Get Ahead Hats, Penrith to shut following owner's retirement

Beverley Bargh, of Get Ahead Hats Penrith, confirmed that she was going to retire in March of this year, and on June 6, she officially sold her last item of stock, meaning she could close up for the final time. 

She wrote: "Just a note to all my lovely clients we have now sold all our stock so we are now officially closed."

Beverley had run the shop at Wood Close Farm, which offered a wide range of bespoke millinery to hire or buy, for 20 years in total.

Their products have been a fixture at well-dressed events, such as the ones at Carlisle Racecourse, since 2004.

Some of the hats that were sold in Penrith (Image: Get Ahead Hats)

Get Ahead Hats has 10 shops across the country, with other locations in Lanarkshire, Wrexham, Blackburn, Chelmsford, York, Yarm, Lanchester [in County Durham], Pickering and Stafford. 

Sarah Rhodes, founder of Get Ahead Hats, is a long-term friend of Beverley, and paid tribute to her dedication in the last two decades.

She said: "I have known Beverley for almost 40 years now as we used to be on neighbouring farms near to Morecambe before both moving to farms in different directions. I started Get Ahead Hats in 1995 and Beverley decided to join the Get Ahead Hats franchise  in 2004. 

"She has run a very successful business for the last 20 years helping ladies find a hat for their special occasions and we all wish her a long and happy retirement."

Get Ahead Hats also stressed that they are still looking for someone new to take over the shop, and are hopeful that it will be able to reopen in the near future. 

If anyone in the Cumbrian area is interested in working from home and has a spare room to use as a hat showroom contact Sarah at Head Office sarah@getaheadhats.co.uk