Trad’s great. Boat festival’s back

IT has been hailed as a mini Glastonbury-on-Thames — a riotous festival of Englishness whose attractions include a Tetbury-sized antique market and a Portobello Road’s worth of assorted clothes, jewellery and bric-a-brac.

Not to mention the world’s largest gathering of traditional boats that one spectator has likened to a river version of Danny Boyle’s 2012 Olympic opening ceremony.

Now, following a year unavoidably spent in dry dock, the Thames Traditional Boat Festival is returning to Fawley Meadows in Henley over the August bank holiday weekend.

Popularly known as “the Trad” the event was first held in 1978 as the Thames Traditional Boat Rally.

In 2015 the organisers decided to change the name from “Rally” to “Festival” to emphasise that the Trad is for everyone and not just people who happen to own boats.

This inclusive approach paid off handsomely, with successive increases in the number of visitors each year since then.

For logistical reasons, the event always takes place two weeks after Henley Royal Regatta, meaning this year’s Trad is happening a month and a half later than usual.

But with plans in place for an even more riotously enjoyable event, the organisers are hoping last year’s absence will have made Trad-goers’ hearts grow fonder still.

Festival secretary Clive Hemsley said: “We are returning with an even bigger and better range of attractions aimed at creating an exciting and fun-filled weekend for families and traditional boat owners alike.

“Following on from the highly acclaimed 2019 event, Trad ’21 features a gathering of more than 150 traditional boats, making this the largest event of its type in the world, with all the quintessential English eccentricity that makes it so utterly unique.

“The star of the show is the 1893 steam passenger launch Alaska. She is the oldest such craft still operating on the Thames and will be running a full schedule of trips up and down the Henley reach throughout the weekend.

“A flotilla of 18 Dunkirk ‘Little Ships’ will be on parade, commemorating the daring 1941 evacuation of British and French troops trapped under heavy bombardment on the beaches of northern France.

“We also have vintage flying displays from the Bremont Great War Team and the Battle of Britain Memorial Flights, classic cars and bikes, wartime military and amphibious vehicles, traditional fairground attractions and a great selection of top quality food and drink outlets.

“Rounding off the Saturday evening is the Illuminated Parade — a shimmering display of boats and veteran bicycles lit up in the twilight of a summer’s evening.”

As in previous years, there will be a family dog show on the Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

Prizes will be awarded each day for the visitor judged to be wearing the most appropriate period costume.

The fun starts next Friday with what the festival’s co-chairman Lady Judy McAlpine called “a soft opening but a party night”.

This year the Trad is offering evening tickets costing £5 for Trad-goers who want to dance, listen to the music, have dinner or simply enjoy a drink or two.

On the music front, the festival’s pop-up pub the Crooked Billet is hosting gigs by The Covered (Friday and Saturday), Night Train (Sunday) and Andy Crowdy’s Led Zeppelin Project, featuring an all-star line-up of guest musicians (bank holiday Monday). These are free to enjoy with a general admission tickets.

For more information, visit www.tradboatfestival.com