Bike and Go offers free book with every sign up to mark World Book Day

LEADING bike hire scheme Bike and Go was offering every new subscriber a brand new best selling fiction book worth up to ₤10 on 'World Book Day.' For 24 hours on 1 March 2018, each person who took out an annual subscription, which allows up to 2 bikes at a time to be hired from participating Train Stations including:- Southport, Formby and Ainsdale, will receive a new paperback by a critically acclaimed author.

The range of titles on offer included:- Woman in the Window by A. J. Finn; Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Sunday Times Bestseller Gail Honeyman, and Lullaby by Leila Slimani.

The books where being given away to mark the benefits that reading, as just like cycling, it can have huge effects on your mental health, including:- reduced anxiety, increased self esteem, and a sense of escapism.

Users who subscribed on 'World Book Day'  will receive their new book through the post, but unlike the bike rentals, the books don't have to be returned.

David O'Leary, Bike and Go director, said:- "Cycling and reading have both been proven to have a positive effect on health and wellbeing, which is why we've decided to offer this 24 hour World Book Day giveaway to new subscribers. Whether braving the cold now, or waiting for the temperatures to rise later, we want to give all Bike and Go users the opportunity to hire a bike, cycle to somewhere cosy, and take some time out to relax with a good book. Our users don't even need to return the bikes to the same place. So if they enjoy a bike ride, spend some time reading, then find themselves too engrossed in their book to cycle back again, they can simply leave the bike at another Bike and Go facility and catch the train home, enjoying some added reading time while they travel."

Bike and Go offers bike hire facilities from 21 participating Train Stations across the Merseyrail network, including:- Liverpool Central, Moorfields, Aigburth, Southport, Ormskirk and West Kirby, in addition to a further 49 participating Train Stations across much of the:- North West, North East and Yorkshire, East and South East of England, and Scotland.

In 2016 the scheme was praised by a UK division of the travel giant TripAdvisor when it was included in a list of the top 7 bicycle hire companies drawn up by its subsidiary rental company Holiday Lettings.

To hire a Bike and Go bike, users simply need to register their card details online, which they can do via:- smart phones, tablets, or at home, and pay the annual ₤10 subscription fee. They will then receive a user number via email which will allow immediate bike hire; usually charged at just ₤3.80, per 24 hours, up to a maximum of 72 hours; while they wait for their Bike and Go membership card.

'Bark' to the future

PRIMARY School pupils are using planting power to help make Liverpool greener for generations to come. Children from Florence Melly, Leamington Road, Northcote and Rice Lane Schools recently converged on Walton Hall Park to plant more than 1,000 young trees.

Over 2 days, the young people sowed seeds for the future by planting a variety of trees at different locations across the park. They were supported by Liverpool City Council's Parks and Green Spaces team and The Friends of Walton Hall Park.

The Council has teamed up with The Mersey Forest and The 1 Tree Per Child scheme to ensure that every 10 year old child in the City plants their own tree. The scheme will see 10,000 new trees planted by 2020.

Previously, pupils from Lister Drive Junior School planted 500 trees in Newsham Park. While children from Our Lady and St Swithin's and Croxteth Community Primary Schools helped plant a further 500 trees in Alt Meadow.

Parks and Green Spaces Development Officer Barry Walker explains:- "The children looked at the different environments within the park and planted trees that would be best suited to these locations. For example, in some areas they planted fruit bearing varieties that will help sustain the wildlife in the area in years to come."

The 1 Tree scheme is the 1st key recommendation to be implemented from the City's Green Spaces Review, which called for children to have greater engagement with the City's parks.

The Friends of Walton Hall Park have invited the children to come back in the Spring to see how they are doing and to take learn more about the park and its wildlife.

Assistant Mayor of Liverpool, Councillor Nick Small, said:- "This is a fantastic project which will help to make Liverpool a much greener City. It is also a great opportunity for the children to take an active role in helping to cultivate their local environment. It is wonderful to think that as these children grow they will also see their trees grow to create some wonderful woodland and natural habitats for everyone to enjoy."