Coracle fleet provides a spectacle

Boating enthusiasts made the most of the bank holiday sunshine as they descended on the Ironbridge Gorge for this year’s Coracle Regatta.

About 20 of the small, oval-shaped craft took to the River Severn yesterday for one of the county’s most unusual sporting events.

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Visitors were invited to step on board to try their hand at paddling across the water,while a slight breeze prompted some boaters to put up umbrellas as makeshift sails to help carry them along.

Organisers said they were delighted that everyone enjoyed themselves.

The regatta was organised by the Coalbrookdale-based Green Wood Centre, which promotes wood-based crafts and skills, and Ironbridge Lions Club. It helps to raise thousands of pounds for Lions charities and local good causes.

The event was based at Ironbridge Rowing Club’s headquarters in Dale End Park.

Barrie Jones, one of the organisers from Green Wood Centre, said: “It was fabulous. There were smiles on faces all day.

“Ironbridge was absolutely packed. The weather was fabulous.

“It’s been the best we’ve had in years with the amount of visitors and the weather.

“People could sit on a coracle or have a paddle. We had about 150 people on the river.”

The Green Wood Centre ran coracle-making sessions from Friday to Sunday where people learned how to make one of the boats from scratch.

Mr Jones said: “Coracles are one of the oldest water crafts. They are not for distance, they are more for ferrying across rivers. They were used by poachers - people who got their food from the river.

“In the past they would have been made from skin. These days we do it with canvas covered with bitumen paint.”

As well as the coracle racing, there were various stalls and amusements run by local charities.