Fundraising Events (previous events)

An Evening with former Nottingham Forest and England Legend Stuart Pearce

The Trust was delighted to host a very special evening with Stuart Pearce MBE at the Trent Bridge Cricket Ground.

Stuart shared stories of his career and legendary characters, Brian Clough and Paul ‘Gazza’ Gascoigne amongst others. It was a truly brilliant night and we can’t speak highly enough of Stuart, an absolute gentleman.

A good sum of money was raised and a big thank you should go to former Melton Mayor Tim Webster who used his auctioneering skills to great use.

The venue was brilliant, the food was fantastic, Stuart was incredible, and the support was very special.

£10,559 was raised from the event.

Family Fun Day & Orienteering Festival

Families enjoyed our second annual event including a fabulous barbecue in June.

The event sees the Trust open its doors to the wider community, giving people the chance to explore the Belvoir Estate and try new sports.

The star attraction on the day was an orienteering event on a special course set up around the beautiful parkland and grounds.

Other activities included archery, kwik cricket, tri-golf and croquet. Visitors also got the chance to meet harris hawk Scooby and have a go at CPR.

Visitors also got to see the progress we’re making on our new community, sports and education hub at
Belvoir Cricket Ground, Knipton, which will replace the old pavilion.

The day was made possible with the support of Leicestershire Orienteering Club, Belvoir Cricket Club, Melton Mowbray Croquet Club, Belvoir Care first aiders, Samworth Brothers, and our coaches, trustees and volunteers.

BEST Charity Golf Day

Radcliffe on Trent golf club once again hosted the BEST Charity Golf Day.

In glorious weather (apart from one sharp downpour) some great golf was played, and the competition was won by the team of Kevin Keep, Rob and Gaynor Palframan and Graham Bell with a fantastic score.

Entertainment was provided by Nottinghamshire CCC’s Assistant Coach Paul Franks who shared stories from his career.

Thank you to our sponsors, Bunker Mentality, Freedom Brewery, Slaters Menswear and The Staunton Arms.

Well played and we look forward to seeing you all again in 2026.

£2,118 was raised from the event.

Duchess of Rutland XI v MCC at Belvoir Cricket Ground, playing for The Imogen Skirving Trophy

In this annual feature match to celebrate the work of the Belvoir Education & Sports Trust, the MCC won the toss and elected to bat. Strong contributions from Joe Johnson (36) Sam Arthurton (26) helped the MCC along but a scintillating knock from Belvoir player Tom Neville (52 not out) saw the MCC to a total of 197 for 7.

All players and guests enjoyed a lovely tea and then the Duchess XI reply got underway. Losing two wickets early the DOR XI were in trouble.

Ihsaan Nadeem then came in to play the innings of the match.  His half century was brought up by an imperious six (one of three strikes). For this he was presented with The Vic Heppenstall Spirit of Cricket Award for his match winning 57.

However, it was Belvoir stars Jack Copley (38no) and Tom Lindsay (25no) who came together and saw the Duchess XI over the line.

So, victory for the Duchess by 3 wickets closing the gap in the series to 8-7 in favour of the MCC.

An Evening with Sir Alastair Cook and David Gower OBE

July 2024 saw the Trust host a fundraising dinner at Belvoir Castle with Sir Alastair Cook and David Gower OBE. It was a remarkable evening with stories of their career hosted by BEST Chief Executive Darren Bicknell. The food was wonderful and with the stunning surroundings it was a truly spectacular event and raised valuable funds for the Trust.

Orienteering Festival and family fun day

The BEST introduced its inaugural Orienteering festival and fun day in 2024. Hosted by Matt White from the Leicestershire Orienteering Club who designed a course to go through the Belvoir Estate.

Two courses were set, one for the more adventurous adults and one for a more family orientated challenge. It was well attended, and the participants loved the courses and the challenges it posed.

Along with the orienteering the Trust ran a family fun day including archery, Kwik Cricket, tri golf and croquet all supplemented by a fabulous barbecue. A big shout out should go to Samworth Brothers and the Asda Foundation in Melton for supplying the sausages, burgers and pork pies which were excellent. Look forward to 2025!

