Our popular Royal Ascot Ladies Race Day was back with a bang on Thursday 20th June as ladies donned their finest frocks and joined us for a royal afternoon of entertainment. This year, the Lodore Falls Hotel & Spa took the reigns as they happily hosted the glamorous affair that has previously resided at the Inn on the Lake for the past 5 years.
Our annual Royal Ascot Ladies Race Day is the perfect outing for classy ladies who want all the glamour and excitement of the main event without the hassle and expense of travelling down the country! This year, our glamorous guests arrived in their hoards as the sold-out event went underway.
We successfully transported all the pizazz and entertainment of the prestigious Royal Ascot event up to the beauty of the English Lake District, while also raising money for our charity of the year. Large-scale television screens had been set up to allow our VIPs to watch the races through a live stream and everyone was able to put their bets on with ‘fun money’ which could be bought from our event’s bookies, Garry Price (General Manager of The Kings Arms) & Caelan Knowles (Duty Manager of the Inn on the Square).
The afternoon’s events
Our Royal Ascot Ladies Race Day kicked off at 12 noon as all the lovely ladies began to arrive, supporting some of the most beautiful fashion that Ascot has ever seen. Guests really went all-out as they turned up in their fancy frocks, elegant jewels and chic hats with each of them hoping to bag the most prestigious prize of all – best dressed.
Guests were welcomed to the grounds of our stylish hotel where they were greeted with a sumptuous cocktail and our team circled the crowd with an impressive array of palatable canapés to nibble on. Since the weather was kind to us, guests were able to enjoy their drinks al fresco while admiring the surrounding scenery.
After a warm welcome, guests made their way inside as they took their seat in the ‘Royal Enclosure’ and enjoyed a stirring introduction from our team who were very excited to take the renowned event under their wing. Keswick School headteacher, Mr Jackson, also gave a heart-warming speech about how grateful he was for our contribution toward their new food technology department.
Mr Jackson said “We are incredibly proud of our school; however, the food technology department is an area that has needed work done to it for some time so we are incredibly grateful for the contribution of Lake District Hotels”.
And they’re off!
Once all our lovely ladies had got settled into their seats and placed their drinks orders, the afternoon’s main entertainment went underway, starting with a delicious 3-course meal. Our chefs and waiting on team worked tirelessly to make sure everything ran smoothly and everyone was nicely fed in time for the races.
At 2:30, fingers were crossed as the first race began and our guests became heavily engrossed in the horse racing! The stakes were high as we showed 4 races throughout the afternoon, giving everyone the chance to win (or lose!) some more ‘fun money’. Our resident bookies were on hand throughout the afternoon for any game gamblers to purchase more.
All guests competed as the lucky ladies with the most ‘fun money’ at the end of the event won our top 3 prizes which were as follows:
- 1st prize – Restore & Rasul Spa Day at The Falls Spa
- 2nd prize – Tablet from LCR System Ltd
- 3rd prize – £30 Treeby & Bolton voucher
The event also included a raffle where guests bought tickets throughout the afternoon to be in with the chance of winning some of the excellent prizes from our raffle table.
Best dressed was decided at the end of the event and it’s safe to say it was not an easy choice this year with so much elegant fashion on display!
Exceptional singer Glen Anderson entertained the crowd throughout the afternoon, reeling off hit after hit that had the audience completely gripped. His repertoire of catchy chartbusters spanned decades and he certainly had no problem getting the lovely ladies up on their feet during the afternoon’s events!
We also had to extend a special thank you to Gary Wilson, General Manager of the Inn on the Lake, as he entertained all our guests in true showman fashion! You go Gary!
He did a great job of leading the conga line!
Helping support our charity of the year.
The glitzy social event is one of the most popular social events on our yearly calendar, and we wanted to use this opportunity to help raise money for our nominated charity of the year. This year, our charity of the year is Keswick School, who we are helping to improve the food technology kitchen. Our goal is to spark students’ interest in hospitality and hopefully encourage a desire to fulfil a career within this industry.
A whopping £1,763 was raised on the day and we cannot thank you enough! Guests helped support our charity by purchasing ‘fun money’ that enabled them to bet on the races, participating in the auction, buying raffle tickets to win some of our wonderful prizes plus £5 from every ticket purchase was donated also.
A big thank you to our Royal Ascot sponsors
We wanted to thank everyone who sponsored our Royal Ascot Ladies Race Day and also show our gratitude to those who kindly donated a raffle prize. We couldn’t have done it without you and are incredibly grateful for your generosity!
Sponsors
- Fluid Productions
- Glen Anderson
- Evergreen Florist
Raffle Prizes
- LCR Systems Ltd
- The Falls Spa
- Treeby & Bolton
- The Ickworth Hotel in Suffolk
- CBA Events
- Pioneer Food Services
- Grapevine
- Cranstons
- Pringle & Fairweather
- House of Sarunds
- Pets Pyjamas
- The Yummy Pudding Company
- Out of Eden
- Hendricks Gin
Auction Prize
- The Ickworth Hotel in Suffolk
