The word regatta evokes memories of particularly English summers with chequered picnic blankets, nearby cows and lots of bunting flapping about in the air. This is probably because I grew up in small riverside market town on the Suffolk coastline, and that was exactly what it was like.

The regatta was an event that would draw the whole town together in a flurry of excitement and an all out aim to have as much fun as possible. Come rain or shine, the regatta went ahead, to seal that little bit of British culture into my childhood memory.

I do sometimes wonder how idyllic this memory is, because if I try hard enough, I swear I remember Pimms flowing as freely as the estuary tide. However this is evidently a memory placed in my brain by a recent marketing campaign that has picked up on the same English idyll ingrained in my hippocampus.

These annual events on the rivers of Britain are a tradition, and do still go on, but what is the history behind them, can we rightly lay claim to them as part of our heritage and are they still as tantalisingly twee as a Beatrix Potter masterpiece?

The term originates in Venice, and was a term used for a gondola race along the Venetian water ways, breaking down as a Latin conjunction of contend to seize. Its modern day definition is thought to have originated in the early 1700s when the first race of that name was conducted on the River Thames in England. One could therefore presume that this was when the regatta first began to incorporate itself into English culture.

This is quite likely to be the first ever Henley Regatta, held on the Thames by the town of Henley on Thames. The event is now referred to as the Henley Royal Regatta and is a prestigious annual event in the social calendar.

The race covers just over one mile from Temple Island to Henley Bridge, and as with all boat races of this type, open only to amateurs. The definition of amateur has been the cause of many disputes in the history of rowing and racing, and there have been some incredibly convoluted definitions of the term.

I can vouch that despite the presence of a yacht club in my home town, every participant was considered a valid contender, and the races were set up in accordance of ability. From children making rafts from refuse to old sea dogs battling it out on the tumultuous tide.

The ladies from the WI had a cake stall, there was a white elephant raffle run by the local church and rides on the river for anyone not brave enough to forge their own seafaring craft for the day. The atmosphere was full of fun and a great family day out; not very Venetian, but incredibly English, as inspired by Henley Royal without a doubt.

At this particular regatta, the emphasis is on the atmosphere, and loses none of that small town English charm. Boat rides as well as races combine with good food, champagne and no doubt swathes of chequered tablecloths beneath the traditional afternoon tea. Watching the races unfold before you on the charming and picturesque Temple Island is just like being in your very own incredibly English riverside town, where it is Pimms O’Clock all day long.

Dominic Donaldson is an expert in the hospitality and corporate entertainment industry.
Find out more about Henley Royal Regatta Hospitality and how to have a taste of England on the banks of the River Thames at Keith Prowse.

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