All the Fun of the Best Dressed Bed Contest
Environment: Reduce, Reuse Recycle Inspires Best Dressed Bed Designers
Read MoreJune 10th 2023
All the information you need for the day
Find out all the information you need for the day, including parking to public transport
Highlights from the 2022 Great Knaresborough Bed Race
Check out the latest news from the Great Knaresborough Bed Race
Environment: Reduce, Reuse Recycle Inspires Best Dressed Bed Designers
Read MoreBed Race Comes Back with a Bang after The Lost Covid Years
Read MoreThe Great Knaresborough Bed Race has been held every year since 1966, always on the second Saturday in June. It is a mighty pageant of decorated beds, passengers and runners, combined with a gruelling athletic contest around a course of 2.4 miles. It is organised by volunteers from the Knaresborough Lions to raise funds to meet local charitable and community needs.
This takes the teams – usually 90 squads in the maximum race field - through parkland, through the Nidd Gorge, up the steep Castle Ings to the town centre. They then hurtle down High Street and Bond End, cross High Bridge and dash to the climax of the event: the 30-yard swim through the ever-icy waters of the River Nidd, beds racers and all. For the teams, it is an unforgettable experience, and for spectators unmissable. Bed racing, begun in Knaresborough, has spread across the globe, helping to entertain folk and raising cash for worthwhile causes.