01/09/2025
This month we are celebrating 10 years in Kirkby Stephen!
After the success of opening in Appleby in 2012, we took a huge leap of faith and opened our second practice in Kirkby Stephen in September 2015.
We really appreciate the support of our regular patients and friends who travel from near and far to receive excellent eyecare from our dedicated team.
The practice has gone from strength to strength helping people look after their eyes across the Upper Eden area and beyond. We now also offer audiology services through The Hearing Care Partnership.
I have always considered myself to be incredibly lucky to work with such a wonderful group of people. I can always rely on our team to give a warm welcome and an excellent service to everyone who enters our doors in both Appleby and Kirkby Stephen.
In Kirkby Stephen, Rebecca’s cheery smile and warm personality immediately puts people at ease when they attend for an eye test.
The same is true for Appleby where our invaluable ‘chief organiser’ Rosemary; and our newest member of the team, Becky are on hand to make you feel relaxed and comfortable ready for you eye exam.
Welcome Becky, I’m sure you will settle into your new role easily - you will be a great addition to the team.
This is a great opportunity to announce that another familiar face in both our practices, Kiera, has started an apprenticeship scheme to become a Dispensing Optician! We know she is more than capable of working her way through the course and we are looking forward to supporting her through it. Good luck with your new role as an ‘Apprentice Dispensing Optician’ within the practice, Kiera!
We are also lucky to have our qualified Dispensing Optician, Alisha, who is nearing the end of her training to become a fully qualified ‘Contact Lens Optician’. She achieved amazing results in her theory exams earlier this year and is now working towards her final practical exams within the next few months. She is already proving to be incredibly knowledgeable and thorough with her contact lens patients. Good luck for the next few months Alisha.
And of course, we have our regular Locum Optometrists, Lucy and Richard – two fantastic professionals with a huge amount of experience between them. Both have been with us since the very beginning and are invaluable members of our team
Finally, over the last few weeks we have also welcomed Bruce to the fold. Bruce is another excellent optometrist with many years of experience in optometry and Independent Prescribing eyecare. He will be an occasional visitor to our practice covering holidays etc
To celebrate our 10-year anniversary in Kirkby Stephen we will be offering various promotions throughout the month of September, and we will be running a raffle with excellent prizes, with all proceeds going towards the Air Ambulance service.
So even if you’re not due an eye exam yet, why not pop in to buy a ticket and support a great cause!
I would like to thank all our patients for their continued support and loyalty at both of our practices. We look forward to many more years of providing excellent eyecare in the Eden Valley and we also look forward to an exciting year as we make preparations for relocating our Appleby practice into our Boroughgate property (although, we still have a lot of work to do there…..we will keep you updated!)
One final 'thank you' goes to my wife and family for your continued love and support through all of our adventures!
Mike
