Eco-friendly deliveries to your door
Stephen Paul’s bike delivery service has become a familiar sight on the streets of Bath. Nancy Connolly stopped him in his tracks to find out more
BAA Baa Black Sheep Have you any wool? Yes sir, yes sir, three bags full. So goes the nursery rhyme and so goes Stephen Paul from Bath bike delivery service Three Bags Full.
Stephen goes out and about on the streets and hills of Bath delivering all sorts of things – you may have seen him.
It is a genius idea, innovative and environmentally friendly.
Stephen said: “We wanted to reduce the number of delivery vans in Bath, clogging up our streets, adding to the pollution, it is an environmental campaign really.
“Anyone can call us, we will deliver anything within reason around Bath,” he said.
For about £4.50 a trip Stephen will pick up food or other items for you within a five-mile radius of Bath, which includes Weston and Lansdown in the north, Bathwick Hill and the university to the south.
Stephen’s mission is purely to reduce pollution in Bath.
He used to run a publishing business and had no experience of either cycling or the delivery business before setting up Three Bags Full.
He said: “I retired from my business, I was looking to do something else. I live in London Road where pollution levels are really high.
“I am always amazed at the number of Amazon or other delivery vans around Bath, I wanted to do something to help the traffic and pollution and I came across an article about cargo bikes.
“I discovered they were trialling them in Holland and Germany so I thought it would work well in Bath. It is a small city and relatively easy to get around by bike despite the hills.
“I decided to give it a go,” he said.
He had his bike, a long white electric model with a large box for deliveries at the front, custom-made for the business.
Stephen now has two bikes on the road.
He said: “Our bikes are zero emission, they are all-electric so we can get around quite quickly and we try to give our customers what they want, even if their request is unusual,” he said.
How is lockdown affecting his business?
He said: “Many of the businesses in town are closed now but hopefully it will all open up again soon. We approached Waitrose as we knew they had long waits for deliveries so we were able to help out, delivering groceries to people at home, some of them were shielding.
“We work very closely with small artisan food producers around Bath, it is great to help these local producers get their food around,” he said.
Businesses like Widcombe Deli, The Fine Cheese Company, Flowers of Bath, Minuteman Press, lots of the independents, call on Stephen for local deliveries.
He said: “Many of our customers like to order in food for a special occasion or family gathering.
“We could pick up a cheese board from The Fine Cheese Company, or freshly made dishes from many of the great independent shops or restaurants in Bath. It could be on the customer’s table in minutes, all fresh and ready to eat, and no damage to the environment.
“We want to help people of Bath move things around without using diesel-guzzling vans. We are just trying to do our little bit,” he said.
Jon and Nicky Ison from
Widcombe Deli use Stephen to carry their signature quiches from their café in Widcombe to their Larkhall premises.
Jon said: “It works really well, Stephen is really reliable, it is cheap and it is good for the environment.”
Many of the local businesses in Bath have posted really positive comments about the service on the Three Bags Full website.
Stephen is happy to carry most loads – it doesn’t actually have to be three bags full, that is his business brand, but it does have to be a reasonable size for the bike.
And, yes, there is something for everyone, the master, the dame and even the little guy who lives down the lane, or up the hill or in any nook or cranny in Bath.