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| Early morning start. |
Well, we are all just about recovered from the long hours of
setting up and dismantling King
Pocky’s Derwentwater Regatta. (Look
for the short video of the 2015 event.)
King Pocky was Joseph Pocklington who, in the 18th century bought Derwent Island and had
the large house built. He
then designed his regatta for
local people to either take part in water-based activities or enjoy a fair on
Crow Park. We have tried to recreate the spirit of fun and mayhem of his
vision. We didn’t sink pontoons in the lake so that horses could race between
the island and shore. We didn’t go as far as a mock cannon attack from the
island to repel local invaders but we did fire a small cannon from Crow Park at
intervals! However, there were many other fun activities both on water and on
shore.
There were many ways to participate in the action including
dragon boat racing and boarding. For landlubbers there were craft activities and
traditional fairground rides. Spectators could just enjoy the festival
atmosphere and sightings of the occasional pirate, Georgian or Viking.
This is the third year since the revival of the regatta and it
is rapidly growing in size and popularity. I spoke to many people over the
weekend and all were agreed that it was hugely enjoyable. Seeing so many people having a
great time makes all the long days worthwhile.
Daisy here,
It’s been the regatta. I
don’t like the cannon. It’s too noisy.
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