Budleigh Bowls Tour 2026

​We have just returned from our three day bowls tour to Suttons and The Island Bohemians in Reading and Windsor Great Park bowls clubs. It was a great success, with mixed match results, but that didn’t spoil our enjoyment. 
The Island Bohemians own part of an island in the Thames, which is accessed by a ferry and is a very special and fun place to bowl. We had welcomed them to Budleigh last year and they returned the favour this year. 
Our teams were made up of mainly Budleigh players and we extended the invitation to some members from Ottery, who had joined us on last year’s tour.
Our final match was at Windsor Great Park, which was a splendid location, made more exciting by the preparations for the Royal Ascot week, though no royals were spotted on the bowls green!
We were very lucky with the weather and the sun shone on us for three days. Not so lucky with the scores though.
Grateful thanks go to Tony Mackness, who sadly couldn’t join us on the tour, and Ralph Cartwright, for organising the whole thing, which we know was a lot of work and made it such a success.  
Gerard mentioned them in the last speech of the tour and everyone showed their appreciation by a round of applause.