time with friends and seeing family – is all out of the window. We wanted to offer interesting things for people to do at home.”

Interacting in real life may not be possible, but the lockdown festival brings together dozens of local businesses to offer events online, which can be booked via its website.

There is no charge for the events, but people are being encouraged to make a donation – as much as they can afford – if they take part. The proceeds will be given to Harrogate Hospital and Community Charity (HHCC).

Among the activities include dance classes, a children’s puppet show, a clubbercise session and karate lessons. Artist Anita Bowerman (pictured above), Yorkshire Garden School and Born of the Forest will all run events themed around the great outdoors, while walking tour guide Harry Satloka will bring a mix of local scenery and history to people’s homes.

Harry Satloka will bring his walking tours online for the lockdown festival

Major Tom’s Social is running a live beer-tasting, with packs available to order and collect in advance, and Harrogate Library will be hosting story time for younger children. As well as holding a training session on Saturday afternoon, Harrogate Town AFC will be auctioning off signed shirts throughout the weekend to raise more money for HHCC.

The programme, which runs throughout the bank holiday weekend, also includes an opportunity to join the two-minute silence for VE Day at 11am on Friday, as well as the toast at 3pm. Rebecca added:

“We aren’t limited, space-wise, in terms of what we can do. Avoiding too many smaller things clashing but I don’t think it matters because a lot of it is going to be recorded, so you can always come back to things at another time.”