The ceremony will be held at the Ashton Memorial in Williamson Park in the centre of town. The website is here: Ashton Memorial
The ceremony will begin at 2.00 p.m. but guests should arrive from 1.30 onwards to keep James’ blood pressure low. There is a car park right by the memorial that guests can use free of charge, the gates to which are on Quernmore Road (do not try and drive through the gates on Wyresdale Road as you won’t be able to get in). The car park holds about 14 vehicles, but any others are fine to park by the side of the drive that leads up to it. There will be a sign and a member of staff manning the gate. See the bottom right of this website for a map of where the memorial is in relation to the town, but also check out the following piccy which shows you how to get to the car park:
The order of service is yet to be confirmed at this time, but rest assured that the ceremony will be followed by a glass of something fizzy. Guests may wish to catch a breather (if only from the amount of steps they have to climb) in the new upstairs art gallery (currently TBC as to whether there will actually be any art in it on the day).
If you would like to bring confetti please make sure that it is bio-degradable.
After the regulation snaps, we’ll be heading off across town to the reception (see the tab marked Hotel on the menu above, and also check out the map at the bottom right for the distance between the two locations (ten minutes drive on a good day)).
Remember that, as it’s March, you may have to dress warm, people! Thermals are encouraged under those pretty outfits. If you have time before the ceremony you might like to visit the butterfly house, where our guests receive a discount for entry (and they can also keep warm, should the weather be unkind).
