Down by the estuary, the Caught by the River stage presents talks on all aspects of the natural world alongside immersive field recordings, cosmic disco, folk, rock'n'roll and much, much more.

The Caught by the River Story

Caught by the River was born on a bankside seven years ago. Although initially an idle conversation between friends, it soon grew into an online forum for all things outdoors – angling, birding, walking, drinking, listening & living. In the years since the first post, Caught by the River has featured contributions from writers, artists, musicians and like-minded thinkers such as Bill Drummond, Robert Macfarlane, Chris Yates, Bobby Gillespie, Melissa Harrison, Frank Cottrell Boyce, Chris Watson, Amy Liptrot, Richard Benson, Charles Rangeley-Wilson and Emma Warren among many, many others. Many of these pieces are collected in the anthologies Words on Water and On Nature and in the site’s semi-regular fanzine, An Antidote to Indifference.  

Alongside recognisable names, Caught by the River has always offered space and encouragement to new writers. The website has recently self-published Water & Sky by Neil Sentance, a book described by Robert Macfarlane as “a marvellous and haunting sequence… it is wonderful to read such experiement of voice, tone and vision.”  

Caught by the River regularly comes offline to stage events both in the capital and at festivals around the country. Their fifth birthday party took place at the Southbank’s Purcell Rooms. They can be found annually at Port Eliot Festival and Festival No 6 in Portmeirion. The website’s record label Rivertones released the much-loved Dylan Thomas meets King Tubby soundclash ‘Under Dubwood’ in 2012.