THE Old Bank bar and restaurant, in Cross Hills, has marked its first anniversary by joining in a fundraising effort to raise awareness of prostate cancer.

On June 26, owner Stephen Andrews and his business partner Rachel Gott, hosted a walking group led by Jim Thompson (Geordie Jim) of Cowling as they made their way from Skipton to Cross Hills in aid of Prostate Cancer UK and the Movember Foundation

In 2011 Jim found out he had prostate cancer and would need a radical prostatectomy. In 2012 to raise awareness of this disease, Jim and some friends and family set about fund raising. To date the figure is almost £75,000.

The latest fundraiser was the 5th Annual March for Men.

Stephen said: “Geordie Jim and his walking group arrived here at The Old Bank at around 4pm, where we fed the hungry fundraisers, as well as supplying them with a well-deserved beer or two.”

He said their intention was always to be part of the community when opening the bar and were more than happy to help out in the fundraiser. The group started out from The Beer Engine, in Skipton, and finished up at Gallaghers Ale House, in Cross Hills, with refreshments on the way at The Old Bank.

“We were pleased to help and so far they have raised over £2,000 from this event.”

Stephen and his partner opened for business in May last year after Covid lockdown and restrictions severely delayed their planned start date.

“We celebrated our first anniversary here at The Old Bank, where we celebrated with friends, family and our loyal, regular customers.

“The support we have received in our first year of trading has been incredible, and the constant positive feedback of our offering certainly keeps our spirits high, in still unprecedented times. Our customers say the Mediterranean style of dining, with lots of range is great. We also have lots of regular beer enthusiasts, with our wide range of both British and continental beers and cask ales.

“In April we hosted our first “Fine Dining and Wine Pairing” evening here with the theme being ‘The south of France and the Mediterranean’. We had previously hosted these events at several venues across the Aire Valley, so it was exciting to re-start these events, with our last being back in March 2020, literally the weekend before the inaugural lockdown.

“We are planning to host another event the back end of September.

“We hope for a busy summer, with ‘fingers crossed’ good weather, and society’s confidence in using hospitality venues like ours again more regularly.

“Like everyone, we know we face the issues of vast inflation across most supplies, for both products, and of course energy. Another hurdle to approach, however we know our customers will still keep coming.”