Every year I hear about the Crafty Craft race in Newbury just after the event. It looks so much fun, but I always seem to miss it, so this year I was determined to get there.
The crafty craft race in Newbury, Berkshire is on May bank holiday Monday every year. It is a competition for teams to build their own craft and race along the Kennet and Avon Canal from Kintbury to Newbury. We headed straight for the finishing line in Newbury Wharf.
There are various categories to enter, from adult teams to junior teams, with optional fancy dress. It is a very interesting, fun event.
Adjacent to the finish line was Victoria Park filled with stalls, fun fair rides and bouncy castles. You could even try a pedalo.
We were too early for the crafts to finish, so we wandered round the park and the fair. The children enjoyed a ride on the swings and then had a fantastically fun go on the most enormous slide. It took them quite a while to climb up it each time and their faces were a picture filled with grins and happy screams on the way down.
They were first on, so they got a longer go. By the time their turns were over, they were exhausted with all the climbing ( a great way to wear children out).
We wandered back past more stalls, buying sweets along the way with the money Nana had given them to spend. We crossed over the canal to enjoy a lovely hot chocolate sitting on the canal side, whilst watching a few crafts cross the finish line.
The children also loved watching the ducks and swans as well as looking at the canal boats.
It was interesting to see the different crafts and their take on this years theme of ‘Rio Carnival’. We saw some very sparkly wigs and some great boats, including one with bicycles on. Unfortunately, the crafts were so spread out, we only saw five before we left to head home.
I think next year it would be nice to walk up along the canal, maybe take a picnic.
It was a lovely fun morning, despite a little rain and one which we’d like to repeat again next year.
Image of Victoria By: Bill Nicholls