Bowls club seeks new members to keep it rolling

A village bowls club is seeking new members to help keep one of the community's longest-standing traditions alive.

Longthorpe Bowls Club has been at the heart of the Peterborough village since it was founded in the 1950s.

It currently has 75 members and runs league teams in the Peterborough Bowls League alongside regular social events and monthly club competitions.

Richard Harrison, who joined in 2004, said the club remained a welcoming and social place but, like many bowls clubs across the country, faced the challenge of an ageing membership.

"It can be very competitive, but it is also very social," said Harrison, a retired police officer.

The bowls club was created on land originally donated by Captain Tom Fitzwilliam after World War Two, and is part of a wider community space that includes the tennis courts and sports fields.

It is largely run by volunteers and is self-funded. Harrison said members raised funds through social evenings that helped with the maintenance costs of about £8,000 a year.

He added most of the members were in their 80s and the club was keen to encourage younger people to take up the sport, especially those looking for a new hobby after stepping away from more physically demanding games.

"But the numbers are slowly dwindling, possibly because there's so many other things that take people's interests now," he added.

"We want to ensure this remains as a bowls club and for that we need to get people joining in, and joining in at a younger age."

The club reopens for the new season on 18 April. On 6 May it is hosting a free introductory bowls session to allow visitors to try the sport and meet members.

"On a nice afternoon, with the sun out and a gentle breeze, there is nothing nicer than playing bowls here," Harrison said.

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