Hexham Rowing Club headed to the River Derwent with two boats and their expertise to allow local villagers to get out on the water, the first time the stretch of river has been rowed on officially since the 1970s.
Ebchester Amateur Rowing Club ran from 1876 until it formally disbanded in 1974, although rowing hadn‘t taken place there for many a year.
And while hopes of the club starting back up are slim, there are plans to redevelop the dilapidated boathouse which will entice more people to row there on a regular basis.
The link between Ebchester Boathouse Development Partnership (EBDP) and Hexham Rowing Club will be pivotal, ant there are discussions to hold more open days on the Derwent following the success of the opening taster session.
The local village turned out in force to support the event with a steady stream of people trickling through the day, and it is planned for similar ventures to be held regularly throughout.
As well as rowing on the water, there were rowing machine challenges to see who could complete 200m the quickest.
Ebchester teenagers James Smith and John Murray impressed to secure victory.
The link between Hexham and Ebchester has been spearheaded by Catherine Bockett, a member at Hexham for six years and a member of the development project in Ebchester where she lived for 12 years.
She said: “The idea behind the session was to involve the public in the project, and to show another activity on the river - kayaking and canoeing are already frequent activities there.
”It also brought back to Ebchester an activity which was at one time the social focus of the village as rowing was frequent there up to the 1970s.
“The Hexham Rowing Club committee was very supportive of the idea and it is interesting to note that at one time Hexham was called Hexham and Ebchester Rowing and Swimming Club indicating links in the past between the two.
”Hexham are very keen to bring new rowers in on an ongoing basis, and runs regular Learn to Row courses to that end.
“The stretch of the Derwent River at Ebchester might well be a good training ground for novices in due course, once the Ebchester Boathouse Development Project achieves its goal of rebuilding the boathouse.”
Ebchester traditionally had a rich history with the sport with the amateur rowing club hosting regattas on the River Derwent at regular intervals for almost 100 years.
The first boat was kept there in 1872 and, four years later, others began to show an interest which led to the formation of the club.
A boathouse was quickly built and the winner of the first proper handicap, in 1878, was William Hardy, of Whickham.
As membership increased, the river was widened and a new boathouse erected in 1899, opened by village tradesman Joseph Brown.
Having served the club for 60 years, the all-wooden boathouse was deteriorating and was again replaced in time for the 1960 season.
But things started to turn sour for the club as membership dwindled in the mid-60s, leading the the club being dissolved in March 1974.
After an absence of 40 years, all at Ebchester are keen to return the action to the Derwent with boathouse project chairman Iain Knox saying: “We are not talking about weekly or monthly, but we would certainly like to think there will be rowing at Ebchester on a regular basis, even if every two months.
”Rowing is an amazing part of Ebchester’s heritage and bringing it back is great, and it would be such a shame for us to lose it completely again.
”It is an ideal stretch of water for beginners, and we want to use it more.“
To help with their push for more regular action, EBDP is in the stages of securing funding to replace the current run down boathouse with a larger structure.
The existing building has no washing or toilet facilities which brings with it obvious problems, therefore there are plans for a modern one to allow users to make the most of it.
It is intended the building work will be carried out in two phases so that the changing rooms can be made available as soon as possible.
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