Climb the Prescott Bike Festival hill for the blood bikes

Blood Bikes will once again be the cause organisers of this year’s Prescott Bike Festival will be raising money for, with the hill climb and festival action taking place on Sunday, June 25.

As ever the Gloucestershire festival, near Cheltenham, will feature the now famous Prescott Speed Climb, where 180 bikers can ‘Run wot you brung’, getting two runs up the famous hill in marshalled, untimed conditions.

Riders who miss out, can get to ride the hill by applying to join the festival’s prestigious Invited Guest list and be part of the Paddock Specials group. 

Places are limited and restricted to Best in Class, with no race replicas. More info can be found at www.prescottbikefestival.co.uk.

The focus, however, will be to support volunteer emergency biker service, Seven Freewheelers, with hopes of passing the £30,119 raised in 2015.

“Bike Fest is lots of fun, but it really is all about Blood Bikes and raising money for them,” said Severn Freewheelers’ treasurer Gordon Downie.

“All of the favourite stuff is back and we’re excited to welcome people to another bike fest – it really is a brilliant day out and the one stop shop for bike lovers and their families everywhere.

“We’ve already raised over £250,000 for charity and we’re hoping to make this year our record in terms of donations. Blood Bikes are out there, 365 days a year, delivering their precious cargo but getting busier than ever.

He added: “We know cash is tight but even a few quid will help this vital volunteer emergency service and we hope to boost their coffers while people have a brilliant time at our festival.”

The event is being sponsored by Bikesure and will also feature an exhibitor zone, special guest Steve Parrish, passenger experiences and a host of attractions.

“We’re proud to support this brilliant festival that shines further light on the wonderful spirit within the biker community,” said Rob Balls, general manager of Bikesure.

“The kindness, camaraderie and desire to fundraise for good causes can be seen up and down the country and Prescott Bike Fest brings that, and more, to Gloucestershire.”

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Prescott Bike Festival is blood bike charity’s biggest annual fundraiser

First published on 24 June, 2019 by Gareth Evans

The ninth annual Prescott Bike Festival and Hill Climb was a roaring success with a stack of cash raised for Blood Bikes.

The Prescott event has helped raise over £200,000 in recent years, which has supported bikers to provide a free, out-of-hours delivery service for the NHS.

This year, event organisers handed over a fully paid for 4×4 vehicle to enable Severn Freewheelers to deliver fresh blood supplies to the Midlands Air Ambulance base all year round.

The SUV will also be used to deliver and transport frozen human milk from the donor to the milk banks and special baby care units when the quantity exceeds the capacity for a motorcycle.

Severn Freewheelers currently deal with roughly 400 calls per month, operating from 7pm until 7am weekdays and offer 24-hour cover at weekends. Over the years they have saved the NHS hundreds of thousands of pounds in courier costs, enabling them to spend it on life-saving emergencies and frontline care.

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Prescott bike festival returns for 2019

First published – 29/04/2019

Attendees can expect a wide variety of vehicles displayed at the Gloucestershire hillclimb. Among the exhibitors is Allen Millyard with five of his creations, including the Velocette V-twin and the famous 4894cc ‘Flying Millyard‘.

Festival Organiser, Gordon Downie said “Allen is a staunch supporter of Bike Fest and always brings a large collection of his bikes. We can’t wait to see his latest creation – a 1930’s Velocette 698cc V Twin, identical to the 1938 prototype launched at the Earls Court Motorcycle Show, but with his own unique modern twist on an old classic! Allen is an engineering genius, and we are delighted that visitors get to see the bikes in action”.

Furthermore, multiple world record-holder Zef Eisenberg will be bringing a number of his mad machines along, including the fastest jet turbine road-legal bike on earth (234mph over a standing mile) plus his 350bhp supercharged Hayabusa and a quad with a 600cc Rotax two-stroke motor in it – claiming to be the fastest-accelerating around.

Most of the main manufacturers will also have a presence along with a dazzling array of significant classics – including several rare racers by days gone by.

Furthermore, there will be a static, indoor display called Kickback, featuring the best shed builds and customs in a competition to discover the best “Butchered Classic” and “Young Builder”, to name a just a few awards. A group of 80 finalists will have their creations judged by an expert panel including racing broadcaster Steve Parrish. The winners will be able to run their bikes up the hillclimb.

All proceeds from the event support the work of Nationwide Association of Blood Bikes and Severn Freewheelers. These Blood Bike charities provide a vital free out-of-hours medical transportation service to the NHS. Since its inception, Prescott Bike Festival has raised over £200k to date.

Venue: Prescott Hill Climb, Gotherington, Cheltenham, GL52 9RD
Ticket prices: £12 (advance) for adults on Saturday, £15 (advance) for adults on Sunday, under 16s free when accompanied by a paying adult.
For further information and tickets visit: https://www.prescottbikefestival.co.uk/

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