Tens of thousands of people packed the streets of just two towns
and one village as Wiltshire got its first taste of the Olympic torch
relay spectacular yesterday.
The torch relay team battled their way through crowds ten deep on both sides of the road in west Wiltshire, with police estimating that more than 30,000 people came to see the Olympic flame.
Boosted by thousands of school-children, the sheer size of the crowds stunned organisers and council chiefs who had put on special events in both Trowbridge and Bradford on Avon, where the torch passed through yesterday afternoon.
And tens of thousands more are expected in Wiltshire today. If yesterday was just a taster, then today will be the main course, with six towns in Wiltshire seeing the torch visit, including Royal Wootton Bassett, Chippenham and Swindon.
The torch arrived in its fourth county just after noon, when the convoy from Frome crossed the Somerset border into Wiltshire. The first stop was Southwick, a village two miles south of Trowbridge with a population of less than 2,000. But some 5,000 people – many of them schoolchildren from Warminster and Westbury – lined the streets as the torch was welcomed to the county by council leader Jane Scott.
The first to carry the torch on Wiltshire soil for 62 years was Paul Clarke, a 39-year-old from nearby Codford who founded a charity to improve football facilities in Africa. He has so far delivered 25,000 footballs to Uganda, Angola, Zambia, Rwanda, Tanzania, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Soon his 300 yards were up, and Paul ‘kissed’ the torch with the next torchbearer, one of scores lined up ahead in Trowbridge and Bradford on Avon.
At Clarendon College in Trowbridge, the torch was popped into a lantern and it and the team running the relay broke for lunch. For the hundreds of pupils at the secondary school, it was a once-in-a-lifetime occasion. “It’s a really good experience, everyone was smiling and cheering,” said pupil Jack Greggs.
“I was literally five metres away from the torch. It was a really good feeling, when you think of how many people will see it and touch it,” he added.
Trowbridge’s wide Bythesea Road, home of County Hall, was packed with well-wishers – some 15,000 lined the streets of the county town either side of lunchtime. Council leader Jane Scott said it was a special day. “The last time the Olympics came to this country was over 60 years ago,” she said. “Every single one of the thousands who lined the streets to witness the flame being carried through their town was witnessing a truly once in a lifetime experience.
“It was wonderful to see the communities come together to celebrate this occasion, which we hope will leave a lasting legacy for many years to come,” she added.
Within minutes, the torch relay had left Trowbridge, and headed towards Bradford on Avon. There, waiting was the town’s new mayor John Potter. Bradford had laid on a huge party, with music, entertainment, stalls and attractions all around the town centre.
But the focal point was the town’s famous 14th century bridge – the only place to cross the river in town.
The way the town had put on a huge show for the arrival of the flame – it was in and out of Bradford within 15 minutes – was documented by the Olympic flame organisers and used as a template to show other towns over the coming weeks how it should be done.
Staging such an extravaganza was a big effort for Bradford, but was worth it, Mayor Potter said: “It means the whole town’s come together to have a jolly good day out.
“We were hoping that lots of people would come and they have. The sun is shining and it’s brilliant,” he added.
“I’m pleased to hear that they are using us as an example, because we spent a lot of time to make it happen. It could be a potential nightmare with this one crossing of the bridge and to be truthful we had no idea how many people would come.
“We just provided the spaces and filled them with stuff and hoped that people would come and they have,” he added.
In the end, police estimates put the numbers in Bradford on Avon town centre at 10,000, not counting the thousands who waited for the torch at the top of the hill above the town.
The task of climbing that hill, called Masons Lane – one of the steepest in Wiltshire – fell to Helen Merron, from Brinkworth, near Malmesbury. She was nominated after devoting her life to teaching and encouraging others to swim and run, and she gamely powered up the hill before handing over to Beatrice Pitfield, a 72-year-old swimming club stalwart.
The biggest cheers of the day were sparked by Richard Warren, who has volunteered as a special constable – now a sergeant – for an astonishing 43 years in the community around Hullavington, Wiltshire.
A passionate thespian, the am-dram king is as often seen on stage as he is on the beat, and he gave the people of Trowbridge a real show. He managed to pack in twirls, curtseys, bows, jigs and skips into his 300 metres with the Olympic flame, whipping up the crowd gathered on either side of the road.
Newly elected Wiltshire council chairman Christine Crisp said it was an honour for Bradford and for the county – which is statistically getting the most number of hours of Olympic torch relay of any county in the country.
“The sun shone, the crowds have turned out and it’s been an honour to see it today,” she said. “I think Bradford on Avon did extremely well, as did Trowbridge and Southwick.
And, for Wiltshire, the fun has only just begun.
The torch arrives back in the county tomorrow at around 9.45am, and spends half an hour going through Chippenham.
Then it is on to Calne, Marlborough, Chiseldon and Wroughton before an emotional tour up the famous High Street at Wootton Bassett. The last place in Wiltshire it goes through is Swindon, where Chelsea’s Champions League winner Didier Drogba will be waiting for his turn.
