Cargodale

20/10/2026

It was an unusually action packed weekend of Cargodaling last week.

I usually try to rest and recuperate as much as possible over the weekend in preparation for the week ahead (150 odd miles done last week!), and bar walking with Cargodale's number one fan (see last slide) will do as little as humanly possible 😴😂 However this weekend I was delighted to be asked to play a small role at an amazing event hosted by Tod Harriers at Centre Vale Park in Todmorden on Saturday, and honoured to be a guest on on Sunday morning as part of their Community Heroes weekend. It was incredibly humbling (and terrifying, haha) to be asked to go on alongside so many wonderful people doing wonderful things across the valley. We live in a very special place! ❤️

Saturday saw the UKA Fell & Hill Relays 2026 event take place at Centre Vale Park and I was on hand throughout the day to transport equipment across the various sites and to assist the wonderful trashfreetrailscalderdale
with their clean up operation, collecting and moving waste and recycling across the park to ensure it was left trash free! 🗑️♻️💚 Rob and Mandy do amazing work in working to keep our precious green spaces across the valley litter free, removing thousands of items of single-use pollution. They also run volunteer-led initiatives at events across the valley, check them out and see how you could get involved!

If you want to give the Community Heroes shows a listen they are now available on demand in the 'Listen Again' section on the website (www.caldervalleyradio.co.uk). I've tried to listen to mine and it's just too cringe 😬😂 Cargodale's number one fan seemed to enjoy it, although she did fall asleep during it... 🤔 I'm hoping it was calming rather than boring... 😂 Thanks ever so much to Linz for having me on and making me feel at ease, and huge well done to all the other guests!

Enjoy the rest of your week folks 🤗

Alex
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12/10/2026

Over the past two to three weeks it has started to feel like there is some real momentum gathering for Cargodale. I've kept pushing up that hill (now in increasingly wet weather and usually with a relentless headwind 😅) and it feels like I'm slowly beginning to reap the rewards. But I must keep climbing!

It's almost four months now since I started doing this again. I had absolutely no idea how it was going to go and it's still very early days - I have to keep reminding myself to be patient and that this will take time - but I am (overall, haha) very happy with the way things are going ⬆️🚵‍♂️

Last week was the third week of doing veg box deliveries for Isolde Davey, and each week we have doubled the amount of customers. 2 the first week, 4 the next, and 6 last time out. Can we hit 8 this week?? That would be amazing! 🎱 And, it would be even more amazing to partner with more clients to use the service in the same way.

I really need to add more of these regular deliveries, to have them in the diary at the same time each week so I can plan other possible runs around the same locations and to know that there is that income there each month. It has been wonderful to have more individual customers use the service and I really hope this continues to increase - there were even a couple of retail deliveries last week also! 😮 But I need to be doing more large scale deliveries alongside these to sustain the business.

So, can I help you?? Are you a local producer/baker/veg grower/market stall holder/outside catering/takeaway service? (Not an exclusive list by any means!) I'm especially keen to explore more ways in which we might help one another with B2B deliveries - I know there is crossover between several of the places I deliver to and their suppliers, particularly at places like Tod Almighty Wholefoods, Valley Organics Hebden Bridge and Isolde Davey. Please do get in touch with any enquiries at all - I would be very happy to hear from you!

Have a great week everyone. There's a couple of exciting things happening this weekend, stay tuned for more updates! 📺📻😁

Alex
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08/10/2026

04/10/2026

I forgot to include this photo in my post the other day... they generally take me absolutely ages to put together deliberating over every last detail and then I'll invariably miss something out or forget to say something really important... the perils of social media!! 🤦‍♂️😂

I'm so so happy to have gotten the partnership with Isolde Davey off the ground and am really encouraged by the take up of the veg box deliveries, already doubling the number of customers from the first week to the second. Really hope it continues, and thanks so much to Isolde for all her hard work in promoting it 🤗

I really want to build and develop more of these partnerships across the valley, connecting local businesses with more customers, providing communities with an alternative means of supporting their local ecomomy and helping local businesses work together so that the local community can prosper. The partnership with Isolde Davey has already presented other B2B opportunities with the likes of Friendly Soap, and I really hope that I can continue to forge similar links and connections between more local businesses moving forward 🔗🤝

There are already several of these partnerships in place and I wanted to give the current retail delivery options available through Cargodale a bit of a push - the reality at the moment is that I am getting very few of these so please do take a moment to have a look and follow the link to see what exciting things I might be able to deliver direct to your door! 😁 I'm hoping once the new website is live (hopefully before Christmas) I'll be able to do a better job of promoting these with links to local business websites. A few weeks back when I was bemoaning the lack of individual customers using the service the response to my post was amazing and it was shared far and wide, with many more people using it since. It would be amazing to get a similar response to this one! 🙏

There are always many ongoing conversations happening with other local businesses and I am really hopeful I will be able to confirm more partnerships over the coming weeks.

