Husband and wife are geared up for success at Horncastle hotel

Denis Gosling, who is the new General Manager, and his wife Rachel, who is his deputy, will soon be familiar figures out and about cycling around the Lincolnshire Wolds.

They only took over the 17th century coaching inn a few weeks ago but have already started notching up the miles in their free time.

Denis said: “We’ve been made most welcome by our regulars and have a great team around us.

“Running a busy hotel, eatery and coffee house in the heart of the town is very hands on so getting out on our bikes is our way of relaxing.”

The couple only started cycling a couple of years ago while running a busy hostelry in Gloucester.

They completed last year’s London to Paris bike ride in four days - only weeks after acquiring their first road bikes.

Denis added: “We went through every possible emotion during that 360 mile marathon but we reached the finishing line and raised £4,000 for the British Heart Foundation.”

Now the couple, who have a 14 year-old son and 17-year-old daughter, are planning another charity fund raising marathon, possibly next year, with a little support from their regulars at The Admiral Rodney.

Mat Charity, Commercial Manager of The Coaching Inn Group, which operates 15market town inns and hotels across the country, said he was sure Denis and Rachel were already well down the road to making a great contribution to the Horncastle ‘team’.

Meanwhile, the Coaching Inn Group has won a major hospitality industry award for staff training initiatives.

Anyone employed at the group’s hotels can access a number of inspirational training programmes to help them develop their careers.

The group has been recognised at the British Institute of Innkeepers’ National Innovation in Training Awards staged at The Cafe de Paris in London

They received the trophy in the Best Training Programme category for their ‘Leadership Journey.’

Head of Learning and Development Lee Melton, said the group said the programme incorporated, people skills, business understanding and many other hands on elements of running a hotel.

The programme was also specially designed to meet an individual’s career progression aspirations.