‘Best buns’: County Down café named the greatest in Northern Ireland by national cycling charity

By Victoria Heywood
Tuesday, 09 October 2018
Bow Bells, a café in County Down, has been named the best for cyclists in all of Northern Ireland by the national cycling charity Cycling UK.

Bow Bells won the Northern Ireland category of Cycling UK’s Cyclist Café of the Year awards, which were announced on Saturday. There were four other winners, for Wales, England and Scotland as well as a Lifetime Achievement award.

Hundreds of cafes across the UK received online nominations for the awards; shortlists then went to a panel of experts for the final decisions.

Bow Bells is owned by local councillor Mark Brooks and is a warm and friendly place to stop during a day’s cycling. Many people who nominated Bow Bells said they served delicious large cakes, with one nomination declaring they baked ‘the best buns in County Down’. The café puts on a club barbeque every year and supports local cycling clubs and groups.

Mark said: "It's an honour to receive an award for what we do, we are glad we have so many happy customers."

Matt Mallinder, Membership Director Cycling UK said: “Cyclists depend on great cafes as a place to reenergise with cakes and hot drinks and meet up with others during a day out. These awards say thank you to those cafes whose staff go the extra mile to provide tired cyclists with a friendly face, tasty food and comfy place to take a break.

“Bow Bells has proven it deserves the accolade of Cyclist Café of the Year for Northern Ireland. We wish its team all the best for the future.”

Notes to editors

  1. Cycling UK, the national cycling charity, inspires and helps people to cycle and keep cycling, whatever kind of cycling they do or would like to do. Over a century’s experience tells us that cycling is more than useful transport; it makes you feel good, gives you a sense of freedom and creates a better environment for everyone. www.cyclinguk.org
  2. More about Bow Bells can be found on its Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Bow-Bells-144501038925176/
  3. Images of the winners can be found here: https://www.skyfish.com/p/cyclinguk/1328332
  4. The other winners were Velocity in Inverness for Scotland, Café Velo in Hampshire for England, and I want to ride my bike café, bar and workshop in Cardiff for Wales. The Lifetime Achievement award went to Eureka Café in Two Mills, Chester. The results of the Cyclist Café of the Year awards were announced on Saturday 6 October at Cycling UK’s Big Bike Celebration in Harrogate.

Press contact information

For more information, interview requests and images contact the national Cycling UK Press Office on 01483 238 315, 07786 320 713 or email [email protected]

Cyclist Cafe of the Year

Further reading