2nd August 2012

Day three of our break and the main event ! Today was the day the we experienced the Olympic Games for ourselves. Over a year ago we had applied like everybody else for tickets to London 2012 and were lucky enough to get allocated tickets to a session of the Rowing at Eton Dorney.
This was the reason we had based ourselves at Bracknell as it was just fifteen minutes away from the rowing lake. We were up at 6am as we had to be at the event early to get shuttled from the car park (at Windsor Race Course) and then get through the airport style security.
The organisation though was superb as we had no trouble at all getting in with the 'Games Makers' helping all along the way.

The Friends & Family Stand

We were soon in position for the first of the fifteen races in our session. The Women's Single Sculls C/D semi-final which was won by S.Puspure from Ireland.

The races came thick and fast every ten minutes, including the Semi-Final of the Men's Four which was won by Team GB and will hopefully bring home a Gold Medal for Team GB on Saturday.

The also rans !

 

Eventually we got the the three finals of the day starting with the Men's Double Sculls which was won by New Zealand with Team GB coming in a very creditable 5th. Next up was the Men's Lightweight Four which was the best race of the day and ended with the South African team pipping the GB boys by 0.2 of a second, Heartbreaking !!

The GB Lightweight Four

 Whilst the racing was going on I noticed a bird of prey going over and switching my 'bins from the boats to the sky was pleased to see a Red Kite.

Red Kite

This was one of four I saw during our time at the regatta and also had a Common Tern that passed up and down the lake constantly.
The last final of the day was the Women's Eight which is the closest event to a sprint in rowing. Unfortunately the GB women never featured in the race and came in 5th with the USA winning.

Team GB( On the Left)

When it came to the medal ceremonies the partisan crowd were cheering for the GB Men's Lightweight Four as they received their Silver Medals.

Yay Silver Medals !

 

 

They then got back into the boat and rowed to our side of the lake to receive the appreciation of the crowd.

Didn't they do well

A Silver Medal

 

They were followed by the Women's Eight winners from the USA.

USA Women's Eight Winners

Gold !

We now hung around and let the crowds filter away before we made our way back to the car with the same level of great care and organisation as before.

All in All a fantastic day at the Olympics and one we will never forget, it would have been nice to have visited the Olympic Park and Stadium but we are grateful that we did get to experience 'The Greatest Show on Earth' in our own country !
We now went back to the hotel for a rest before heading out in the evening to a local 'pub'. Using my Good Beer Guide App on my phone I chose the Victoria Arms at Binfield which has the longest standing Guide entry in the area and was CAMRA Branch Pub of the year in 2009.
Its a small village Fuller's Pub which was pretty full when we arrived but we managed to find a table and get a meal. Ales on offer were the usual Fuller's beers like ESB, Chiswick and London Pride but I went for a seasonal, Wild River at 4.5% and was a nice refreshing ale with a crisp finish.

And that was our mini-break, tiring but a great three days away.