At this year’s Melksham Food & River Festival, on the 31st August and 1st September, there are some new ways of enjoying the beautiful River Avon.
At the same time, the festival team have retained all the traditional activities. As regular visitors will know the boat trips, organised by the Melksham, Calne and Chippenham Branch (MCC) of the Wilts & Berks Canal Trust, sell out very quickly, especially on warm days. This year, MCC are running four boat charters on Friday 30th August. The Mary Archard boat, which has wheelchair access, can carry up to eight passengers or six passengers if one of the passengers is in a wheelchair. The charter trips run at 10am, 11am, 2pm and 3pm and cost £30 per charter.
Malcolm Hitchinson of Westbury, one of the event organisers, said there are no stalls on the Festival site on Friday, but why not bring along your own picnic to enjoy on the boat or in the park. He says it is an ideal way of seeing the River with friends and family.
Full details of how to book or obtain more details can be found on the Festival’s website www.melkshamfoodandriverfestival.co.uk or call Malcolm on 07595 833297. You can also follow them on Facebook and Twitter.
Also new this year, is a junior paddleboard race for 10 to 15-year olds. This will be held on Sunday 1st September at 12 noon. There will be cash prizes of up to £50 to win, kindly donated by Foxhangers Canal Holidays. If you do not have your own paddleboard you may be able to borrow one, but the organisers will need to know in advance of this requirement. Buoyancy aids and safety helmets are provided. There is no entrance fee for this event.
The introduction of the paddleboard event for juniors means there has been changes made to the raft race held on Saturday 31st August at 12 noon. This year there will be no junior race, but there will be a prize for the race winner of £100 and a prize for the best turned out raft and crew of £50. Again, prizes are kindly donated by Foxhangers Canal Holidays. There is an entrance fee of £5 per crew member.
Full details of how to enter, including entry form and race rules, can be found on the Festival website.
New activities in the park will be published soon or you can preview them by visiting the Festival website.