New Mills Duck Race 2025

Hundreds of colourful plastic ducks will be racing their way through the River Goyt for charity — family fun guaranteed!

The wonderful, the eccentric, the crazy New Mills Duck Race is back for 2025!

The event features three races: a race specially for local businesses who sponsor corporate ducks, a schools race featuring ducks designed by local school children and brought to life by local artists, and the public competition with cash prizes and trophies for the winning ducks this Sunday 18th, May at 12noon at The Torrs Riverside Park, New Mills, SK22 4DB.

The Public Duck Race

You buy a ticket, which allocates you a plastic duck. The ducks are all released at the start line at the same time and the first one to the designated finish point wins.

The Corporate Duck Race
Local businesses sponsor their very own Duck to compete against each other. This year there's 95 incredible sponsors competing in the Corporate Duck Race - spanning local businesses from New Mills to Furness Vale, with representatives of multiple towns and villages in and around the High Peak area.

The School Duck Race
Each school in the area is paired up with a local artist who turns a plastic yellow Duck into a masterpiece and they slug it out (the Ducks not the artists) in the River Goyt. This year there's eight schools, including nurseries and primary schools from New Mills, Thornsett, Hague Bar, Newtown and Furness Vale.

But the fun doesn’t end there...There will also be lots of other things to do while the races are happening. There will be street food and cake stalls, and we will be hosting different activities for children that range from messy play to face painting.

This is a free event perfect for families looking for activities everyone can enjoy on a beautiful sunny day.