C2C Bike Challenge...Done!
Centre Manager Steve Seymour has just completed his fi rst ever Coast 2 Coast Challenge, cycling 131 miles
over a 3 day period from Workington, Cumbria to Tynemouth, Tyne and Wear. The route was cycled in order to
raise money for St Gemma’s Hospice, Leeds and the Tiny Lives Special Care Babies, Tyne and Wear.
“My main aim is to complete the ride and raise as much money as possible for both charities and all joking
aside this will be a very hard challenge for me… far greater than my previous London Marathons in 1990 and
1994 and my longest ever bike ride to date was 33 miles in 1996, in Northampton for the Children’s Ward
which was around the last time I rode a bike.”
Steve’s C2C Diary
Friday 30th April
Off to Whitley Bay to meet the others as we set off for Wokington. Now all I can do is thank Sharron (my wife)
and the boys for their help in my training and with less than 2 weeks preparation and around 45-miles in the
saddle I really must be insane...
C2C Day 1 - 31st April - Wokingham to Penrith, 48-miles
Not looking forward to the challenge ahead but everyone is so positive it’s infectious and I know that they will
help me along to stay positive and motivated. First turn of the wheels start the challenge at around 08.45. We
leave the Light House behind for the journey ahead as we wind our way out of Wokingham. Steady progress
in fair weather as we steadily tick off the fi rst 10-miles not helped by a lack of signs which has lead to some
extra miles, but sat-nav Jane is on the case and the fantastic views easily compensate. The weather has taken
a turn for the worst with a gusty head wind, rain, and hail with the odd sunny interlude. Met some great friendly people today and taken heart from their smiling faces and all the words of support from the Team, 1 down 2 to
go!
Moment of the day: View of Bassentwaith Lake & the decent OMG awesome!
C2C Day 2 - Sunday 1st May - Penrith to Rookhope, 37-miles
08.00 as we set off out of Penrith, spirits are high with a four stage plan to combat the hardest leg including the
Hart Side climb and the highest point of the C2C. Again signage and the weather are against us as we cycle
up what appear to be constant hills only to see another hill ahead. A warming brew and lunch as we sit atop of
Hart Side looking down across hill and dale with a real feeling of success and achievement which even a brief
snow fl urry cannot spoil. We now look forward to the 3-mile decline to start the penultimate leg of the day…
what a great start.
Great downhill run sees my speedometer clock over 30 mph and that’s with my brakes on. Unfortunately I
make a mistake by taking directions from a chap and take the off road route, big mistake! I now fi nd myself
isolated with no phone signal and only the company of the odd sheep and various birds, leaving me feeling
very exposed and more than a little worried. Thankfully farmer Giles lonely croft and some directions see me
reunited with the Team at Nanthead for the fi nal phase of day 2. For me this was the 2nd hardest climb of the
C2C as we leave Nanthead to Rookhope via Allenheads but some great down hills again with breath taking
views taking us across the Durham boarder. Glad to see the back of the twisting climb out of Allenheads to the
4-mile descent down into Rookhope and our last stop of the challenge.
Moment of the day: View from the top of Hart Side having concord all 1903 ft of it.
C2C Day 3 - Monday 2nd May - Rook Hope to Tyne Mouth, 46-miles
Change of plan with an early start at 07.00 and no cooked breakfast (bummer). With a frost on Rookhope via Allenheads but some great down hills again with breath taking views taking us across the Durham boarder.
Glad to see the back of the twisting climb out of Allenheads to the 4-mile descent down into Rookhope and our
last stop of the challenge.
Moment of the day: View from the top of Hart Side having concord all 1903 ft of it.
C2C Day 3 - Monday 2nd May - Rook Hope to Tyne Mouth, 46-miles
Change of plan with an early start at 07.00 and no cooked breakfast (bummer). With a frost on the van screen,
we set off to take on the fi rst phase of the last leg with a monster hill out of Rook Hope. Not sure which was
worse, the early morning (06.00) wake up by the Geordie dawn chorus or the hill from hell with no breakfast…
guarantee you I will not forget either!
