Tour de France Events on Sunday 8 July
The Tour de France has inspired many events along the route and at the start
in London and the finish in Canterbury. In addition many villages are organising
flower displays, which should look good not only at ground level, but also from
the helicopter. Watch out for impromptu events, and along the route pubs and
cafes should make you welcome.
The dates below are for events across London and Kent being held on Friday
July 6, Saturday July 7 and Sunday July 8. The listings contain Exhibitions,
rides, festivals and more, and are arranged by date.
Our sister sites www.londoncyclesport.com,
www.roadcyclinguk.com,
www.shecycles.com and
www.bikemagic.com contain
many events held over the month
Race - Race
: Event - Fete, Festival, Happening
: Ride Social rides : Exhb
- Exhibitions
Event- People's Village
- Go Ride sessions in Hyde Park.
From 10am - 6pm there will be Go-Ride 'come-and-try-it' sessions, incorporating
fun cycling skills.
Event- Hyde Park Cycling
Festival.
11am - 5.30pm . An afternoon of cycling activities on a 3.5km section of the
Tour de France Prologue course in Hyde Park. The programme includes over 300
elite, international athletes competing in a wide variety of races, showcasing
the best British talent and potential future Tour de France riders!
Race- London Youth and
London Junior Time Trial Championships.
11am. www.londonyouthgames.org
Race- International Kick
Bike
7km race. 12.40.www.kickbike.com
Race- Youth National
Cycling Race
1,25.
Race- Women’s National
Cycling Race
2.10.
Race- Kick Bike Sprint.
2.50.
Race- International Tricycle
Criterium.
The light-weight machines are exciting to ride, with spectacular skills needed
on the corners, hurtling round the course like Ben Hur chariots. www.tricycleassociation.org.uk
3.05.
Event- Cycle Magic Roadshow.
3.30. A parade of intriguing, historic bikes - showcasing how the bicycle has
evolved over the centuries!
Race- World Hand-cyclists
race.
4.10. A 2007 World Cup event including current World Champions and Paralympic
medallists. Hand-cyclists from as far as Australia and South Africa will be
racing at speeds of over 35km / hour. www.worldhandcycling.com
Event- Extreme Mountain
Bike Stunt/Bike Tryout roadshow.
Paternoster Square/St. Paul’s Churchyard, EC4. 10.45am, 11.45am, 12.45am
(30minute displays)
Roadshow: 10.45am – 4pm. Jaw dropping stunt bike tricks and manoeuvres,
alongside a selection of bizarre and fun bikes – all free for you to try!
The forecourt in front of the cathedral is a great vantage point from which
to watch the Tour.
Simon Phillips, City of London 020 7332 1811
www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/tourdefrance
Event- Children’s
cycling display, roadshow & activities.
Tower Place, EC3 9am -5pm.
Event- School activities
and taster cycle training.
Tower Place, on Tower Hill next to All Hallows Church EC3R 5BJ. 9am -1pm. Free
event for children (just turn up on the day - spaces may be limited). Secure
schools viewing area, bike games, cycling/fitness fun challenges and taster
cycle training, in a top position to watch the Tour go by - by the Tower of
London! Contact Kerry Betteridge (020 7364 6707)
Event- Our Great Big Picnic.
Southwark Park, SE16. 9am - 5pm. Bring rugs and deck chairs & food and listen
to music including South London Jazz Orchestra, Chas and Dave, Gino Washington
and the Ram Jam band.There will also be a French market, street theatre, children’s
activities, cycling displays and a large screen so you can watch the Tour all
the way to Canterbury. www.southwark.gov.uk/tourdefrance
Event- Made in Deptford
Festival.
Deptford High Street, SE8. 10am - 7pm
www.madeindeptford.com
Event- French Market
and displays.
Evelyn Street, SE8. 9am - 1pm. Traditional French market selling a wide selection
of glorious French cuisine.
Event- Greenwich ‘en-Fete’.
Greenwich Town Centre, SE10. 10am - 4pm. French street theatre, outdoor performance,
cycling activities, stalls, French picnic.
As riders cross the Greenwich Meridian to begin Stage One of the 2007 Tour de
France, Greenwich will celebrate by creating a French atmosphere in a car-free
town centre. An exciting programme of French street theatre and outdoor performance,
as well as an array of colourful stalls, and a lively market. The event takes
place in the heart of Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site. Contact: Greenwich
Tourist Information Centre 0845 608 2000
Event- Belvedere Splashpark
Celebrations.
Woolwich Road/Heron Hill DA17. 9am - 12pm.
