Barrow’s Dave Day 2 weekend as road closures in place

Thousands of bikers are expected to travel on one of the predicted hottest days of the year to celebrate the life of Hairy Bikers presenter Dave Myers.

They are due to descend on Barrow in Cumbria where the 66-year-old TV chef – who died from cancer last year – hailed from.

Westmorland and Furness Council warned several roads into the town would be “very busy” across Saturday, with crowd barriers and road closures in place ahead of Dave Day 2.

Organiser Jason ‘Woody’ Woodcock said people “were getting very excited” for the weekend event.

Last year’s event, which saw more than 20,000 bikers travel from London, raised £127,000 for charities the NSPCC and the Institute of Cancer Research.

“Lots of people are getting very excited… We’re really looking forward to doing this again,” Mr Woodcock told BBC Radio Cumbria.

The two-day event involves entertainment on Saturday and Sunday as well as a concert and a charity football match, with tickets priced £10 for each event.

“It’s going to be a whole weekend of togetherness,” Woody added.

The council warned of wider congestion around junction 36 of the M6, with Dave Day motorcyclists expected to arrive in Barrow from mid-afternoon.

The route of the procession travels via the A590 from the M6, turning left on to Park Road at entry into Barrow and proceeding to the town centre through Abbey Road.

The council said that while it was not involved in co-ordinating the event, it was working alongside emergency services to ensure public safety and minimise community impact.

“To ensure everyone’s safety, please remain behind the barriers and do not step into the road or try to ‘high-five’ the passing bikers,” a spokesperson continued.

The council said there would be designated crossing points that people should use, with help from marshals and signage displayed about the procession.

National Highways advised motorists to “allow more time for their journeys and to plan ahead, with thousands more bikers than usual expected on the motorway network over the weekend”.

“It is anticipated the M6 will be particularly busy, especially at Knutsford Services, where motorcyclists travelling from the south will gather before completing their journeys north,” a spokesperson said.

National Highways added that extra traffic officers would patrol at key locations.