TheClitheroe 9 Thursday, January? 19th, 2006 No.


piece of history


PAGE 19 \ 9


CARAVAN Sc MOTORHOME


SHOW 2006 C-MEX MANCHESTER 19-ZE JANUARY


'■\l


by John Deehan '


GUESTS and staff at the Higher Trapp Hotel in' Simonstone had to be evacuated on Tuesday night after a fire ripped through the hotel’s kitchen. Around 40 guests had to be r&;locat-


ed to other hotels, following the fire which engulfed the kitchen at the pop­ ular hotel, in'Trapp Lane.'


; v


Fire-fighters arrived at 7-55 p.m. to


find the kitchen well alight and two fire appliances spent around three hours tackling the blaze. , . Flanies had risen "into the kitchen’s


extractor fan following an accidental fire in the kitchen before spreading


■ through the ceiling ducts. ■ The! kitchen, which is an extension of


. the main building; was ^ t te d by the fire and some rooms upstairs were seri­ ously smoke logged.


■ ;


According to Padiham Fire Station


watch manager Mark Geraghty though the fire could have been a lot worse. . “The dividing brick wall between the


restaurant and the kitchen definitely saved the rest of the building,” he said “If it .wasn’t for tha t the rest of the hotel could have been caused serious damage and we could have been deal­


ing with; “Luckily nobody was injured. .


Surprise top award for tourism


A WOMAN whose passion for the Ribble Valley has resulted in memr orable holidays for visitors far and wide has won a major award. When Mary Parker was invited to dinner on Tuesday she had no


-idea that she would be attending the Lancashire Excellence in Tourism Skills Awards presenta­ tion - nor that she would return home with the “most valuable vol­ unteer” award. Mrs Parker, who lives in New­


ton, was escorted to the Oscar- style gala event at Ribby Hall, Wrea Green, by Ribble Valley Tourism Association chairman Chris Medley.


• “I thought I had better explain


■why we were going shortly before- we arrived,” said a delighted Mr Medley, proprietor of the Calf’s Head Hotel, Worston, yesterday. “She had no idea that she had been entered and was amazed and really pleased to discover that she had won.” Mrs Parker, pictured with her


award, retired from her job as the borough’s tourist information offi- cerin2001. For more than 13 years she had


been the first point of contact for visitors who received her warm welcome to the area on calling into Clitheroe’s Tourist Information


Centre in the Market Place. During her time there she saw


the annual -visitor numbers to the centre more than double from approximately 33,000 when she took on the job, to 85,000. In 1992 she launched Dunsop Bridge as the ■village at the “Heart of the King­ dom” and, in 1999, she introduced the “Centre of the Kingdom” walk,- a 40-mile-plus series of Rib­ ble Valley footpath trails. Since her retirement she has


been an invaluable voluntary ambassador for the Ribble Valley, working as a part-time guide and leading familiarisation trips for coach and private parties, as well


as giving talks to groups far and wide.'- Her knowledge of the area and


enthusiasm for it is legendary and, despite personal involvement with the 'WI, Hodder Valley. Show, St Andrew’s Church, Slaidburn, Slaidbuni school and Newton Vil­ lage Hall, she always finds time to help and adyise the many visitors to the area, whether it is via the local tourism association or the TIC.


, , i-


“The staff at Higher Trapp did a


wonderful job by getting everyone out and making sure' they were all present and correct before we got there. It made our lives a lot easier on a job that could have been a lot worse.” 'A thorough sweep of the building


was conducted afterwards to make sure the fire had been completely extin­ guished and vvork has already begun repairing the damage suffered. A spokesman for Lakeside Collection


Group, who own the hotel, said: “We have two kitchens and fortunately the fire was in the smaller kitchen. The premises had to be evacuated \yhich involved around 30 to 40 guests who all had to be re-housed at local hotels in the area. But we are getting things’ back to normal now and we were able to pro’vide breakfast for our guests. "The hotel is undergoing refurbish­


ment at the moment. But thankfully it is business as usual for us now.”


-.'tl


: . The awards were presented by


Diane Oxberry, of North West Tonight, and Diane Blakemore, skills excecutive at the Lancashire and Blackpool Tourist Board.(s) .


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20; Kirtg Street; CLITHEROE


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