Inside Time: A Bamboozling Way to Build Bikes at HMP Lowdham Grange
The context
In November 2025, the national prison newspaper Inside Time ran a feature on Bamboo Bicycle Club's work at HMP Lowdham Grange, a Category B men's prison. Under the headline "Bamboozling way to build bikes", journalist Ben Leapman reported on a course where Makers learn to build a complete bicycle from raw bamboo — start to finish, using hand tools only.
What we do
The course Inside Time described:
- A six-week programme, run on site in the prison workshop
- Frames built with hand tools only — which is what makes it work within prison constraints
- Peer mentors, trained from earlier cohorts, helping to teach the next group
- A recognised Level 2 qualification in Sustainable Design and Manufacturing on completion
- A Build to Bond strand alongside the build, focused on rebuilding family connection
At the time of the article the course was already oversubscribed, with a waiting list of Makers wanting a place — and it has expanded since.
The outcome
Inside Time reaches readers across the prison estate, and the coverage put the programme in front of the people it is built for. It landed in a year that also brought a Financial Times feature and the Investec Beyond Business award — Bamboo Bicycle Club's highest-profile year since the club began in 2012.
In their words
"The bamboo bike course offers more than just technical training — it provides an avenue for creativity, teamwork, and self-expression." — Sally Allsopp, Industries Manager, HMP Lowdham Grange (Inside Time)
"Finding employment after release reduces the chance of reoffending significantly, which is why we are improving opportunities to help prisoners turn their lives around." — Lord Timpson, Prisons Minister (Inside Time)
"The whole goal of Bamboo Bicycle Club is to make bike-building accessible to everyone." — James Marr, founder (Inside Time)
Why it matters
A bamboo frame is something you can shape with simple hand tools and real patience — and at the end of it, you are holding something you made. For Makers at Lowdham Grange that means a practical skill, a recognised qualification, and, through Build to Bond, a way to reconnect with family. Lowdham Grange is where this work began behind the wall, and the proof of concept for every prison site since.
Links
- Inside Time: "Bamboozling way to build bikes" (17 Nov 2025) — https://insidetime.org/comment/bamboozling-way-to-build-bikes/
- Financial Times feature — https://www.ft.com/content/6ebe2eba-b832-4289-9924-2e9f948d5f98