As a local Newmarket resident, Natalie Robinson takes on the role as the Love Newmarket BID Manager this year, looking to interact with local business and ensure Newmarket is a desirable location for all to visit, spend and live.

“I’m looking to bring a fresh perspective to what makes a town a good place to live, work and visit,” Natalie explains. “I’d like to become a friendly face for all local businesses and will strive to do my best for them on behalf of the BID. I also have plenty of event ideas that I hope will bring extra footfall and positive attention to the town.”

Having worked in local media and marketing agencies for 18 years, Natalie has a good understanding of what businesses need in order to succeed. “I feel that the key to this is listening to a business owners’ needs and then actioning what I can to make this achievable.”

With ambitions to create opportunities for local independent business to open within the town, and for local entrepreneurs to shine, Natalie hopes to create an ever-more attractive destination for local residents and visitors alike.

Living in Newmarket herself, with a young family, Natalie holds a vested interest in making the town an enjoyable place to live. “For me, Love Newmarket has a vital role to not only help the businesses thrive, but to also offer fun and engaging events for the residents and visitors. I look forward to meeting with as many businesses as possible in the coming months to understand what they need from the BID and how I can help facilitate it, as well as bringing some of my event ideas to life.”

Already diving straight into the role, Natalie adds: “Thank you to all of the children that helped find our 14 reindeer over the Christmas period- they are all safe and sound and back with Santa for next Christmas. Keep an eye on our social media this month where we will reveal the lucky winner of the £100 Moons Gift Voucher.

“We’re now looking forward to our next event, the Love Newmarket Business EXPO which will take place on Wednesday 8^th March at the Bedford Lodge Hotel. It will be a great opportunity for all local businesses to come and find out what the Newmarket Office Sector members can offer. More information on the event will be on our website soon.”

Two local heroes have been nominated to turn on the Newmarket Christmas Lights for 2022. We say two, but in actual fact, this year one of our heroes will be joined by her canine companion live on stage.

Tess Eagle Swan and her four-legged friend Kratu received numerous nominations in the search for this year’s heroes. Conducted by Love Newmarket, the search asked for nominations online, with several pointing to the duo claiming they have positively impacted people locally and all over the world.

Kratu, an assistance dog trained by Tess, is a rescue dog from Romania who now resides here in Suffolk. Tess is autistic and has developed a fantastic relationship with Kratu giving him agility training through reward basis training.

Shooting to fame after a performance at Crufts went viral across social media, Kratu has been named a ‘Social Media Superstar’ by the Mirror’s People Pet Awards in 2021 and has since gone on to become an Ambassador and attendee for APDAWG (All Parliamentary Dog Advisory Welfare Group) in The House Of Commons.

Working together Kratu and Tess spread joy and cheer wherever they go with many nominations stating they were inspiration in their approach to life. Working as a therapy dog for Kettlefields, Kratu and Tess continually look to raise awareness of autism, ADHA and mental health.

Also joining Tess and Kratu on stage is our second nominated hero, Alex Dugeon. A 16 year old boy who goes above and beyond in his mission to bring festive cheer to the town, Alex has for many years created his own Christmas Lights display, raising money for the East Anglian Air Ambulance in the process.

Purchasing an installing all the lights himself, he is a testament to both Newmarket and the festive spirit needed this time of year. The displays have bought so much joy to passersby, and his dedication and commitment to the task has certainly not gone unnoticed.

The Newmarket Lights Switch On will take place on Friday 18^th November from 5pm. The High Street will be adorned in fun fare rides, local eateries and a meet and greet with Elsa, with performances on stage from local schools, musicians, Star Radio and dancers.

The lights will be turned on at 7pm by these two wonderful heroes, so we hope you’ll join us to start the festive season together.

This year’s Lights Switch On, organised by Love Newmarket, has been kindly sponsored by Tattersalls, The Jockey Club Estates and Newmarket Town Council.

