Greystoke’s New Together Correspondent
After nearly 10 years, the time has come to pass the baton over to a new correspondent. Please contact me at the email address inside the front cover of the printed magazine if you’d like to find out more, or if you are willing, from January 2026, to provide no more than a day a month collating articles, and updating the village website.
Greystoke WI
At our October meeting we enjoyed Alan Noble’s presentation on the subject of Architecture of Local Railway Stations. Alan began by showing us a map of the extent of the railway network in Cumbria before Beeching and picking out what remains now. After a few technical difficulties with the projector, heroically solved by Malcolm Kane, Alan was able to continue with his visual tour of the remaining stations in Cumbria. Some of the buildings were very attractive indeed. Some have since been turned into residences or cafés, or replaced with some pretty brutal looking buildings. A very striking water tower at Settle had become an unusual home which had featured on the TV. Alan explained the need for Harrington Humps on certain platforms where the level of the platform needed to be raised so that passengers could alight safely. We also got to see the beautiful viaducts on the Settle Carlisle line. Alan picked out beautiful details which will enhance our future railway journeys in Cumbria.
On Thursday 2 October we have an Open /Guest Night with Alan Hinkes, the mountaineer. There is no charge, but we are raising funds for the North Air Ambulance through a grocery hamper raffle. Items for this can be dropped in to Eileen in advance of the meeting or brought on the night. We will be providing tea and a light buffet. Anyone is welcome to attend, including partners, but we would like to have an idea of numbers so would ask you to ring Sue or Jennifer if you would like to join us. We no longer run a competition, although we would love you to bring pictures of you on the fell for a display.
If you would like to join us at WI meetings, please contact Sue , Val or Jennifer.
St. Andrew’s Church Frost Fair
Saturday 22 November in Greystoke Village Hall. Further details in next month’s New Together. In the meantime contact Shirley or Maureen to book a stall.
Greystoke Parish Council
The next Parish Council meeting is at 7.00pm on Tuesday 21 October in the Village Hall.
Greystoke Social Club
Monday 6 October – Have you ever wondered about solar panels or air sourced heating and the cost? Chris Silver from Rural Energy will be speaking about these and the grants available for people in the rural area. Maybe you don’t think you are eligible for a grant to help save energy and keep your home warmer? Well, come along on Monday and I’m sure you may be pleasantly surprised.
Monday 20 October – Mystery trip followed by an ‘Afternoon Tea’. Contact Shirley for further details and to book.
Visitors are always welcome at our meetings and on our trips. Meetings are held in Greystoke Village Hall and start at 2.00pm. There is a charge – visitors £3, members £2, includes tea and biscuits.
Bus User Group
Despite lots of positive stories and lovely messages of support, the data on volume of passengers is low and Mark Hodgkiss at Westmorland and Furness Council gives us a stark message: “… on current data, I cannot see the contract being renewed when it comes to an end in March”.
I arranged a meeting with Mark immediately after receiving that email. Stagecoach is still adamant that diverting the X4 / X5 is not an option they will consider, so we looked at simplifying the timetable / route and reducing the number of journeys per day so it’s less costly to run. Mark is discussing those proposals with Stagecoach with a view to the changes coming into effect in November.
I’ll be sure to update you, but please, if you want to keep the bus, use it whenever possible and encourage the people around you to use it too.
Thank you, Pam Wood.
Greystoke & District Sports Association
Thank you to everyone who has helped to make the 2025 season a great success. The weather helped but we couldn’t do it without all our fantastic volunteers. We are holding a volunteer evening on Friday 26 September at the pool to say ‘thank you’.
Winter Café is back!
Held every Monday from 12.00pm until 2.00pm and run by volunteers. Serving some lovely soups with cheese scones and cakes, it’s a great place for lunch. Coffee and tea available too. It starts on Monday 13 October until Monday 22 December, then from Monday 5 January until the end of March. We look forward to welcoming you down at the Pool Café.
The Future Pool Project
The pool is over 50 years old and has served us well but it’s time to replace it. We are holding a drop-in session on Monday 29 September from 4.00pm in the Pool Café with a presentation/Q&A at 7.00pm. We will have the plans on show and information on how we intend to make the pool more sustainable and accessible. If you missed this event but want to know more then please email the Greystoke Pool.
Greystoke Film Nights
A French themed evening on Saturday 11 October in the Village Hall sees the start of our winter film nights. The meal will be beef bourguignon or vegetarian cassoulet followed by an optional French apple tart. The delightful Amélie is our film for the evening. A visual feast and much loved film, we know this will be a popular evening. As the film has subtitles we are limiting ticket numbers so everyone can see the whole screen.
