All aboard for Coracle fun on the River Severn in Ironbridge

The Ironbridge Coracle Regatta, was taking place from 12-4pm, with racing, a duck race, stalls, fun, refreshments and entertainment.

There was an opportunity for anyone who has not been in a coracle before to go along and have a go.

The free day is the first event on the Festival of Imagination which officially runs for two weeks over September 14 to 29.

Reporter Robert Smith was at the regatta:

Throughout the two weeks at the Green Woods Centre, the Ironbridge Coracle Trust is hoping to develop links within the community and encourage people to volunteer at a brand new coracle centre which is currently being built.

This will be a traditional museum exhibition which will show all of the original content from the old coracle shed and demonstrate the history of coracle making and use in Ironbridge.

Graham Peet, from the Ironbridge Coracle Trust, said: “We want to do this without bringing in professional exhibition designers from outside the area, we want to do it all with local people and the Festival of Imagination is a very important part of encouraging people to become part of this project.”

At the Green Woods Centre there will be an exhibition telling the story of coracle’s in Ironbridge and displaying some of the original items that were found in the original old coracle shed which is no longer open to the public and has lain empty for 15 years.

But thanks to money awarded during the Telford 50 by Telford & Wrekin Council, the old shed has been scanned and visitors to the Green Wood Centre will be able to pull on some virtual reality headsets and see a virtual version of the shed come to life.

The Festival of Imagination runs from September 14 to 29 and will celebrate the Gorge’s past, the present and the future and will be a fiesta of film, arts, poetry, food and drink throughout the two weeks.

For a full list of events and bookings visit ironbridgefestival.co.uk