The National Horseracing Museum is delighted to announce that it has been awarded the VisitEngland Gold Accolade for the second consecutive year!

One of just four venues in the East of England to be awarded Gold status, and one of 30 in the whole of the country. The 2021-22 Visitor Attraction Accolades were awarded to 97 attractions in total, and were designed to highlight the quality and diversity of visitor experiences on offer across England. To see the full list of attractions to receive VisitEngland’s 2021-22 Visitor Attraction Accolades, click here.

Using a scores-based system referred to as the annual VisitEngland Visitor Attraction Quality Scheme assessments, specific attractions were ranked in a number of different categories, including Welcome, Best Told Story, Quality Food & Drink, Hidden Gem and Gold for overall winners.

This second consecutive Gold Award for the National Horseracing Museum is testament to the hard work of the museum team, including the staff in the Tack Room restaurant and on-site Bakery, the behind-the-scenes team, visitor services, shop and practical gallery teams, and of course the army of dedicated and wonderful volunteers. Each and every one of the supporters, team members and staff are key to the success of the museum and have all contributed towards this fantastic award and should be very proud of this achievement.

Speaking about the latest assessment results, VisitEngland’s Director Andrew Stokes said:

Cementing their place as one of the UK’s best luxury spa destinations, The Spa at Bedford Lodge Hotel in Newmarket, is the winner of the Best Boutique Spa award at the prestigious Boutique Hotelier Awards 2022. The Suffolk spa received the highly sought after accolade at a glittering award ceremony on 4^thOctober 2022; the award recognises the best hotel spa facility that raises the bar for luxury wellness and focuses on enriching the guest’s journey.

The judges of the award were particularly impressed that The Spa at Bedford Lodge Hotel had invested a significant amount of time and money into training its staff to offer a more diverse and inclusive treatment menu, such as the Wellness For Cancer Treatment Menu, while always maintaining the highest standard of service.

Eamonn Crowe, Editor at Boutique Hotelier stated: “There has been a lot of dialogue about inclusivity within spas in the hotel industry across the last 12 months and it is a sea change we welcome. The Spa at Bedford Lodge Hotel has risen to the challenge, training staff to be able to offer services to guests undergoing treatment for cancer or those who are at a post-treatment stage, opening up the spa experience to an even wider audience.”

The Spa at Bedford Lodge Hotel continues to set new heights for industry by combining exceptional hospitality, forward-thinking treatments and luxury into both the business and their consumer experience. Constantly a step ahead, The Spa at Bedford Lodge Hotel incorporates innovative treatments into a tranquil environment to provide guests with a memorable, relaxing and refreshing journey of their mind, body and soul.

Celebrating the award, Spa Manager Kate Lake, says: “We are thrilled to have won Best Boutique Spa, we truly believe in providing our guests the gold standard in spa experience and our incredible team makes this possible. From the spa attendants, to the receptionists and the therapists, right through to the marketing and management, the dedication and passion from the whole team makes The Spa at Bedford Lodge Hotel experience unforgettable. To be recognised for our work to become as inclusive as possible, including our Wellness for Cancer training and dedicated treatment menu, makes it even more special.”

The Spa at Bedford Lodge Hotel was also recently chosen as one of only four luxury UK Spas to launch the new ESPA Modern Alchemy rituals. Launched at the beginning of October 2022, in collaboration with luxury product house ESPA, the exclusive body treatments take guests on a transformational, sensual journey.

We are searching for two local heroes to turn on Newmarket's Christmas Lights for 2022.

After a fantastic event last year, that saw nominated heroes Ben and Tamara turn on the lights, we want to invite the public to vote for the chosen two this year.
We're looking for individuals that deserve to be recognised for their work during the last twelve months.

Nominations are open between 1st - 21st October 2022, after which nominees will listed on Facebook for our followers to choose from. A final winner will be selected on 31st October.

Please click here to enter your nomination.

Please note, all nominees must be available on Friday 18th November from 6pm for the Lights Switch On event.