As we set off the heavens open and the wind kicks up to try and knock us out of our stride with our planned
fi nish time of 15.00 now a reality. As we reach the Tyne River I have to admit I am running on empty and even
the slightest hill has me beat but Helen is there as she has been all day to push me along. 2-miles to go and
fate throws its last curve ball with a slow puncture on Helen’s bike and one hell of a head wind doing its best to blow us back the way we came. We will not be beaten and with a couple of stops to re-infl ate Helen’s back tyre, we are now heading down into the harbour and along the sea front towards the light house and finish line. What a proud sight and feeling as we ride into the familiar faces, cheers and shouts with the camera’s fl ashing, it now all feels so good and all the pain and aches seem to have disappeared.
Moment of the day: The Harbour ride and cheers of celebration as we complete the C2C dipping our wheels and feet in to the sea, unbelievable experience!!!!
“This has been my biggest challenge and thanks to Danielle, Jane, Tory, Alli, Claire, Vanessa, Helen & Dave our essential van support for letting me join them and for their support and great company. I will remember the C2C challenge for the fantastic sights and experiences I have enjoyed with my new found friends & having volunteered on April 1st this was no practical joke but was great fun. Thanks to everyone concerned, all the Families & Friends that made it to cheer us home and also thoughts that could not be there but without their help and support this achievement would not have been possible.”
Steve Seymour, Crossgates Centre Manager
Steve raised £310 for Leeds charity St Gemma’s and presented this to Donna Woodman from the charity. Deputy Centre Manager.
"St Gemma’s Hospice, based in Moortown, Leeds, provides specialist medical and nursing care for local people with life threatening illnesses, predominantly cancer, and support for their families too. Care provided is free of charge to patients and their families so St Gemma's relies on donations and local fundraising initiatives in the community"
Donna Woodman, St Gemma's Hospice
News
On Saturday 28th August, Bob the Builder will be making special appearances in the Centre from 10am!
Throughout June, Crossgates ran a competition with Radio Aire, giving one lucky winner the chance to win prizes up to the value of £500!
Brand new store Grainger Games has set up home at Crossgates Shopping Centre!
Staff at Crossgates store Bon Marche want to thank their customers for the support given as the staff tried to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support.
Crossgates Co-operative Travel has had a complete makeover and now offers customers a more personal experience when booking their holiday!
Centre Manager Steve Seymour has just completed his fi rst ever Coast 2 Coast Challenge, cycling 131 miles
over a 3 day period from Workington, Cumbria to Tynemouth, Tyne and Wear. The route was cycled in order to
raise money for St Gemma’s Hospice, Leeds and the Tiny Lives Special Care Babies, Tyne and Wear.
Crossgates store O2 is opening it's doors to the public at 08.02am on Thursday 24th June
Thomas Cook's 6-month league tables show that the Crossgates branch is not only 1st in West Yorkshire, and top medium store in the company but they are also 1st in the company overall....
Bonus Days are taking place on Tuesday 22nd, Wednesday 23rd and Thursday 24th June 2010.
Maintenance Engineer, Martin Oldfield and Security Officer, Andy Camplin have completed their 10-year long service at Crossgates The Centre will be awarding them £100.00 for this and looking forward to 10-years or more working with Martin and Andy.
Cash Generator specifically chose Make-A-Wish as it is a very special cause that is close to their hearts and those of its customers across its portfolio of 90 stores in England, Scotland and Wales.
Branch Manager Angela and Customer Service Manager Rachel have been in acting roles the past 18 months and have just been made permanent!
Get behind your local shopping centre centre manager Steve Seymour as he tests himself on the Coast 2 Coast Bike Challenge!
Many items are half price so come in and pick up a bargain!!!
Crossgates Shopping Centre takes pride in supporting its local charities!
To celebrate the launch of Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland...
