Ten free events on the Wensum from 26 to 31 October, from folk music played from canoes to a bat walk and a film trail. Five need booking; here is which.
Norwich is getting a new free festival about its rivers in October half term. Where the River Meets Us runs from Monday 26 to Saturday 31 October at venues along the Wensum.
Norwich City Council announced the festival on 7 October. Its events listing carries ten events. Every one is free, but five need booking and some have limited places.
The quick answer
- When: Monday 26 to Saturday 31 October 2026.
- Cost: free, every event.
- Book ahead for: the chalk rivers talk, both Wensum wildlife walks, the bat walk and the low sensory storytelling session.
- Just turn up for: the film trail, riverbank storytelling, the community poem, the photo walk and Folk on the Water.
Day by day
The times, places and booking rules below are from each event’s own page on the council website, read on 8 October.
| When | Event | Where | Booking |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 26 Oct, 11am to 12pm | Riverbank Storytelling (low sensory), ages 4 to 8 | The Lions' Den River, 79 Bishopgate, NR1 4AA | Required, 30 places |
| Mon 26 Oct, 6pm to 7.30pm | Talk: the hidden world of Norwich's chalk rivers, with Nick Acheson | Council Chamber, City Hall, NR2 1NH | Required |
| Tue 27 Oct, 5pm to 7pm | Film Trail: The River Remembers | Riverside Walk, Adam and Eve pub to the Red Lion | None |
| Wed 28 Oct, 10am to 12pm | Guided walk: Exploring the Wensum, with Nick Acheson | Meet at Sloughbottom Park BMX track | Required |
| Wed 28 Oct, 11am to 12pm | Riverbank Storytelling, ages 4 to 8 | Wensum Park, Mile Cross, NR3 2DD | None |
| Wed 28 Oct, 4pm to 7pm | People's Poem for Wensum, drop in | The Lions' Den River, 79 Bishopgate | None |
| Wed 28 Oct, 5pm to 7pm | Film Trail: The River Remembers (second night) | Riverside Walk, Adam and Eve pub to the Red Lion | None |
| Thu 29 Oct, 10am to 12pm | Guided walk: Sweet Briar Marshes and the Wensum | Meet at Sloughbottom Park BMX track | Required |
| Thu 29 Oct, 4.30pm to 6.30pm | Bat Walk by the Wensum | Oasis Community Garden, Fishergate, NR3 1UE | Required |
| Sat 31 Oct, 12.30pm to 2pm | Guided photography walk | Meet 12.15pm at New Mills Yard, NR3 3AH | None |
| Sat 31 Oct, 1pm to 2pm | Folk on the Water, with Lassie | Cow Tower | None |
The film trail runs on two evenings, so the table has eleven rows for ten events.
The events worth knowing about
Folk on the Water is the most unusual event on the list. Norwich folk duo Lassie play from canoes as they move along the river. The audience follows on a guided walk along the bank. It ends with a finale alongside The Common Lot Choir. It starts at Cow Tower at 1pm on the Saturday and lasts about an hour, according to the event page.
The film trail is a one-way riverside walk after dark of about 45 minutes. Short archive films from the 1920s to the 1980s are projected at stopping points along the way. They include news reports, nature programmes and documentaries about the river. Last entry is 6pm. The screenings are outdoors, so the council advises dressing for the weather. On the Wednesday, stewards will guide people from the trail to the poem session at The Lions’ Den, the listing says.
The chalk rivers talk at City Hall is led by naturalist Nick Acheson, an ambassador for Norfolk Wildlife Trust. Elle Claiborn, Senior Citizen Science Officer at Norfolk Rivers Trust, will also speak about volunteer monitoring of Norfolk’s rivers. Booking is through Eventbrite.
The bat walk is about a mile long and run by Norfolk Wildlife Trust, with bat detectors to listen for bats feeding over the water. Norfolk has 16 bat species, the trust’s listing says. It may be cancelled in heavy rain or high winds, and joining details go out in the week of the event. Book on Eventbrite.
The two morning walks both meet at the BMX track in Sloughbottom Park. Wednesday’s is with Nick Acheson and looks at the Wensum’s wildlife, from kingfishers and otters to water voles. Thursday’s goes through Norfolk Wildlife Trust’s Sweet Briar Marshes reserve with Matt Wickens, the trust’s urban nature reserve manager. Book them separately on Eventbrite: Wednesday and Thursday.
For young children, the riverbank storytelling brings in the Wensum Rat Riders from the Lord Mayor’s Procession. Children then make their own river creature. It is for ages 4 to 8, siblings are welcome, and every child must come with an adult. The Monday session is the quieter, low sensory version in a covered space, limited to 30 people. The Lions’ Den has toilets and an alcohol-free bar, and parking is at the Adam and Eve pub, the council says.
The People’s Poem is a drop-in at The Lions’ Den. People add a word, a memory or a favourite place on the river to a new community poem. The poem is commissioned by the National Centre for Writing as part of Norwich’s UNESCO City of Literature status.
The photo walk is open to anyone with a phone or a camera. Pictures taken on the day will go into an online exhibition. Anyone shooting on film gets a voucher towards digitising their images, through Shoot Film Norwich and Just Shoot Film Photolab. It overlaps with Folk on the Water, so you cannot do both in full.
The council’s announcement also mentions a community litter pick and Dragon Hall as a venue. Neither had its own listing on the festival’s events page when we checked on 8 October.
Why the rivers
The council’s release makes the case in its own figures. It describes the Wensum as a chalk river, a habitat found in only around 200 places in the world, 85% of them in England. Its upstream reaches were designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest in 1993. The stretch through the medieval city centre lies within the Broads National Park.
Councillor Lucy Galvin, leader of the city council, said in the release: “Norwich is a city founded on its rivers. We are here because the rivers are here.”
The council is also working on a river strategy and pledge. Its Get Talking Norwich rivers page takes email sign-ups for updates. It carried no survey or closing date on 8 October.
What it means for you
- Book the five ticketed events now. The talk and walks are run by Norfolk Wildlife Trust and places are limited. The low sensory storytelling has 30.
- Most of it falls in half term. Norfolk schools break up for October half term on Friday 23 October and go back after Friday 30 October. Saturday 31 October, with Folk on the Water and the photo walk, is the day after.
- The evening events are outdoors and after dark. The film trail and the bat walk are by the water in late October; the council advises dressing for the weather.
- Check before you set off on Thursday. The bat walk can be cancelled for heavy rain or high winds.
For everything else on that week, from the cathedral light show to the Book Festival, see our October half term guide and things to do in Norwich.
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