Venues

If you’re stuck for a location, don’t panic, tap into our specialist knowledge of the best dragon boating venues in the UK. 

We will match the criteria of your dragon boat regatta to a selection of venues, find out their availability and present the options to you.  Although we will offer guidance as to which venue we think would be best suited, ultimately the choice is yours.  Having chosen your venue we are happy to handle all of the booking and logistics on your behalf.

We have hosted dragon boat regattas on lakes, reservoirs, canals, rivers and sheltered tidal waters (pretty much any stretch of water imaginable)!  It is not always necessary to go a designated water sports centre, by bringing in a couple of extra features, i.e. toilets etc. parkland and fields also make for great venues. 

Choosing A Venue - If you choose to source your own venue, please consider the following:

For Dragons Alive:

Land access to the site for vehicles with trailers

Point to launch the dragon boats and safety boat (a slipway is ideal but not essential)

Space on the land for boat marshalling

Water depth of at least 1 metre

Width of the water needs to be appropriate for the number of dragon boats

Length of the stretch of water (preferably at least 300m to allow for a good race distance)

Suitable and safe area for loading the teams into the dragon boats

Safe and secure parking for a 50ft and 40ft vehicle (including trailer)

For crews and spectators:

Car parking

Toilet facilities (can be outsourced if necessary)

Changing facilities (not essential, but popular with participants)

Catering and refreshments (can be outsourced if necessary)

Spectator viewing area (ideally including a good view of the finish line as this will ensure spectator involvement)

Shelter from sun or rain for spectators (not essential, but again popular)

We can discuss and guide you on all of the above and are happy to accompany you on a complimentary site visit to walk you through site suitability and set up.  On agreement of your venue we will perform a full risk assessment.

Popular Venues - We regularly host dragon boat regattas at the following venues.  All of them have direct access to a suitable stretch of water.  However, this list is by no means definitive, and we operate nationwide, so please call us on 0845 130 2248 to discuss further options.