Largest wet play park in the UK, right on the Tour de France route, will be
open for FREE all day. It will offer children the chance to paddle in a lagoon
surrounding a desert island equipped with water sprinklers, showers, bubble
jets and sprays. There will be treasure hunts and Tour de France decorations.
Contact: Jodie Cope (020 8294 6188)
www.bexley.gov.uk/service/sports/news.html
Event- All Saints Festival.
Nuxley Road, DA17. 9am - 1pm
www.bexley.gov.uk/service/sports/news.html
Event- Christ Church
mini-festival.
Christ Church, Victoria Road, DA8. 9am - 1pm. Local festival with displays of
bikes and refreshments. Richard Kay 020 8294 6961
Event- Trinity School
Festival - giant art and Go Ride try-out sessions.
Erith Road, Belvedere, DA17. 9am - 1pm. Cycling roadshow and bike try-out sessions
with Go-Ride Bexley and British Cycling. Large, art installations made by schools
in the borough will be installed outside the school along the route including
a 'Cycle Tree' and large-scale cyclist made from scrap. Richard Kay 020 8294
6961 www.bexley.gov.uk/service/sports/news.html
Event- Erith Town Centre
mini-festival.
Pier Road DA8. 8am - 5pm. A French market will line Pier Road in Erith from
early morning so that people can get into the Tour de France 'feel'. There will
also be a jazz band providing music, as well ans some local 'mix and mingle'
entertainment. David Palmer-Barnes 020 8301 5210
www.bexley.gov.uk/service/sports/news.html
Event- Grand blessing
of Bicycles!
Bromley. Southborough Church service. Family Service will take place at 5.30pm
Event- Greenhithe Community
Event
Outside St Mary's Church, London Road, Greenhithe. 9am - 1pm. There will be
various sideshows, a bouncy castle, balloon race and refreshments, all free!
We will be entertained by a string quartet. This is an excellent vantage point
to watch the 'caravanne' and cyclists go by. There is no vehicle access from
the London Road or car parking on site.
Event- Gravesend.
Funfair on Garrick St in Gravesend town centre. 9am-8pm. French and Continental
Market: July 6, 2007, Gravesend Town Centre. 10am - 5pm. Market stalls selling
wide range of French produce
Event- Medway.
Giant TV screens across Medway.10am - 4.30pm. Giant screens to watch the Tour
de France live at Angel Corner, Strood; Pier Road, Gillingham; Chatham Riverside
and Rochester Castle, with food and beverage outlets. www.medway.gov.uk/tourdefrance2007
Event- Fort Amherst, Chatham
Napoleonic re-enactors with periodic drills and skirmishes between British and
French troops. www.fortamherst.com
Event- Rochester.
Street Market / buskers on Strood and Rochester High Streets. 10am -4.30pm.
Speciality street market all day - Strood High Street. Street Entertainment
and buskers all day - Rochester High Street. Display of historic bicycles in
museum forecourt at the Guildhall Museum, Rochester.10am- 4.30pm. www.medway.gov.uk/tourdefrance2007
Event- Burham. Tour de
France Festival
Family Fun day on the recreation ground to include a mini fun fair, live music,
stalls and a raffle.
Event- Maidstone.
Street Party on Lower/Upper Street, Maidstone.10am - 4pm. Continental market,
fairground, large screen. www.digitalmaidstone.co.uk
Event- Mereworth.
Face painting, flag painting, Church cream teas, treasure hunt quiz, strawberries
& French themed refreshments.
Event- Hadlow.
Hadlow College and Hadlow Village Centre. Tour de France Festival - Jazz band,
street entertainment, face painting, bouncy castle, refreshments.
Event- Tonbridge.Events
all day.
Tour de France Festival, Tonbridge High Street. Parade and exhibition of veteran
and vintage bikes, and street party to celebrate arrival of Tour de France.
'In the Zone sportif' on Tonbridge Racecourse Sports Ground there will be range
of tryout sporting and cycling activities on offer.10am and 7pm. 5 members of
British Cycling staff will be running Go-Ride 'come-and-try-it' sessions. Participants
will receive a Go-Ride / TdF T-shirt and Go-Ride information. Also Farmers Market,
Street entertainers, face painting. Tonbridge Castle Medieval Fair.
Ride- Le Tour Angleterre.
Tonbridge station. 9.30am. An 18km ride from Tonbridge to the Halfway House
at Brenchley. Party razzmatazz with beer festival and live music. The pub will
be turned into The Hotel de Ville by West Kent CTC and is the cyclists’
pub for the day, complete with TV screens to watch the tour.
