The rowing scene in Bedford
Bedford is one of England's most concentrated rowing towns, with four clubs sharing a single straight, sheltered stretch of the River Great Ouse through the town centre. Bedford Rowing Club (1886) and Star Club (1960) anchor the senior community scene, while Bedford School and Bedford Modern School run long-established junior boat clubs. The town hosts the Bedford Amateur Regatta, first held in 1853 and now the largest one-day river regatta in the country, plus a string of head races each winter.
Key numbers
Bedford rows on the River Great Ouse where it runs through the town centre, past The Embankment and Russell Park. The Town Bridge and a weir hold the level steady, giving a wide, slow-moving and unusually straight reach that is rare among English river courses. Bedford Rowing Club runs its head races over a roughly 2 km downstream course through the middle of town, and the same water carries the side-by-side Bedford Amateur Regatta each May, with racing historically running between the Newnham Road and Cauldwell areas. The boathouses are clustered close together along the riverside, several of them within sight of one another.
All 4 rowing clubs in Bedford
Sorted by founding year. Every entry links to the club's own website; we verified all URLs in May 2026. If you spot an error or your club is missing, let us know.
| Club | Founded | Location | Reach | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Bedford Modern School Boat Club
The boat club of Bedford Modern School (BMS), founded in 1856, rows on the River Great Ouse from the Harpur Trust / Longholme Boathouse on The Embankment. It has produced multiple British champions and reached A-finals at the National Schools' Regatta. |
1856 | Harpur Trust / Longholme Boathouse, The Embankment, Bedford, MK41 7NT | River Great Ouse, Bedford | School |
|
Bedford School Boat Club
Founded in 1861, the boat club of Bedford School rows from the Longholme Boathouse on The Embankment by Butterfly Bridge. It has a strong record at Henley Royal Regatta, winning the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup in 1946, 1947, 1948 and 1951. |
1861 | Longholme Boathouse, The Embankment, Bedford, MK40 2TU | River Great Ouse, Bedford | School |
|
Bedford Rowing Club
Founded on 15 March 1886, originally as the Bedford Amateur Rowing Club, at a public meeting chaired by the Mayor. Its members range from novices and juniors through to senior and veteran oarsmen, and the club hosts three head races and the Quarts Sprint Regatta each year; its colours are maroon, white and blue. |
1886 | Duck Mill Lane, Bedford, MK42 0AX | River Great Ouse, Bedford | Senior community |
|
Star Club
Formed in 1960 by former National Service members of the RAF Cardington Rowing Club who chose to remain in Bedford. Junior rowing began at the club in 1967, and it now fields thriving senior, masters, junior and recreational squads. |
1960 | Poynter's Boathouse, Batts Ford, Commercial Road, Bedford, MK40 1QS | River Great Ouse, Bedford | Senior community |
Major regattas in or near Bedford
May (one day)
February
July (between Henley Royal Regatta and the National Championships)
Autumn
January
Summer
Software for Bedford rowing clubs
Most of the 4 clubs above still run their boat booking, member admin, session attendance and crew lineups on a combination of spreadsheets, WhatsApp groups and printed sheets on the boathouse wall. Row HQ is rowing-club management software built specifically for clubs like these.
If your committee is hitting the predictable problems - lineups in the wrong file, fees uncollected, attendance unrecorded, captain on holiday with the password - book a 30-minute demo. We've ported clubs from spreadsheets in a weekend.
See Row HQ for your club
Free forever for clubs of up to 20 active members. No card needed.
Other rowing-club cities
Looking at the wider regional scene? Here are the other cities we have full directories for.
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From the blog
If you're researching the rowing scene in Bedford as a club admin or captain, these are the most useful pieces we've written.
Sources & references
- Wikipedia: Bedford Rowing Club
- Wikipedia: Star Club (rowing)
- Wikipedia: Bedford School Boat Club
- Wikipedia: Bedford Modern School Boat Club
- Wikipedia: Category - Rowing clubs of the River Great Ouse
- Bedford Amateur Regatta - History
- Bedford Amateur Regatta official site
- Bedford Rowing Events (Bedford Rowing Club head races)
- Star Club - Club History
- Bedford School - Rowing