Located in the Heart of Bedfordshire
Stewartby Lake is located just a few miles from Bedford in the picturesque Marston Vale Community Forrest. The club is minutes from both the M1 motorway and the A1 making the club very accessible from many towns and cities across Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Milton Keynes and Buckinghamshire.
The Marston Vale Community Forrest is a major attraction for walkers and cyclists all year round and focuses on sustainable wildlife conservation. Our lake is a major feature within the Forrest with something going on almost every weekend of the year
“The biggest expanse of water dedicated to sailing in the area”
Stewartby Lake is almost 220 acres in size with a 3.8 km (2.3 mile) footpath and cycleway bringing visitors to the area close to the water’s edge.
The lake is divided into a dedicated 100 acre sailing area with space on the north side of the lake for water-skiing and powerboat racing to take place simultaneously. The sailing area itself is located on the south and west banks with a good steady breeze uninterrupted by natural features for most of the year.
From time-to-time it is possible for recreational sailors to explore the whole lake, subject to safety rules, but generally there is ample room for all users of the lake to enjoy their sport
Our Facilities
In addition to our idyllic location and large lake, the sailors at Stewartby make use of, and benefit from, a wide range of facilities:
- A warm, comfortable clubhouse with changing facilities and hot-showers available all year round.
- A large wet-bar and Galley (café to non-sailors) offering hot food and drinks for a great many of the organised sailing activities at the club.
- A licensed lounge-bar that is open to members and their families on certain club event days.
- Large car park with easy access to the dinghy park and clubhouse.
- A dinghy park with capacity for around 400 boats and plenty of room for new members.
- Safe launching slipways and shingle beach.
Safety is important to all members of the club and when organised activities take place support is provided to all members afloat:
- 4 dedicated Safety Boats (2 rigid inflatables, 1 Dell Quay Dory and a Jeanaux Ridgiflex).
- Full VHF Radio Coverage
- Support boat crews comprising experienecd adult members of the club.
- An appointed ‘Officer of the Day’ overseeing all on-water activities.
Dinghy Racing
Stewartby is one of the best locations for dinghy racing in the east of England capable of supporting 50-60 boat regional championships or 30 – 40 boats Inland Nationals on just the dedicated sailing area.
For a very special event, it is possible to utilise the whole lake and we can safely accommodate large Inland championships for almost all dinghy classes.
Recent racing events have included:
- Laser & Laser Radial Open
- National Solo Open
- Streaker Open
- Topper Open & Area Championships
- Kestrel Class Winter Nationals
- Sprint 15 Winter TT
- RS 200 Open & Short Course Competition
- British Moth Inlands
- Lark Masters
For more information on Dinghy Racing and how you can bring your event to the club see the Racing section of the website or contact our Racing Manager.