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The chance to take part in free water sports drew people to Ashford’s Conningbrook Lakes on Saturday.

An open day was held at the country park with canoeing, paddle boarding, rowing, water zorbing and angling on offer. There was also archery, cycling, children’s athletics, face painting and guided walks.

Simon Harris, sports projects manager for Ashford Borough Council, one of the organisations which runs the park, said: “Overall the day was a roaring success.

“We had around 1,700 people of all ages attend. Over 1,000 people took part in the activities and for the really popular activities there were queues of people waiting to take part, especially for the paddle boarding, archery, canoeing and face painting.

“The feedback was excellent and those people that had not seen the lakes before were very impressed.”

Among the visitors was Nathalie Reid-Williams, who said: “My family and I had a fantastic day.

“We cycled in from Little Burton and we enjoyed all the brilliant activities on offer. We did the water zorbing and my daughter Amelie had her face painted.”

Another visitor, mother-of-three Deanna Hartshorne, said: “We had a brilliant family Ethan and Ewan activities, especially zorbing and paddle

ABC leader Cllr unveiled a plaque tree planted earlier mark the 800th signing of the Magna

The Mayor of Ashford, Geraldine Dyer, country park’s new safety boat as Con

Community groups and there were Farmers’ Market.

Conningbrook Julie Rose Stadium, partnership involving Leisure Trust, Kent and Mid Kent Fisheries.

Visit www.ashford.

Picture: Rebecca Holliday FM4009536 Picture: Rebecca Holliday FM4009543 FM4009531 Jamie Upchurch with his children Billy and Amy Amelie Reid-Williams has her face painted during the open day at Conningbrook Lakes

Ethan and Ewan Hartshorne try out the water activities at Conningbrook