Alex
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01/10/2026

These Shimano batteries really have amazing range!! 🔋

Although we may need to revisit my delivery radius, Isolde Davey ?? 🥵😅

Ok, ok... maybe I didn't quite cycle 1,040 miles today (although my legs certainly seem to think so) 😴

This is actually the number of miles I have cycled since the last time I reset the odometer on the bike. I think I did maybe three of these photos previously on busy Wednesdays before forgetting to reset it again, so, having just completed my third month back doing this, I reckon I've done roughly 1,200 miles in total. And... it's getting busier!! 😁

I've been really happy with the increase in new individual customers using the service over the last month. The number of people using it is now into double figures and I am regularly receiving new enquiries, which is amazing! Thank you all so much 🤗 Prescription collections, trips to the garden centre, and (finally!) a couple of drops for the Kindness Shop, are just a few of the things I have done.

I was delighted to be invited to a couple of events to promote the business, and there's a couple more things I've been invited to do this month too, so watch this space! I'm so excited (and so grateful!) that people are recognising what I'm doing and want to help me try and promote the business further 🙏

I've added a few new clients, including setting up weekly veg box deliveries every Thursday with Isolde Davey, and retail delivery for Good Neighbour, HOTCAKES, Woofy Treats and Perfect for Pets. I am also back every Friday delivering for Kirstie Fagan. There are many more discussions with many other local businesses taking place, and I hope to be able to confirm more soon! 🤞

There is a new Cargodale website in the pipeline. The trusty steed I have been borrowing from HebTroCo for the past three months will soon officially be mine. There is a new cargo box on order. I'm thinking of buying a new waterproof jacket. It really is all happening!!

I've run out of space now. So I'll shut up. More news to come! 🗞️

Alex
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01/10/2026

25/09/2026

22/09/2026

So, Mrs. Cargodale has recently got into making her own sourdough bread and has very kindly allowed me to use this photo of her latest attempt so that I had something other than the picture of me grinning next to crates of bread on the bike, that I'm sure you're all very sick of seeing by now (I know I am) 😂

I've still included that picture anyway, because I want people to know that I deliver bread. Or, more accurately, I used to deliver bread. Back in the day! I was the valley's very own Hovis boy, delivering loaves ont' bike o'er cobbles, and I absolutely loved it. And I'd love to start doing it again! 🍞😁

So, bakers and bread makers of Calderdale, please get in touch! If I can help you with deliveries in any way, with wholesale deliveries to shops or perhaps helping you transport your delicious wares to pop-up markets across the valley, I'd love to hear from you. I know from my previous jobs delivering for Baked and just how insanely busy and overworked and underslept you guys are, and I would love to be able to help ease your workload just a tiny bit if I may.

Feel free to DM me here with any enquiries, or email at [email protected]. You can also give me a call/text/WhatsApp on 07706476809. Very happy to discuss any ways in which I might be able to help.

Enjoy the rest of your week everyone 🤗

Alex
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18/09/2026

*important update*

New carbon neutral delivery service launched today!

Would you like to have local and ethical groceries delivered to your home address on a Thursday?

We are working with Cargodale to deliver groceries to your door.

How do I order?

1. Book a slot by SUNDAY
2. Send in order by TUESDAY
3. Pay invoice BY WEDNESDAY
4. Receive goods by THURSDAY

Key points:

• flat rate of £3.50 for deliveries
• radius of 3-4 miles from Sowerby bridge with some flexibility
• message via WhatsApp or text on 07895033559
• you can order anything from the shop within reason, but we also have organic veg boxes: sm £10, med £15, large £22.50
• fresh bakery available
• if you want to drop off vessels for refilling earlier, this is an option
• potential for further collections from other local businesses
• you don't have to be in for delivery if able to supply a safe place but let us know so we can pack accordingly etc
• rolling orders or every week (until you say stop) available q

Any questions, please ask. First delivery next Thursday 24th September, so get your slot by this Sunday!

17/09/2026

Yes, yes, I agree. I too would much rather read about Carradale goats than write a Google review for Cargodale 🐐 But, if you happen to have a spare couple of minutes (and that's not really long enough to properly learn about Carradale goats now anyway is it really) then I would really appreciate it if you could write a few words to describe your experience using the service. I've recently reinstated the business profile with updated details as I look to increase my visibility online (with a new website also in the pipeline!), and it'd be a huge help if I could get the number of (hopefully good!) reviews up to fully establish Cargodale as a trusted and reliable service 🤗

I've been a little quieter on social media over the past couple of weeks but rest assured I'm working away at several things behind the scenes, speaking to more potential clients, attending events I've been kindly invited to to promote the business, and making strides to invest in various things using the money you kindly donated to the crowdfunder. One of these will be a new website, and another will be a new cargo box for the bike. I have been speaking with my new friends at Cargonautes about having one of their wonderful Cabrioboxes made (see slides 3 and 4!) complete with branding, and will hopefully have one ready in a few weeks time. I would love to be able to add the logos of the local businesses I am working with too, to advertise all the amazing things you are all doing across the valley! Please do give me a shout soon if you would like me to do that for you.

The new website will give me a much better online presence and will enable anyone looking for a local delivery service to find me with a simple Google search. And then read all the wonderful reviews that you have written for me! ✅😁 Thanks so much to those that have already taken the time to do that. Another thing I am considering is an online shop, partnering with local businesses/producers to sell their goods through the Cargodale website and have me deliver it for them on a set day during the week. Let me know if this might be of interest to you!

Alex
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