Picture by Simon Kelsey

by Jenni Horn

Visitors planning to go along to the English Festival at Riverside Country Park, Rainham, this Saturday are advised that parking will no longer be available due to heavy rain.

Medway Council has announced that due to the recent and continuous rain the field usually used for parking it is no longer suitable for cars.

Visitors have been asked to use the free park and ride service which will operate throughout the event, from the visitor entrance to the Historic Dockyard, Chatham, and Rainham Mark Grammar School, to Riverside Country Park, Gillingham and back.

The buses will run between 10am and 6pm and will drop and collect passengers on Lower Rainham Road, outside Riverside Country Park. The park and ride route will be marked by yellow directional signs. The local Arriva bus service will also be in operation.

Lower Rainham Road itself will have cones on both sides of the road and that a strictly no parking policy will be in operation.

The council is able to provide a limited number of spaces close to Riverside Country Park for visitors with disabilities. These will be located at the car park at the end of Sharpes Green (off Lower Rainham Road).

The English Festival, to mark St George's Day, is a free family day out to celebrate everything we love about the country.

MP for Gillingham and Rainham Rehman Chishti will officially open this year's event, which will take visitors through themed zones including the seaside, a village green, a farm animal enclosure and a medieval arena.

Among the attractions on offer throughout the day will be a beach with deckchairs and donkey rides, Shakespeare's birthday party, Suffolk punch horses, goat feeding, and have-a-go archery.

Colourful costumed characters from English history will roam around the park, so don't be surprised if you encounter Queen Elizabeth II, Winston Churchill, Emmeline Pankhurst, the Fairy Queen or a town crier.

Local traders will be selling food and drink throughout the day, from traditional fish and chips to pasties and ice creams.

It runs from 11am to 5pm with the official opening at noon. Entry to the event is free but some activities such as donkey rides, seaside rides, and face painting will have a small charge. All children entering the event must be accompanied by an adult.