Sir, – Now that the Tour of France has been and gone, the memory will last a lifetime and what a memorable occasion it turned out to be.

The way the county pulled together was quite remarkable and the glorious weather must have put North Yorkshire firmly on the map.

Towns and villages really got into the community spirit, none more that West Tanfield where we watched the race and got a glimpse of the Royal Family to boot.

The Bedale Tourfest in the grounds of Bedale Hall, organised by the town council and the town and villages community forum, proved a spectacularly successful event and how nice it was to see the broad spectrum of ages in the community turning out to watch the cycling, the Wimbledon tennis final and films on the giant screen.

It was a heart-warming occasion and is something the organisers should be proud of.

I realise these things take a lot of organising and are totally weather-dependent, but it is something that has to be repeated. Apart from the community bonfire, there is nothing else that brings people together like this.

The ‘Fun in the Park for Steve Walsh’ organised by the Halcyon Trust last year was remarkable for bringing people out and the response this time proves there is a demand for these kind of events.

Well done once again to all this who contributed to making the Tourfest a great success and get your thinking hats on to decide how it can be repeated in the future.

H MARTYN COOMBS Firby Road, Bedale.