Henley Royal Regatta

Advantages Henley of the North
Disadvantages I've not won there yet!

...The premier event in rowing in the North of England, Durham Regatta has often been described as the Henley of the North. Held annually in early-mid June, the regatta is now in its 172nd year with the first regatta having been held in 1834. This makes it the second oldest regatta in the country and is older than even Henley Royal Regatta. It is run by a collaboration of Durham Town Council and members of the club that row on the River Wear in Durham. In the modern day, the regatta is held over the course of a weekend and attracts beyond 600 crews from all corners of the world. The bulk of these crews are based in Durham and the surrounding area but the prestige of the events has seen crews come from across the UK and even from further afield such as Rotterdam in Holland. In the build up to the 2000 Sydney Olympics, the Men's 4... Read review

Advantages Ultimate Fitness
Disadvantages The winter weather

...Thought it was about time i edited this opinion!Rowing is one of the fastest up and coming sports in Britain. It does have a profile of a 'snobby' sport within Britian mainly due to the likes of Henley Royal Regatta and Oxford/Cambridge boat race. There are a lot of private schools rowing but along with them are state schools. In almost every big town or city a rowing club can be found. Whether it's on the banks of a river, loch or purpose built watersports center they all welcome beginners to the sport. I used to row on the river Clyde, i now row on Loch Ard which is much more scenic but when it's windy it becomes a lot more rough than the river. Anyway back to the point. Rowing isn't an expensive sport, no more costly than any other. It can be either a team sport or an individual sport, there are several different boat classes... Read review

Advantages Great location and fabulous surroundings
Disadvantages Expensive...

...my Scouse accent even more when I go to posh places like this, because I can see the scowls on the faces of the up classes, who you can visibly see are obviously wondering how someone of such "common" decent can possibly have infiltrated their upper-class ranks! Tehe … ....I recall being invited to the Henley Royal Regatta approximately 4 years ago, and whilst I was stood sipping Pimms with a group of Dutch people who had invited me, a group of Polo playing public school boys were stood behind me talking a little loudly and over zealously, typically "rar rar rarr!". Of course, I then spoke up in my best Scouse accent amongst the group I was with, with a few of the public school boys shooting quick and rather disgusted looks in my direction. Smiling I tilted my glass towards them, having noticed their rather obvious glances … hahaha... Read review