The Grand Skate Tour 26: Cheltenham - Recap

Last weekend was the start of The Grand Skate Tour’s 2026 season and what a start to the season it was! After what felt like an eternity of rain in the UK, the sun was shining and we were blessed by the warmest day of the year so far - the perfect weather to kick off The Grand Skate Tour in Cheltenham!

The day kicked off at Brizen Skate Park with our Inline Skate Taster Session - a huge thank you has to go out to our sponsors, Rollerblade who provided us with a collection of Rollerblade Macroblade skates and Triple 8 safety equipment, allowing us to provide these sessions. With this equipment, we were able to give people who don’t own skates an opportunity to try rollerblading for the first time in a safe environment, and receive coaching and training from Si Coburn and our team of marshals.

It was incredible to see folks getting out on their skates for the first time and being able to see the joy on their faces as they got to experience the feeling that we all know - being on skates and getting that freedom to roll

As the taster session came to a close, the Beginner Skate began - 20 beginner skaters joined us for a 2 mile lap around the local housing estate. Smooth roads, happy faces and good vibes accompanied the sunshine as the group rolled around, and got to experience (for the first time for many) rolling around on the streets as a group. One of the best things about rollerblading is sharing the fun with others, and the Beginner’s skate was a perfect example of how much fun it can be, and it was a joy to be a part of as a marshal. From small children to big adults, it truly was a special skate to mark our first Street Skate of the season

Next stop - the skatepark!

Bishop’s Cleeve Skatepark was the venue for our skatepark session - a gorgeous concrete skatepark with a huge pump track to the side. As the sun was shining, the skatepark was busy, and I’m not sure if anyone was quite expecting the extra 30 or so people who showed up on wheels! Picnics were had, tricks were thrown down, and laps were ran around the pump track, as everyone mingled, met and hung out with friends they hadn’t seen since the last Grand Skate Tour last year, and made new friends with skaters they’d never met before

After a quick dinner break, it was time for the main event - the Advanced Street Skate!

Kicking off at 19.00 at the Pittville Pump Room, the marshals gathered for the first briefing of the year. Over 60 skaters were gathered, ready to head out on the route around Cheltenham laid out for us by Don Simon (Si Coburn), our local man about town. Lights on, skates tightened, speakers turned up to 11, and we set out into the darkness to show the city what The Grand Skate Tour is all about!

And what a skate it was - 14 miles of great roads and immaculate vibes! We set quite the pace, but the group kept it up beautifully and we ripped around the south of the city, through residential streets, up and down hills (we love the downhills) and getting whoops and cheers from the local residents out for their Saturday night. The marshals were running strong, the music was pumping, and it was a joy to be part of a group of skaters once again. A couple of quick stops at the shops along the way to keep everyone refreshed, and we ended back up at Pittville Pump Room to close out the skate. A local rap group happened to be at the Pump Room and asked if we could skate around them while they filmed their music video - we were more than happy to give them a show! Keep an eye out for a music video on YouTube soon with the entirety of The Grand Skate Tour whipping around them!

And with that, The Grand Skate Tour: Cheltenham came to a close! We can’t think of a better way to kick off the season than that - it was truly a great skate to marshal for, and we can only thank you, our attendees, for making it so good. We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did, and that you’ll be as excited as we are for the next stop on the tour - Winchester on the 25th April! See you there skaters!