Cafe will continue to keep our spirits up during the lockdown
TODAY we head into a second lockdown that we all hoped would not happen.
Lockdown 2.0 brings to a sudden halt the gradual return to as normal a life as possible that had been happening since July.
Once again, until December 2, we all face restrictions limiting our movements and the ability to socialise with family and friends, freedoms that now feel so precious in these pandemic days.
When the first lockdown was eased in early summer, here at The Cheltenham Trust we recognised the importance of being able to meet safely outside and opened the outdoor Heritage Café at Pittville Pump Room.
Since its opening in late June, the café has hosted Swing in the Park live music throughout the summer months and welcomed more than 35,000 visitors.
The café has provided a Covid-19 secure outdoor environment that after months of social isolation and restricted movement has proven to be a popular destination of choice in such unusual times.
Now, as we head into a second lockdown, we recognise the importance of outdoor space and how vital it is to have the opportunity to socially interact for our mental and physical health and wellbeing, especially during the colder and shorter winter days.
The latest restrictions allow us to continue to enjoy our parks and outdoor spaces so the Heritage Café will stay open offering a takeaway service daily from 9am to 4pm.
The Trust wants to continue to do all it can to support the local community through this November lockdown.
While the restrictions will not allow us to provide tables and chairs, until December 2, customers are welcome to bring their own seating and to enjoy the covered portico.
While the challenges of this unprecedented year continue, a coffee and cake under the portico with family members or a friend, in a beautiful location taking in the sweeping vista of Pittville Park may be a small and simple pleasure.
But its value may well prove to have a big impact in helping to keep our spirits up throughout this second lockdown and until the brighter and, fingers crossed, more normal days return.