Contact: Martin Gill, mgill@mgill.screaming.net
Route: www.ctc-maps.org.uk/routes/route/1105
Event- Tunbridge Wells.Tour
de France
Live 9am in Dunorlan Park - Tunbridge Wells. Direct Access from the park to
the race route plus live coverage on large screen TV of the whole Tour De France
Stage One. BBQ & other food concessions, Boating on the Lake, 4.30pm. French
Market, The Pantiles - Royal Tunbridge Wells. 9am - 5pm.
Contact : Tourist Information Centre 01892 515675 www.tunbridgewells.gov.uk
Event- Horsmonden.
Heath Stores, Horsmonden - garden area to front. 11am onwards. V.I.P.vantage
point to watch the race as they turn into Lamberhurst Road! The Locket Green
Regeneration Project will be serving French fayre & wine together with ice
cream, popcorn & a licenced bar! Tickets: £7.50 each (including food)
UNDER 5's GO FREE
Contact: Richard West for limited tickets 01892 723868
Event- Tenterden.
The High Street will be filled with interesting stalls, roaming entertainers.
Tenterden has organised a series of events to celebrate hosting the Sprint section
of the Tour de France. 12noon: Break for publicity caravan and race. www.tenterdentown.co.uk/tour_de_france.html
Event- Watch le Tour in
Tenterden.
Set off from the Vine Inn, Tenterden. 8.5 mile circular self-led ride from Tenterden,
arriving back in Tenterden before 2pm (when the race is due) Route www.ctc-maps.org.uk/routes/route/1096
Event- High Halden.
Events on the Village green. Art competition for children up to the age of 17,
hog roast, craft stalls and a bouncy castle as well as a large screen on the
green.
Event- Bethersden Bicycle
Brunch.
Cricket Ground. 11am - 2.30pm. Barbeque, French pastries, music, best dressed
bike competition and races for the children
Event- Ashford. Food
Fair.
The streets of Ashford Town Centre will be alive with the tastes, sights and
smells of a great European Food Fair, and a fun packed day of family entertainment,
to complement one of the greatest sporting events in the world: the Tour de
France. Top quality traders from France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Holland, Poland,
Hungary and Greece will provide a real “Taste of Europe” in the
heart of Ashford Town Centre.
Event- Ashford -Tour
de Homewood.
10am - 3pm. Slow bike race, rolling road race. South Kent CTC finishing bike
ride at the school. Bouncy castle, craft fair, Bike doctor sessions.
Race- Stage 1 Finish Event:
Canterbury. As the first stage finishes in Canterbury, British Cycling will
be providing members of the public with the opportunity to take part in a Go-Ride
'come-and-try-it' session. Six members of staff will run the event, allowing
around 300 people to take part.
Event- A Canterbury Celebration.
Canterbury City Centre and Watling Street Car Park. All day events including
French, Italian and Kentish Produce market stalls offering a range of delicious
produce. A large TV screen will show live footage for both the prologue and
Stage 1 and there will be ferris wheels placed all around town. Contact Canterbury
Visitor Information Centre 01227 378100 or Philippe Esclasse 01227 378151
www.tourdefrancecanterbury.com/buildpage.php?id=3256
Event- Giants on the
Green Festival.
Canterbury City Centre.11.30am main Parade, main site gathering: 2.30 - 5.30pm.
A colourful, musical parade of costumed participants and the incredible East
Kent Giants, headed up by Herne Bay Lily, who will be joined by a number of
their French cousins. The parade will set off from Pound Lane car park and process
through the streets of the City Centre to Whitefriars Square, where the Kentish
village green meets the urban heart of Canterbury for an afternoon of music,
and the chance to picnic on the grass before watching the arrival of the Tour
de France. Contact: Strange Cargo 01303 244533
Event- Tour de Mini Monde-cycle
ride.
Canterbury City Centre, Dane John Gardens.
11am - 7pm. Events for younger cyclists and families, travelling through many
wonders of the world of miniature cities with iconic buildings.Contact: Animate
Arts Company 01227 780081 email@animatecommunityarts.com
Event- Fly-by - Folkestone
Cliffs.
Battle of Britain Memorial, Capel-le-Ferne. 3pm. Fly-by to celebrate the Tour
de France
Ride- Ride to see TdF
stage 1 - Ride 1.
Sittingbourne, King George V Playing Fields. 8am. Join West Kent CTC and cyclists
from all over southern England to view TdF Stage 1 at Brenchley, Lunch: Brenchley
Halfway House PH. A 55 miles round trip at moderate pace. Suitable for Average
cyclist. Contact: Barry Jordan 01795 429 061
Ride- Ride to see TdF
stage 1 - Ride 2.
