THE inaugural Five Rivers Festival will be held for the first time this bank holiday Monday, with two river and two land based events.

The day of events is being held to celebrate Salisbury’s five rivers.

The event has been put together by the Salisbury Rotary and Business Community Group, which previously put on a successful contemporary craft and heritage festival in the city.

Festival co-ordinator and local businessman David Clayton said: “After all the turmoil of 2018, we hope we have been successful in setting up a different and very fun event designed to appeal to both Salisbury residents and businesses.“This year’s event will consist of two river and two land based events, however we are already planning to extend this to five river events in 2020.”

There will be something on offer for everyone at the festival, which takes place at various locations around Salisbury.

The first river event is a gentle float down the River Avon from Stink Pot Bridge (in Stratford-sub-Castle) towards Ashley Green. Using their own inflatables families can travel down the river together while being cheered on by onlookers along the Avon Valley board walk.

For those who fancy trying something different, there will also be a bubble football competition taking place all day on Fisherton Rec (next to Ashley Green).

On Ashley Green itself, Salisbury Fire Station will be holding a bank holiday car boot sale, and other activities and refreshments will be on offer.

The second river event is a River Race, which will take place at Churchill Gardens, just down from New Bridge. The race is open to individuals and teams and will run for about 100 metres from the Sea Cadet’s building to the side of Churchill Gardens.

The festival is being run as a charity event, with Serve On, the Sea Cadets and Salisbury Rotary Club benefitting from the proceeds.

For more information or to reserve your place in the events visit salisburyrotary.org.uk