The torch relay team battled their way through crowds ten deep on both sides of the road in west Wiltshire, with police estimating that more than 30,000 people came to see the Olympic flame.
Boosted by thousands of school-children, the sheer size of the crowds stunned organisers and council chiefs who had put on special events in both Trowbridge and Bradford on Avon, where the torch passed through yesterday afternoon.
And tens of thousands more are expected in Wiltshire today. If yesterday was just a taster, then today will be the main course, with six towns in Wiltshire seeing the torch visit, including Royal Wootton Bassett, Chippenham and Swindon.
The torch arrived in its fourth county just after noon, when the convoy from Frome crossed the Somerset border into Wiltshire. The first stop was Southwick, a village two miles south of Trowbridge with a population of less than 2,000. But some 5,000 people – many of them schoolchildren from Warminster and Westbury – lined the streets as the torch was welcomed to the county by council leader Jane Scott.
The first to carry the torch on Wiltshire soil for 62 years was Paul Clarke, a 39-year-old from nearby Codford who founded a charity to improve football facilities in Africa. He has so far delivered 25,000 footballs to Uganda, Angola, Zambia, Rwanda, Tanzania, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Soon his 300 yards were up, and Paul ‘kissed’ the torch with the next torchbearer, one of scores lined up ahead in Trowbridge and Bradford on Avon.
At Clarendon College in Trowbridge, the torch was popped into a lantern and it and the team running the relay broke for lunch. For the hundreds of pupils at the secondary school, it was a once-in-a-lifetime occasion. “It’s a really good experience, everyone was smiling and cheering,” said pupil Jack Greggs.
“I was literally five metres away from the torch. It was a really good feeling, when you think of how many people will see it and touch it,” he added.
Trowbridge’s wide Bythesea Road, home of County Hall, was packed with well-wishers – some 15,000 lined the streets of the county town either side of lunchtime. Council leader Jane Scott said it was a special day. “The last time the Olympics came to this country was over 60 years ago,” she said. “Every single one of the thousands who lined the streets to witness the flame being carried through their town was witnessing a truly once in a lifetime experience.
“It was wonderful to see the communities come together to celebrate this occasion, which we hope will leave a lasting legacy for many years to come,” she added.
Within minutes, the torch relay had left Trowbridge, and headed towards Bradford on Avon. There, waiting was the town’s new mayor John Potter. Bradford had laid on a huge party, with music, entertainment, stalls and attractions all around the town centre.
But the focal point was the town’s famous 14th century bridge – the only place to cross the river in town.
The way the town had put on a huge show for the arrival of the flame – it was in and out of Bradford within 15 minutes – was documented by the Olympic flame organisers and used as a template to show other towns over the coming weeks how it should be done.
Staging such an extravaganza was a big effort for Bradford, but was worth it, Mayor Potter said: “It means the whole town’s come together to have a jolly good day out.
“We were hoping that lots of people would come and they have. The sun is shining and it’s brilliant,” he added.
“I’m pleased to hear that they are using us as an example, because we spent a lot of time to make it happen. It could be a potential nightmare with this one crossing of the bridge and to be truthful we had no idea how many people would come.
“We just provided the spaces and filled them with stuff and hoped that people would come and they have,” he added.
In the end, police estimates put the numbers in Bradford on Avon town centre at 10,000, not counting the thousands who waited for the torch at the top of the hill above the town.
The task of climbing that hill, called Masons Lane – one of the steepest in Wiltshire – fell to Helen Merron, from Brinkworth, near Malmesbury. She was nominated after devoting her life to teaching and encouraging others to swim and run, and she gamely powered up the hill before handing over to Beatrice Pitfield, a 72-year-old swimming club stalwart.
The biggest cheers of the day were sparked by Richard Warren, who has volunteered as a special constable – now a sergeant – for an astonishing 43 years in the community around Hullavington, Wiltshire.
A passionate thespian, the am-dram king is as often seen on stage as he is on the beat, and he gave the people of Trowbridge a real show. He managed to pack in twirls, curtseys, bows, jigs and skips into his 300 metres with the Olympic flame, whipping up the crowd gathered on either side of the road.
Newly elected Wiltshire council chairman Christine Crisp said it was an honour for Bradford and for the county – which is statistically getting the most number of hours of Olympic torch relay of any county in the country.
“The sun shone, the crowds have turned out and it’s been an honour to see it today,” she said. “I think Bradford on Avon did extremely well, as did Trowbridge and Southwick.
And, for Wiltshire, the fun has only just begun.
The torch arrives back in the county tomorrow at around 9.45am, and spends half an hour going through Chippenham.
Then it is on to Calne, Marlborough, Chiseldon and Wroughton before an emotional tour up the famous High Street at Wootton Bassett. The last place in Wiltshire it goes through is Swindon, where Chelsea’s Champions League winner Didier Drogba will be waiting for his turn.