A21/Sevenoaks Road, Green Street Green, Orpington. 8am. Join West Kent CTC and
cyclists from all over southern, England to view TdF Stage 1 at Brenchley, Lunch
Brenchley Halfway House PH. A 50 miles round trip at moderate pace.Suitable
for reasonability fit rider. Contact: Adrian Cowie 020 8651 1510
Ride- Ride to see TdF
stage 1 - Ride 3.
Orpington Station, Station Approach. 8.30. Join West Kent CTC and cyclists from
all over southern, England to view TdF Stage 1 at Brenchley, Lunch Brenchley
Halfway House PH. A 55 mile round trip at easy paced, Suitable for average cyclist.
Neil Proudfoot 01689 854 869
Ride- Ride to see TdF
stage 1 - Ride 3.
Bexley Post Office, 52 Bexley High Street, Kent, DA5 1AH. 9.15. Join West Kent
CTC and cyclists from all over southern England to view TdF Stage 1 at Brenchley,
Lunch Brenchley Halfway House PH. A 60 miles round trip at moderate pace, Suitable
for Reasonability fit rider
Mike Friday/Steve Airey 020 8859 7617/ 020 8298 0711
Ride- Ride to see TdF
stage 1 - Ride 4.
Paddock Wood Railway Station. Join West Kent CTC and cyclists from all over
southern, England to view TdF Stage 1 at Brenchley, Lunch Brenchley Halfway
House PH. A 10 miles round trip at very easy pace. Suitable for "Families
and children welcomed.
Exhb- All About Bikes
– talk and film making events.
London Design Museum, Shad Thames. 1pm & 3.30pm. 1pm: Bring your bike to
the Design Museum and tell us why you love it so much. You will have up to a
minute to talk about it on camera. The footage will form a unique archive of
memories, appraisals and passions. Then get on your bike and cycle around Bermondsey
on the trail of the Tour de France.
3.30pm Ben Wilson, famous for Lowrider bike designs - an innovative industrial/product
designer who will be sharing his passions for bikes and describing work process,
influences and past and present bike design projects.
Also: Special bike display in their free outdoor exhibition space. www.designmuseum.org
Exhb- The Tour du Monde
exhibition.
Oakley and Getty Images Exhibition. 46 Eastcastle Street, London W1W 8DX. Free
exhibition of stunning photography, rare athlete memorabilia, including Lance
Armstrong's jersey and sunglasses. www.gettyimages.com
www.oakley.com
Exhb- Eyes on the Tour
de France.
County Hall exhibition space, South Bank. 10am-6.30pm. Major retrospective of
photographer Graham Watson's images of the Tour de France. Contact: Ann Higginson
(Shadetree Sports London) 020 8878 9117 ann@shadetreesports.com
Exhb- Round and Around:
Cycles and Cycling Past to Present.
Canterbury Royal Museum and Art Gallery 18 High Street. Monday to Saturday 10am
to 5pm (last admission 4.45pm). Canterbury Museum 01227 475220
Special exhibition putting Tour de France in context and featuring images of
cycling from Penny Farthing to BMX, with a real Boneshaker and modern road-racer,
as well as cycle accessories. Includes photographs of early cyclists in Canterbury
district from museum and library collections, many of them never shown before,
as well as posters, advertisements and cartoons from the British Cartoon Archive.
Free admission
Exhb- London Design Museum
- I love my bike activities.
Free anytime day or night. Fixed exhibition in the Design Museum tank - a survey
of fixed gear bikes from 1888 to the present day. Featuring four significant
fixed wheel bicycled along with an exploded, annotated 3D diagram of a fixed
geared bike lasered into a sheet of glass. www.designmuseum.org
Exhb- Science
Museum Cycling Display
Visitors will be able to see a display of cutting-edge and
world famous bikes which are allowing cyclists to ride faster than ever before,
including bikes now officially banned from the Tour. Experts will also be on
hand to explain the latest technology and gadgets. The event will take place
in the Antenna science news gallery from Wednesday 25-Friday 27 July.
Exhb- Cycling
heroes photography
Cycling dominates the cultural and sporting landscape in Flanders. It is the
everyman sport - every village has its cycle race; children dream of being champions.
This exhibition, featuring the powerful work of Panos Pictures photographer
Stephan Vanfleteren, pays tribute to the Flandrien – the tough, determined,
unsophisticated heroes of the Tour of Flanders and the Paris-Roubaix –
cyclists who specialise in some of the worst roads and weather conditions imaginable
in bike racing.
The exhibition is at the HOST Gallery in EC1 and will run from 20th June to
31st July
Jumbly
