THE fourth annual Coniston Regatta saw it grow into a full-on festival with a nautical theme.

Gondola cruises, classic movie props, and open water swimming in a ‘pop-up lido’, were some of the activities in, and around, the water during the three-day event last week.

Until now, Coniston Regatta has been exclusively a boating event but, in light of previous years’ successes, the organisers decided to make it a fundraising event and add family-friendly activities.

“I thought it had huge potential to be something special and fun for all the family, rather than just the dads,” said one organiser Shayla Garrido.

“We weren’t so lucky with the weather, but it was really good fun and we raised quite a bit of money for leukaemia and lymphoma research.”

The most popular event was the open water swim in the Regatta’s very own Lido.

Participants were challenged to to swim around ‘Swallow’ (the boat used in the making of the ‘Swallows and Amazons’ film) and collect a Swallow medal of honour back at the shore.