Raffle tickets were sold to shoppers throughout the day and from this Crossgates managed to raise £126 for their chosen charity, St Gemma's Hospice!
Crossgates will be welcoming new store Iceland to the Centre on Thursday 4th March. The store will opened officially by Major Cllr Judith Elliott and Mr Terry Elliott OBE.
There is currently up to 70% off on selected styles!
A highly skilled (and often very hot!) performer is inside Bjorn operating all the movements including the facial animations - blinking eyes, sniffing nose, opening mouth and also the live sounds from our custom built sound equiptment.
The keeper characters are dressed in an Inuit style outfit to compliment the arctic theme, and act as an intermediary between the audience and the Polar Bear, distributing interesting facts and related chat.
11 year old Rebecca Flynn of Templegate Rise is the winner of our Christmas Card Competition
Congratulations to our WINNER Rebecca Flynn, aged 11.
3 Day Event Tuesday 1st - Thursday 3rd December 2009
Bon Marche are having bonus days on Tuesday 3rd, Wednesday 4th and Thursday 5th November!
Bonmarche staff are raising money for the Tickled Pink Breast Cancer awareness day.
Friday 25th and Saturday 26th September, staff at Bon Marche entertained shoppers as they worked in their Pyjamas! Darren, store manager looked pleasing to the eye in his pink ensemble!
Cash Generator the local buy, sell and loan stores, celebrated the grand opening of its 99th UK store on the Station Road side of Crossgates Shopping Centre, Leeds, on Saturday 5th September 2009.
Fireman Sam makes another appearance at Crossgates Shopping Centre
Crossgates Centre Manager Steve Seymour has very kindly raised money for the Martin House Hospice.
Crossgates Shopping Centre hosted a fantastic FREE Easter Egg Hunt competition from 23rd March - 3rd April. All shoppers had to do was match the eggs around the Centre to the ones on the entry form.
Crossgates’ new store PC Friend is launching their opening with a fun and interactive Easter Egg Hunt with all monies raised going to Crossgates Community Centre. Children are encouraged to come to the store at the Centre and spot the Easter egg images hiding throughout the Centre.
Crossgates Centre Manager Steve Seymour will be taking part in a sponsored golf day...
Lucky Couple Win a Weekend in Paris, the World’s Most Romantic City
Crossgates Shopping Centre was recently awarded the Recycling Project of the Year award at the Community and City Pride Awards 2009. Crossgates Shopping Centre was presented with the prestigious award on Friday 30th January by Paul Hudson from BBC Look North at the Civic Hall in Leeds.
Crossgates have helped to make your local environment look cleaner and greener...
Crossgates work tirelessly to improve their local surroundings...
Because of this, Crossgates have been nominated for an award at the Community and City Pride Awards Ceremony!
Want 40% discount in Bon Marche, Crossgates?
Bon Marche raises money for Breast Campaign Wear It Pink!
Climbing On High!
Crossgates Shopping Centre is pleased to announce its security manager, Dave Coulthard has climbed Ben Nevis and raised over £240 for charity – during his honeymoon!
Promotion of Disney film at Crossgates Shopping Centre
Encourage shoppers to be more environmentally friendly
Events
Saturday 5th June 10am - 4pm
BJORN THE POLAR BEAR BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND!
Santa will be at Crossgates on Sunday 22nd November to officially open his Grotto!!
Enjoy Crossgates Shopping Centre this August with our jam-packed, fun-filled Saturday's across the summer holidays!
In celebration of World Environment Day, Crossgates Shopping Centre is holding a fantasic enviromental-themed workshop at the Centre on Saturday 6th June!
Crossgates Shopping Centre, East Leeds is celebrating St Georges Day on Thursday 23rd April. The team at Crossgates have organised some special entertainment for shoppers to help them celebrate the patron Saint of England.
Monday - Saturday 9am-5:30pm
Sunday 10am-4pm, Bank Holiday 10am - 4pm
CLOSED: Easter Sunday, Christmas Day,
Boxing Day and New Years Day