BEST Charity Golf Day

Radcliffe on Trent Golf Club was again the host to the 2024 Belvoir Education & Sports Trust Charity Golf Day. Brilliantly supported as ever on a beautifully presented course we all had a fabulous day. Some good food and some great stories from guest of the day, former England and Notts cricketer Graeme Swann and former Notts cricketer Greg Smith ensured good fun was had by all.

The day itself was won by a team of our sponsors, Matt Willson from Freedom Brewery, Chris Newbold from vision4sport, Julian Benton from the Staunton Arms and Dan Ashton from Slaters Menswear.

Well played fellas and thank you for all your support.

MCC v Duchess of Rutland XI

Our annual Duchess of Rutland XI v MCC cricket match was again won by the MCC by 86 runs which means that the MCC are now 8-6 up in the series.

The Vic Heppenstall Spirit of Cricket award went to Jack Mynott for his patient 54 and the Imogen Skirving Trophy was presented to MCC Captain Gareth James.

Thank you to the Duchess XI team for giving it a good go but we must do better next year.

Sponsored Cycle

The Trust was delighted when Fran Ebling, the Radcliffe on Trent Golf Club captain, nominated the BEST to be his charity for his captain’s year.

Fran had planned a sponsored cycle and Trust CEO Darren Bicknell and fellow rider Susan Anderson joined the adventure. A plan to cycle around 14 South Notts golf clubs hitting a tee shot on all the 1st holes was achieved and a grand total of 76 miles were done, but not many fairways were hit!

Saddle sore and weary, over £5,000 was raised and a big thank you to all.

Melton Theatre ‘An Evening with Legends’

Our very own Evening with Legends saw us present our own theatre show at Melton Theatre.

Tales from inside the dressing room hosted by BEST CEO Darren Bicknell and featuring legends, Mike Gatting (Middlesex and England), Matthew Hoggard (Yorkshire and England), Luke Fletcher (Nottinghamshire and Trent Rockets) and Angus Fraser (Middlesex and England).

It was a great fun evening and well supported so thank you to all.

MCC Cricket and Dinner

After a break of 3 years due to Covid we were delighted to welcome back the MCC for our annual cricket match and dinner in the State Dining room at Belvoir Castle.

We won’t mention the cricket! Suffice to say the MCC won and went ahead 7-6 in the series of matches, but we were royally entertained by MCC President Stephen Fry who was great fun.

Pictured with Stephen Fry & Darren Bicknell are three students from the Antiguan Exchange Programme and Belvoir and Keyworth Cricket Clubs

BEST Charity Golf Day

Once again Radcliffe on Trent Golf Club hosted the 2023 Trust Charity Golf Day. Excellent weather, excellent food, excellent company, and some decent golf was played.

The event was well supported and was won by Andrew Hodgson and his team with a fantastic score obviously using their mulligans well.

A huge thank you to all our sponsors for making the day a great success.

Charity Golf Day – at Radcliffe on Trent Golf Club Thursday 1st September

14 teams again participated in the annual BEST Charity golf day which was a brilliant turnout.

The course was in superb condition, the catering was excellent and judging by the scores so was the golf. Congratulations to Malcolm Barham and his team on a fantastic winning score and we look forward to you defending your trophy in 2023.

Thanks also to Radcliffe on Trent Golf Club for their hospitality and to our two guest speakers, Chris Broad the former Nottinghamshire and England cricketer and Nottingham Forest football legend Nigel Jemson, who delivered a feisty question and answer session.

Finally, a huge thank you to all our sponsors on the day, Freedom Brewery, Bunker Mentality, Slaters Menswear, Staunton Arms, Stick and Ribbon, Notts CCC and Melton Sports.

Sponsored Cycle Ride

On August bank holiday Sunday, nine coaches and supporters of the BEST cycled 30 miles between the charity’s five Kwik Cricket venues, running a kids versus parents match at each one.

The non-stop challenge from Great Dalby to Asfordby to Hose to Croxton Kerrial through to Knipton in the Vale of Belvoir raised over £3,500, a result which cheered all the tired and aching bodies at the end of a long day!

Pictured above with coach Neil Atkins are all our amazing volunteers on the day with some of the kids & parents team at Croxton Kerrial.