The annual event saw more than 11,000 yellow ducks released into the River Ray, drawing families from across Swindon to one of the town’s most established community fundraisers.
Organised by the Rotary Club of Swindon Old Town, the event featured stalls, fairground rides and refreshments throughout the afternoon, as well as fundraising for a range of local charities.
Among those attending was the newly elected Mayor of Swindon, Councillor Neil Hopkins, who was making one of his first official appearances since taking office last week.
Speaking during the event, Cllr Hopkins said:
“It’s going brilliantly. It’s been a hot day, and it’s probably impacted the sort of crowd we normally get here, but the people who turned out have been absolutely wonderful, as always.
“It’s a great family event, everybody loves to see their duck competing, and it’ll be really interesting to see who the winners are.”
Spectators lined the riverbanks in the afternoon heat to cheer on the flotilla of ducks as they made their way downstream.
When asked if he had ever won the race himself, he said: “Not a chance.”
Cllr Hopkins explained how the event supports charitable causes across the borough.
“There’s a series of charities, so what happens is that the tickets that are sold, either by us or other charities, 75% of the duck race ticket goes to that particular charity,” he said.
“The rest comes into Rotary, and then we spend it on charities. All the money goes to charity.”
Despite several duck races taking place across Swindon over the May and June he said the Old Town event remains the standout.
“Oh, this one definitely,” he said.
“It’s been around the longest, it’s the biggest, something like 11,500 ducks are in that river at the moment.”
Looking ahead to his mayoral year, Cllr Hopkins said meeting community groups and charities would be a key priority.
“The most important thing to me is meeting a lot of community groups, and particularly charities,” he said.
“They do so much for people in and around Swindon and in the wider communities, and it’s really nice to be able to work with them and actually appreciate the work that they’re doing.”
The Wilts and Berks Canal Trust was among the organisations with a stall at the event, meeting the new Mayor during the celebrations.
Rotary organisers said the day once again highlighted Swindon’s strong community spirit, combining fundraising and family entertainment on what was the hottest day of the year so far.
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