The River Medway passes through Maidstone and once a year, the river banks are moored with all manner of boats bedecked in flags and the town throws what amounts to a lively river party!
The little girl in me loves the colourful spectacle, but I confess the grumpy old lady in me struggles with crowds of hot, sweaty folk. Still, the child within should always win such battles, so on Saturday Stuart and I took a stroll into town to see who was messing around on the river this year!
The sun was hot, the music loud and queues for ice-cream too long, but nonetheless, it seemed most of the townsfolk of Maidstone found their way down to the river, to share in the annual summer fun!
'The Allington Belle' paddle boat
After battling our way through the sweaty masses, Stuart and I decided to continue our walk upstream, in the hope of finding a little tranquility, not to mention a chilled pint or two ...
Tranquility!
Our favourite boat of the day was 'Eddie's' pride and joy, a beautifully polished little wooden paddle steamer ...
Eddie's paddle steamer
And our favourite port of call after a long walk in hot sunshine, was the pub!
Enjoying cold beer and crisps at the Malta Inn in Allington!
Many a pint was supped at the Malta by us before we moved away from Kent. Lovely to see it was a nice sunny day for the River Festival.
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