FAQ

The Great Knaresborough Bed Race takes place on the second Saturday of June each year.

The 2025 Bed Race will take place on Saturday, 14th June 2025.

For more information about the race - see our Visitor Information section.

Entries for the Bed Race open on the 1st of January each year and close at 11.59pm on the last day of February. 

Entry for the race can be made via the link on this website.

Please note when entering:

- A current email address and telephone number for the entrant must be provided and you consent to your details being held on a database

- The Lions Club will not be responsible for the death or injury to participants and/or damage to the participants property arising from the bed race

- All applicants must have a bed available in order to participate in the race: Knaresborough Lions are unable to supply beds

- Completing this form does not guarantee entry in the race. With a maximum of 90 places available, a public lottery will be held if more entries are received than places available

Yes.

There are no longer any companies out there that make Bed Race beds to order. But there are lots of beds hidden away in local people's garages and sheds, and borrowing is a possibility.

If you are looking for a bed, try sending out a message on social media, and asking around in Knaresborough. If a draw was required, you are more likely to get an offer to borrow a bed after the lottery draw has taken place in March: there will be teams out there who didn't get a place, and at that point they may be willing to lend out their beds to other teams.

If you are interested in building your own bed, please see the bed specification, which appears within the race rules at https://www.bedrace.co.uk/about/race-rules.

Please see our Visitor Information section for details on how to get to the Bed Race, info about road closures and parking.

Please see our Visitor Information section for details on how to get to the Bed Race, info about road closures and parking.

Please see our Visitor Information section for details on how to get to the Bed Race, info about road closures and parking.

The race day starts at 10 am with many activities including a parade. For more information please see the programme.

The Parade starts at 1 pm from the Castle to Conyngham Hall fields. The actual race begins at 3:00 pm with teams setting off in roughly 10-second intervals.

The 2025 Great Knaresborough Bed Race theme is "Television Adverts"

Adjustment by date: If the event date is amended it is appreciated that this could impact on team availability so a full refund can be instructed, in which case the Team will face the Draw again the following year. Alternatively, entry can be rolled over to the next year and a Bye be given through the Draw. Refunds must be requested by e-mail to [email protected] within 14 days of announcement of the new date.

Adjustment by design: Should the intended design of the event, which may include e.g. publicity, parade, crowd capacity, race route, entertainment, prize-giving or any other such aspect be changed then such changes do not constitute ‘cancellation’ and no refunds can be made on such account.

Cancellation terms and conditions for our Supporters [Team Entries, Advertisers and Sponsors]

Cancellation – means that the event is not going ahead at all this same year - regardless of circumstance. The likely circumstances would be public health, the weather, terrorism, lack of support services, local authority or Highways issues or some new, unforeseen event cost that would render the event financially unviable.

Supporters – in the context of cancellation refers to Team Entries, Sponsors and Advertisers.

Fees – covers Sponsorship payments, Team Entry fees and Advertising fees

Event cancellation before Draw Night [Club costs limited to Licence fees / Programme outline] N.B. See Notes 1 – 6 below

1. All Supporters are welcome to leave their fee(s) with the Club and carry over their entry / sponsorship / advert to the following year. Alternatively, they may instruct their fee(s) be refunded in full.
2. If fees are left with the Club then no price increase will be applied for the next year.

Event cancellation between Draw Night and April 30^th - N.B. See Notes 1 – 6 below

1. All Supporters are welcome to leave their fee(s) with the Club and carry over to the following year. Alternatively, they may instruct their fee(s) be refunded subject to a £10 admin fee [per payment].
2. If fees are left with the Club then no price increase will be applied to those teams for the next year.
3. Teams who have made it through the Draw, including those with a bye [e.g. previous year category winners] - can roll-over that success so long as they leave their team’s fee with the club.
4. Those teams that were unsuccessful in the Draw will already have had their fees refunded in full [within 7 days of Draw Night]. These teams will be given an additional advantage over brand new Team entries in the following year’s Draw.

Event cancellation between May 1^st and Bed Race Eve - N.B. See Notes 1 – 6 below

1. A percentage of all Team Entry fees and Sponsorships will be forfeited to cover event cancellation costs incurred. This percentage is likely to between 50% - 95%.

Event cancellation on Bed Race Day - N.B. See Notes 1 – 6 below

1. All fees are forfeited and so no refunds should be expected
2. In the unlikely event a profit is achieved despite cancellation, then the Lions Club will vote as to how best to give this back i.e. how to share out between Supporters. Consideration would include factors such as whether teams had managed to complete the race, number of programmes sold, whether sponsors had been able to enjoy the hospitality & catering etc.

Note 1 – Any funds agreed to be ‘rolled-over’ will be ring-fenced and can therefore be refunded [subject to £10 admin fee] any time up to 31^st December that year. Refunds will mean possible price increases and, for teams, may mean facing the Draw again.

Note 2 – Refunds relating to event cancellation after May 1^st can only come from profit of the current year’s Bed Race accounts. Other monies held in Lions Club accounts are not accessible to Bed Race having been raised from other events and donations.

Note 3 – All dates referred to above are reviewed annually based on Bed Race date and latest supplier cancellation terms.

Note 4 – For cancellation on or after May 1^st those teams whose fees are helping mitigate event losses will be given a Bye though the following year’s Draw should they choose to re-enter.

Note 5 – *When Team entries are rolled over ‘ownership’ of that team belongs to whoever paid the entry fee. This becomes relevant should the team split into a second or third team.

Note 6 – Partial refunds – if due - will be made as quickly as practically possible i.e. once final costs are determined, which could be several weeks. A £10 admin fee will be applied – alternatively the refund amount can be rolled over to the following year as described in Note 1 above, effectively becoming a deposit against next year’s Team Entry.

Supporter pulls out

1. If a Team pulls out after Draw Night then any refund will be voted on by the Lions Club. N.B. It is a condition of entry that each Team must have a bed so we would appreciate if any team pulling out would offer their bed to a replacement team [if needed].

These terms ensure the Bed Race continues to be protected for the enjoyment of participants and of the town as a whole. Knaresborough Lions thanks you, on behalf of the town, for your understanding, co-operation and support.