A view of Football in the River 2026
Mon 31 Aug 2026Tradition · Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire

Football in the River 2026

Bourton Rovers play their annual six-a-side match in the shallow River Windrush running through the village centre — a quirky August Bank Holiday tradition dating back over a century.

About

Every August Bank Holiday Monday, two teams of Bourton Rovers players abandon the grass pitch and take the football into the ankle-deep River Windrush in the middle of Bourton-on-the-Water. The rules are roughly normal football — slippery stones, goals on opposite banks and the inevitable comedy splashes.

Free to watch from the village green and the low stone bridges. Local stalls, refreshments and a collection in aid of Bourton Rovers FC. Crowds form an hour before kick-off, which is typically mid-afternoon.

In Bourton-on-the-Water

Low stone bridges arc over the shallow River Windrush in the most photographed village in the region.

Read the Bourton-on-the-Water guide →