Swan Upping - Henley on Thames

Wednesday 17th July 2024

Start: 11.30am | Finish: 3.30pm

This event has passed

What better way to enjoy the Thames than to attend the annual Swan Upping event from the decks of The New Orleans, based in Henley-on-Thames, the largest and most luxurious passenger vessel on the Upper Thames. The New Orleans revives the stylish tradition of a Mississippi sternwheeler with tall twin smokestacks and paddle wheel.

The mute swan appears to have been given Royal status in the 12th century and by 1378 there was a ‘Keeper of the King’s Swans”. The swans in the river Thames all belong either to the Sovereign or to the Worshipful Companies of Vintners or Dyers, who were granted the privilege of ownership by the Crown in the Fifteenth Century. Every year the beaks of cygnets are marked to show who they belong to – if a bird has two nicks it belongs to the Vintners, if one to the Dyers and if none at all, to the King.

On board we will enjoy a Pimms reception prior to a splendid buffet lunch with wine while we follow the flotilla of rowing skiffs as they mark the new cygnets.  A cash bar is also available to the thirsty.
 

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