Skandia Cowes Week 2008 - Your Council's Involvement

All the spectacle, entertainment and fun of Skandia Cowes Week will soon be with us - and once again the council will be working extra hard to ensure the whole week runs smoothly. Here are some details of the important back-up support we provide:

Getting to and from Cowes Parade during Skandia Cowes Week

Throughout the regatta, the whole of the Parade area is thrown open to pedestrians to enable you to move about without having to worry about dodging vehicles. However, motorists’ needs are still catered for – the council will be providing a courtesy bus service known as the Sailbus.

The Sailbus will be in operation from Saturday 2 August to Saturday 9 August. Follow the AA signs for the car parks, located in Ward Avenue, and pick up the Sailbus courtesy service which runs from there every five minutes or so. Within minutes you will be dropped off on the Parade.
The return journey is via Prince’s Green and Gurnard Esplanade. Services start at 9.30am and continue until 6pm - but please note that there is a reduced service on the last day, Saturday 9 August.

Sailbuses are the only public vehicles permitted onto the Parade during Skandia Cowes Week.

Parking your car

As there are severe restrictions on parking in Cowes Town centre and along the Parade during the week, extra parking spaces are being provided in the grassed areas at Northwood Park (off Ward Avenue), and at Cowes High School (off Crossfield Avenue) when Northwood Park is full.

Follow the AA signs for the temporary event car parks. The car parks will be open from Friday 1 August to Saturday 9 August from 8am to 6pm. The charge is £5 per day/stay. A weekly pass is also available at a reduced rate and available on arrival from car park staff. All charges include the free Sailbus travel to Cowes Parade which can be caught from these car parks.

Cowes Football Club and the Isle of Wight Community Club both situated off Park Road will also be used on fireworks’ night. All temporary car parks will be clearly signed. East Cowes offers extra car parking facilities at Victoria Grove Recreation Grounds for fireworks’ night only, with buses provided down to the seafront.

Using the floating bridge

Pedestrians and motorists can get to Cowes from East Cowes using the floating bridge across the River Medina.

Extra overnight services are being provided from Friday 1 August to Saturday 9 August, with the usual back and forth operation extended from shortly before midnight to 2am. After this there will be each-way services at about 2.20am, 2.40am and the last one at 3am. The service then resumes at 5am.

On fireworks’ night (8 August) the only vehicles that will be carried at peak times will be emergency vehicles. All times are subject to tides, weather and navigation.

Restrictions are in place on the number of people that can be carried for fireworks’ night – so the advice is not to use the floating bridge unless essential, as there could be long delays.

For further information please contact the floating bridge office.

Cowes tourist information centre

Visitors to Cowes may wish to drop in to the council's tourist information centre (at Fountain Quay by the Red Jet terminal) for up to date information during the week on accommodation, where to eat, what's happening etc. Opening times are: Saturday 2 August to Sunday 10 August, 9.30am to 5pm (except Sunday 3 August and Sunday 10 August, 10am to 3.30pm).

What’s going on ashore?

The council plays a major role in ensuring the week is as much fun on shore as on the water, with a range of seafront entertainment.
The staged area on the Parade bandstand offers free entertainment both day and night, with a line-up including live bands, aerobatics, comedians and magic shows. The Parade also offers prime viewing to watch the racing, catch up on the racing results, and soak up the atmosphere, while sitting in the decked garden or wandering through the Parade Village.

The traditional firework finale lights up the night sky as usual on the Friday night, silhouetting hundreds of boats against the backdrop of the Solent. The display starts at 9.30pm and lasts for half an hour, with tens of thousands of people lining the shore from Prince’s Green to the marina at Cowes, as well as along the seafront at East Cowes to watch the magnificent display.

Red Arrows

On fireworks' night, Friday 8 August at 7.30pm, there will be a Red Arrows' display above the Solent, in full view of Cowes seafront and the Parade.

Entertainment at Northwood House

There will be open-air entertainment at Northwood House to start the week.

The Illyria outdoor theatre company will be returning for the third year running, performing The Merry Wives of Windsor on Friday 1 August. Tickets are £10 for adults and £7 for children, with the entrance opening at 6.30pm and the performance starting at 7.30pm. The audience is encouraged to bring their own picnics and low-backed chairs or rugs to sit on.
There will also be a bar and refreshments available during the evening. More information on the event is available by calling 289842.

• Cream teas will be available in the grounds of Northwood House from Sunday 3 August to Friday 7 August.
• Cowes Open Bowls Tournament will be taking place again this year on the bowling green within the park.

Safe and clean

The council has arranged for the town centre streets to be cleansed and litter picked on a continuous cycle throughout the week. There will also be a dedicated roving team to carry out spot cleaning as required.
Litter bins will be supplemented by wheeliebins in the High Street and Parade areas and will be emptied several times a day, and there will be a major clean up after the fireworks on Friday 8 August to return areas to tidiness by the next morning.

The four blocks of public conveniences in the town will be cleaned by a dedicated member of staff on a continuous rotational basis. This service will be extended for fireworks’ night, with extra facilities provided on the Parade.

For further information please refer to our Quick Links section below.

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