Here be dragons...

Great excitement in Saltaire last weekend... There was dragon-boat racing between various teams competing to raise money for the Lord Mayor of Bradford's 2015 Charity Appeal. Twenty-two teams took part in various heats over the course of the day and the eventual winners were Appleton Crusaders, a team from a local academy school. 

This was the first ever such event to take place in Saltaire. It was planned to be held on the river in Roberts Park but heavy rain overnight caused flooding and dangerously strong currents, so the decision was taken to hold the races on the canal instead.

Despite the freezing cold (two fleeces, a jacket, woolly hat and gloves! and I was still chilled to the marrow by the time I eventually returned home) and a day that started very dull and rainy, there were lots of spectators. They would not let the general public on to the towpath, so everyone was crowded around the bridge and it was pretty difficult to get a good view.

One of the boats overturned, but I didn't get a photo of that! Thankfully the canal isn't really very deep and all the competitors managed to scramble ashore.

I think this may become an annual fixture as it seemed a really popular event. The total raised for charity is thought to be over £20,000. Another thing to put Saltaire on the map. Never a dull moment round here!