Thousands of people turned out to enjoy the summer sunshine and take part in annual races along the River Severn this weekend.

 See pictures of both races in our photo gallery below.

The historic Ironbridge Regatta took place on Saturday and yesterday with about 500 crews taking part, while almost 600 people took part in dragon boat races (pictured above) in Shrewsbury yesterday.

Ironbridge Rowing Club, organiser the regatta, which has been has been running since the turn of the century, said the event went very well, with excellent weather on both days.

Phil Gardener, from the rowing club, said: “On Saturday, the Liverpool Victoria Men’s Intermediate 8 won the prize from the Ironbridge Brewery of a cask of Ironbridge Gold Ale.”

In Shrewsbury funds were being raised for the Severn Hospice in the dragon boat race.

Organisers are still waiting for sponsorship to come in, but they say they have raised at least £30,000 to support the charity.

The event saw 32 teams take to the river to race in three heats for a place in the final.

Hospice community fundraising manager Lucy Proctor praised those who took part.

“It was a fantastic day,” she said. “Everything went smoothly and it was well supported with lots of people turning out to watch the races.”

Scroll through our gallery below to see more pics of both events.