Keeping Wheels Safe in Sunny Barmouth

On a hot August morning, I hopped on the train to Barmouth alongside families, surfers and holidaymakers armed with body boards, suitcases, buckets and spades, children and dogs. The platform was alive with colourful summer outfits and bright smiles as everyone poured down the ramp towards the town and beach.

I made my way to the bottom of the fairground car park, where Rhys Roberts, Transport for Wales (TfW) Community Engagement Officer, was already setting up the TfW stall. We’d first connected during the Platform 1 station adoption day way back in April, so when Rhys invited me to support the free Bike Safety event, I was delighted to pencil it into my diary.

We were joined by key partners from policing to rail ensuring everything ran smoothly:

●      Mike Norris (British Transport Police, Machynlleth)

●      PCSO Andy Williams (Tywyn)

●      PCSO Gill Duffey Williams (Barmouth)

●      PCSO Paula Stewart (North Wales Crime Prevention)

●      Jake (Transport for Wales videographer)

Together, our mission was simple: deter bike theft and boost recovery rates through free security marking and registration.

Once Rhys and Mike had the bike-registration app loaded and working on their phones, Eleri and her partner became our first participants. While they secured their bikes in the database, Rhys handed out TfW giveaway items and we encouraged people to complete the Active Travel surveys.

PCSO Andy and I then went for a walk along the town centre and the seafront. The sun drew crowds into coffee shops and onto the beach, but we spotted a few bikes at first. Undeterred, we left leaflets by chained racks and struck up conversations with a cyclist juggling two bikes. Every chat became the perfect opportunity to explain the value of registering and soon more people came forward.

Back at the stall, PCSO Paula was offering crime-prevention tips to visitors and residents. We even met a resident rolling in on an electric tricycle - another great candidate for our security marking.

Between informative chats and marking bikes, I popped into the Barmouth ticket office to say hello to Bekki. She was busy helping people with all manner of queries, but it was wonderful to connect and share the morning’s highlights and see what they were up to.

Overall, the day blended free marking and registration with community conversations and building new relationships.

Learn more about TfW Bike Events here.