Duck Derby to return for 36th year

Thousands of plastic ducks will float along the River Thames on Sunday afternoon as part of an annual charity event.

The Duck Derby has been run by the Maidenhead Lions at Ray Mill Island at Boulter's Lock for more than 30 years.

The Family Fun Day, which also features a range of stalls, food vans, and activities, begins at 12:00 BST, with the duck race taking place at 16:30.

President of Maidenhead Lions Jo Manisier said it was one of the group's biggest events.

The first Duck Derby was held in 1988.

"Henley Lions had some yellow ducks and they had a duck race, so guess what? We borrowed them," said Ms Manisier .

It was "such a success" that they bought their own, and now they own 3,000 of them.

The Duck Derby was postponed one year because of Covid, but apart from that there was only one other year it did not run - 1998, when the river levels were too high.

Ms Manisier said they nearly had a repeat of that for their 35th race last year.

"We thought we might not be able to actually run the duck race because [the flow] was too fast," she said.

But she said the Sea Cadets, who are responsible for pouring the ducks into the river, brought another power boat and made do.

"We had a race thanks to them," she said.

Whilst entry is free, people can buy a duck ticket, which has the number of their duck on it, ahead of the race.

"Then [the Sea Cadets] empty all the ducks into the water by the weir and... they make their way up to the Maidenhead footpath bridge by Boulters Lock," said Ms Manisier.

"Usually there's lots of people cheering the ducks along the way."

There are cash prizes for first, second and third place - and Maidenhead Lions "make sure we catch all the ducks" at the end, Ms Manisier added.

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