Tickets £16 for meal, ice cream and film. French apple tart £3.50, payable on the door. Licensed bar available. Tickets available from the Greystoke Pool website and Greystoke Post Office.
Date for your diary: next film night Saturday 15 November 2025.
Greystoke Beer Festival
Greystoke recently held its 14th annual Beer Festival, showcasing Cumbrian Beers by local breweries along with low and no alcohol options, wine and Prosecco. Local and up-and-coming bands played live music both nights in Greystoke Village Hall and garden marquee, filling the dance floor with revellers.
The beer festival is now an annual event and a firm fixture of the village social calendar. Importantly the event is the main fundraiser for the community open air swimming pool and this year is set to raise over £6,000!
Sue Richardson, Chair of the Greystoke and District swimming pool, said “putting this event on takes a great deal of work by a lot of volunteers but to raise that amount of money in support of the pool is just fantastic and makes the effort worthwhile. We really do try and put the fun into fundraising and actually hold events all year”.
This amount would not be possible without generous support from festival sponsors, and so if you would like to sponsor next year’s festival, or make a donation to help us keep the pool open during the summer please get in touch by eMail.
Volunteers at this and the pool café are always warmly welcomed, and you can find out more about the beer festival at our website.
Friends of St. Andrew’s Building
We have made a good start with building up the funds for the maintenance of our beautiful village church. Over the last few months we have been recruiting new members who pay a minimum of £10 per annum. If you are interested in becoming a member or making a donation please contact Maureen Hardy.
We recently had two events. The first was the heritage day in conjunction with National Heritage Week when folk were able to find out about the history and architecture of this remarkable building. The second event, which took place on the same day, was a ‘Cello concert and talk. This event was hosted at Greystoke Castle with thanks to Tom for facilitating this. This was the first of many concerts we hope to organise over the next few years. Next year we are hoping to have a concert by Encore Opera, a group of Cumbrian opera singers. Their programme is a wonderful selection of well-known arias and choruses. This will be held in the summer of 2026.
Our next event is the ever popular Frost Fayre on Saturday 22 November to be held in the Village Hall (more details in the next issue). If you would like a Christmas Stall at this event please contact Maureen Hardy.
Shwapping Evening
Refresh your wardrobe for less. Friday 17 October Greystoke Village Hall. £3 cash entry.
Shwapping is an opportunity to be environmentally friendly by sorting out your wardrobe of clothing, shoes or accessories, taking them to the Village Hall and finding yourself some beautiful nearly-new clothing, shoes or accessories.
7.00pm: drop off up to 10 excellent quality, washed pieces of clothing, shoes or accessories to swap. Clothes for everyone, not just ladies.
7.30pm: choose up to 8 gorgeous new pieces of clothing, shoes or accessories to take home, wear and love!
Make an extra donation to the village hall and receive a free glass of wine or soft drink.
Village Hall Events – Save the date
| Sunday 12 October | Soup & Pudding 11.30am to 2.00pm Join us for a heartwarming community event you won’t want to miss! Get ready for a delightful blend of delicious homemade soups and indulgent puddings. A variety of hearty soups and delectable puddings will be on offer: £6 adults and £4 children. Donations of soup & puds gratefully received. Please contact Julie or Shirley. |
| Friday 17 October | Clothes Swish – bring pre-loved clothes and swap them. A sustainable cost effective way to refresh your wardrobe (and Christmas Jumpers) |
| Friday 7 November | Bingo – an evening of fantastic prizes, laughs and good old fashioned fun for all ages. 6.40pm doors open, eyes down 7.00pm. Whether you’re a seasoned pro or a total beginner, everyone’s welcome. Refreshments included (tea/coffee /soft drink). As usual, our collectors will soon be collecting prizes for the bingo. Each year we sincerely appreciate your generous contributions, it’s your support that helps make the Bingo more fun. |
| Friday 7 November Friday 28 November Friday 19 December Friday 23 January | Bingo Bingo Bingo Bingo |
Greystoke Pool Draw
Congratulations to the winners of pool draw for September
£20 – Steve & Lesley Grisedale – 207
£15 – Annie Swarbrick – 35
£10 – Sue Munro – 66
£5 – Laura Hipple – 106
£5 – William Cummins – 186
£5 – Jo Bond – 51
£5 – Stewart Newall – 46