Issue #1: Thursday 22 October 2026

👋 Hello, Ashby!

Welcome to the very first Ashby Insider! Every Thursday at 6pm I’ll round up the best of what’s happening in and around Ashby, from Market Street to Moira, Packington and Woodville. Expect events worth leaving the sofa for, food and drink news, handy heads-ups and the odd bit of local history.

Half-term fun starts this weekend, Halloween’s just over a week away and the Christmas lights are on the horizon. Let’s get into it… 🎃

📰 This Week in Ashby

🏦 The banking hub has a permanent home. Cash Access UK’s banking hub opened at 54b Market Street (the old NatWest) on Friday 16 October. MP Amanda Hack and the Mayor, Cllr Murrae Blair-Park, cut the ribbon. Customers of all major banks can pop in weekdays 9am–5pm for withdrawals, deposits and bill payments. Community bankers visit on set days: NatWest on Monday, HSBC on Tuesday, Lloyds/Halifax/Bank of Scotland on Wednesday and Friday, and Santander on Thursday. The temporary hub at the library has now closed. Sources: Ashby Nub News · Leicestershire Live

🌺 The Poppy Appeal is up and running. The Ashby and District Poppy Appeal launched today, 22 October. You’ll find stalls in Aldi, Lidl and Tesco until 5 November, plus poppies and donation pots in shops around town and the villages. Local businesses are dressing their windows for a competition that will be judged on 2 November. Source: Ashby Nub News

🗑️ The new bins won’t arrive until 2027. NWLDC has pushed back its new wheelie-bin recycling system and weekly food waste collections to “early next year”. The council blames problems with the bin supply contract and late food waste lorries. The first phase had been due to start in November in Coalville, Whitwick, New Swannington, Hugglescote and Thringstone. For now, keep using your boxes and bags. Source: NWLDC bulletin, 5 Oct 2026

🏗️ A care home decision is due. A 60-bed care home is planned for land next to Warner Road, as part of the new Bloor/Taylor Wimpey neighbourhood. NWLDC said it aimed to decide the application by 2 November. Source: BBC News

🍺 Fancy running a pub? Marston’s is looking for a new operator for The White Hart, a community pub in the middle of Ashby. Sources: Ashby Nub News · Marston’s listing

🎉 What’s On This Weekend (Sat 24 – Sun 25 Oct)

🎃 Pumpkins and alpacas at Charnwood Forest Alpacas (just outside Ashby). Pick and carve a pumpkin and meet the animals, for £10 per family. It runs until 1 November. Ashby Nub News
👻 Halloween Family Fun Afternoon at Swannington Village Hall, Sunday 25 Oct. There’s a pumpkin carving competition, fancy dress, a raffle, a book sale and drinks. Ashby Nub News
💜 Pancreatic Cancer UK fundraiser at Linton Village Hall, Sunday 25 Oct, 10am–2pm. Come for the stalls, face painting, henna and tombola. Ashby Nub News
🌳 Half term at Conkers, Moira. Halloween crafts, a scavenger hunt, the Conkachoo train and ranger activities run until 1 November. Conkers
🏰 Ashby de la Zouch Castle is open Wednesday to Sunday, 10am–5pm. English Heritage

📅 Coming up

Tue 27 Oct, 7.30pm: Heritage Talk, The Victorian Way of Death, with Danny Wells at St Helen’s Community Heritage Centre. £4 including refreshments. Ashby Nub News
Wed 28 Oct, 12–2pm: Ashby Connect, a free business networking lunch at Ashby Rugby Club. Ashby Nub News
Wed 28 Oct, 7.15pm: Ashby Film Nights shows The Christophers (15) at Ashby School Lecture Theatre. £6 on the door, soft drink included. Ashby Nub News
Wed 28 – Sat 31 Oct, from 5pm: Halloween Forest Light Walk at Conkers, with a ghost train, 4D cinema and disco. Conkers
Fri 30 Oct, 5–7pm: Scooby Dooby BOO Bash at Rebound Inflatable Park on Smisby Road. Ashby Nub News
Sat 31 Oct, 11am–1pm: a FREE Spooky Party at Ashby Library and the Tourist Information Centre. Come in fancy dress for sweets! Ashby BID
Sat 31 Oct, 10am–4pm: Halloween Fun Day at Moira Furnace, £7.50 per child. Moira Furnace
Sun 8 Nov: Remembrance Sunday. The parade leaves Ivanhoe School at 9am, with a rolling road closure on North Street from 8.45am. The service at St Helen’s starts at 9.30am, followed by the Act of Remembrance at the War Memorial at around 10.40am. Ashby Town Council
Thu 19 Nov, from 5pm: Late Night Shopping and the Christmas Light Switch-On on Market Street. Ashby BID

🍽️ Food & Drink

🍀 Fitzgeralds is open. The new independent Irish bar opened on 9 October in the former Manhattans nightclub after about 10 months of work. Expect Guinness, Irish spice bags, kebabs, interactive darts, pool and live sport. Ashby Nub News
🍻 Save the date for the Ashby Ale Trail, 21–22 November. Pick up a passport from any taking part venue or the Tourist Information Centre, collect stamps and you could win a prize. Love Ashby will announce the venues soon. Ashby Nub News
🧀 Ashby Farmers & Artisan Market, Sunday 15 November, 10am–2pm on Brook Street. It’s the third Sunday this month because the second is Remembrance Sunday. Ashby Farmers & Artisan Market
🐟 Quiz and fish supper, Fri 6 Nov. Ashby Museum’s Angela Edwards Memorial Quiz is at Packington Memorial Hall. Tickets are £15 including fish and chips, and you must book ahead. Ashby Museum · Ashby Nub News
🍛 Comedy & Curry at The Lyric Rooms, Thu 12 Nov. The Lyric Rooms

💎 Hidden Gem: the castle’s secret tunnel

Ashby Castle has an underground passage running from the kitchen to the Hastings Tower. It was probably dug during the Civil War, when the castle held out for the King until Parliament took it after a long siege in 1646. Later, the ruins became a tourist hotspot after starring in Walter Scott’s hit novel Ivanhoe. Visitors can still walk the tunnel today. English Heritage

Bonus gem: at Ashby Museum on North Street, A Christmas Past shows antique and vintage Christmas decorations from Germany and the former Soviet Union. Tatiana and Serhii, who run Aurora Café, put it together, and some ornaments are for sale. Ashby Museum · Ashby Nub News

🤝 Community & Clubs Shout-out

A big thank you to Pete and the Ashby and District Poppy Appeal team. Pete has volunteered with the Royal British Legion for 10 years. This year’s appeal is backed by Ashby Rotary Club, the 41 Club, Ashby and Coalville Lions, the Army Cadets, Ceva Logistics and Fisher German. If you’re buying a wreath, contact the appeal directly. Ashby Nub News · Ashby Town Council

Got something broken? Repair Café Woodville is at Woodville Community Library on Saturday 14 November, 10am–1pm (last entry 12.30pm). Repair Café Woodville

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Ashby Insider is an independent newsletter. Every item links to its source, so please check details with organisers before you set off.