River Festival 2024
River Festival and Bedford Festival of Motoring
Saturday 20th and 21st July 2024
Your essential guide to Bedford River Festival 2024 is here! It’s a weekend full of fun for the whole family that extends all the way through the town centre, along the Embankment, Riverside and into Russell Park.
This year BedfordBID/Love Bedford sponsor the High Street again with Bedford Festival of Motoring, a spectacular display of over 200 vintage, rare and classic cars displayed along the High Street, Mill Street, Silver Square and St Paul’s Square.
BedfordBID/Love Bedford are delighted to be able to offer an amazing array of discounts and freebies kindly donated by some of the brilliant businesses around our town centre. Visit our Offers & Discounts page for details.
You can use this ‘fast-find’ menu to jump to information that’s important to you:
- Getting to Bedford
- River Festival Extra Transport Services
- Accommodation
- River Festival Map
- FREE Family Fun at the River Festival
- River Festival Offers & Discounts
- Essential guide to town centre amenities
Bedford Festival of Motoring sponsored by BedfordBID/Love Bedford
The High Street will be closed for two days from 9am to 5pm to host the spectacular car display. Local motoring clubs, car collectors and individuals with classic or rare cars will be parked along the High Street, Mill Street and St Paul’s Square making a wonderful addition to the River Festival festivities.
There will be lots of fast cars represented, the Nissan GTR black edition at 195 mph, the fastest, this one is also one of the newest. The oldest car is undeniably the famous Model C Ford which is 120 years old, with a top speed of 38 mph, making it one of the slowest!
We would like to see Daimler, Bristol and Reliant sports cars..Come on, where are you?
There will be two beautiful American Roadsters, a 1936 Auburn and a 1924 Excalibur, cars to die for! The Festival always attracts fast cars and Jaguar, Jensen, Aston Martin, Lotus, Marcos, MG, Triumph, Morgan, AC Cobra, TVR and Austin Healey are all represented.
There will be a decent clutch of American Muscle Cars with Mustang, Thunderbird and Corvette going head to head. European and Japanese sports models are also well represented. At the opposite end of the scale, there’s the iconic Mini and it’s forerunner, the Morris Minor. And on the expensive side, Rolls Royce and Bentley. We’ve got all of them!
What’s more, there’s also dozens of vehicles of different sizes, different uses and abilities, lorries, buses, military, fire engines and cars your Dad had!
Thank you to all the exhibitors who are taking part and helping to make this year’s Motoring Festival a fantastic event!
A look back at last year’s Festival!
Bedford River Festival Map
Bedford River Festival has taken place approximately every two years since 1978! It’s believed to be the second largest FREE festival to take place in the UK outside Notting Hill Carnival and attracts about 250,000 visitors over the weekend.
There’s a multitude of events and attractions taking place over the weekend including countless river activities, live music and performance areas, raft and dragon boat races, plus so much more.
Enter Our Free Prize Draw!
Over the River Festival weekend we’re running a fantastic FREE PRIZE DRAW to win £500 Love Bedford Vouchers and other great prizes donated by our town centre businesses.
Your essential guide to town centre amenities
Parking in the town centre
Discover the car parks in the town centre. Parking is FREE for 4 hours on a Saturday in Allhallows and all town centre council owned car parks are FREE on Sundays.
Community Toilet Scheme
Bedford runs a community toilet scheme. Open the PDF link to see venues and businesses where you can use the toilet facilities.
Water Refill Scheme
Fill up your water bottle free of charge in Bedford town centre and stay hydrated at the Festival! Here’s a list of businesses taking part.
Late licence bars & pubs
We love to party! Here’s a few venues that are open late that you could visit after the concerts.
Taxis in Bedford
Licensed taxi offices are dotted around the town centre. Book ahead for mini buses and larger vehicles.
Food and Drink
Enjoy flavours from around the world! We’ve got restaurants, cafes and takeaways to suit all tastes.
Accommodation
Book your accommodation in Bedford town centre. Take a look at our accommodation to suit all budgets.
Health and Wellbeing
Need a pharmacy, dentist, doctor’s appointment, something to soothe tired feet? We’ve got you covered.
Visitor Information
Information about Bedford to enhance your visit. Including parking, public transport and things to do.
Convenience Stores & Newsagents
Pick up a newspaper, bottled water, soft drinks, snacks, picnic items and alcoholic beverages.
