Bedford River Festival and Festival of Motoring

Yesterday we took a trip to Bedford and meet up with Laura, Laurence and Sarah for the biennial 2026 Bedford River Festival and Festival of Motoring.

To quote from the site...

"The ever-popular Bedford River Festival takes place in July every other year, and will return on 18-19 July 2026. From its humble beginnings in 1978 to the biennial behemoth it has since become, the River Festival is a remarkable and unmissable event that brings the community of Bedford Borough (and beyond) together. 

The Festival is staged across a unique site encompassing the Victorian Embankment Promenade, the River Great Ouse, scenic local parkland and the town centre to welcome a wealth of attractions to Bedford.  Estimated to attract more than 250,000 visitors over the two days, the River Festival is now described as the second largest outdoor event of its kind in the UK. The site itself measures 107 acres, the equivalent of 71 football pitches! 

Visitors from the region and indeed all across the UK are invited to enjoy a weekend of festival fun, diverse entertainment, and of course, all things nautical.  The 2026 River Festival will include countless river activities and displays, multiple live music and performance stages, arts, crafts and sports, family entertainment and so much more."

You can find the full programme here.

Here are some of my photos.

There is plenty on!

We started by visiting the cars.

This TVR was my favourite.

The dragon boat races were on.

This one capsized, but everyone was OK.

There were plenty of side-shows.

Time for a beer.

Some reenactments.

You could get fruit juice served in hollowed-out pineapples.

The bubbles were popular.

A lage area here had plenty of food stalls and a stage with live music.

There was a parade of boats. This was, I think, the winner.

There were stalls all along this side of the river.

A wood worker in action.

The jet-powered suits are quite amusing,

Dawn, Laura, Laurence and Sarah having some lunch....

...by the vegan lounge.

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We climbed the castle mound for the view across the river.

They had an outside bar and oysters at the Bedford Swan.

Time to head back through the town to get a taxi back to Laura and Laurence's...

...passing another live music stage.

A lovely day out. Thank-you Laura and Laurence for hosting us and organising the taxis. You can see more of my photos here on Flickr.

Other related posts on my blog include

• Bedford River Festival 2022 (July 2022)
• Bedford River Festival 2024 (July 2024)