THIS year's historic battle for supremacy along the Thames between Oxford and Cambridge holds a special significance for lovers of the race, since it marks the 175th anniversary of the first race in 1829 and the 150th race in total.

In 1829, Oxford student Charles Wordsworth (nephew of the poet William Wordsworth) challenged Charles Merivale, a student at Cambridge, to a race and the Boat Race was born. The first race is to be commemorated this year with a re-enactment in which oarsmen will be in full period attire and row in replica boats.

The actual Boat Race takes place at 6pm on Sunday and will mark the end of the BBC's coverage of the event. ITV will cover the event from next year.

Former Hampton School pupil and Oxford oarsman David Livingston is the sole survivor of two sets of brothers who competed against each other in last year's Boat Race. He will again be rowing for Oxford in this year's race on Sunday.

In the 2003 race, the brothers set a precedent when David's older brother James was in the losing Cambridge crew, while Matt Smith (Oxford) competed against his younger brother Ben. All of the oarsmen were former pupils of Hampton School.

David is a former world junior championship bronze medallist and a Schools Head winner in 1999.

The 20-year-old Livingston was inspired to take up rowing by other Hampton brothers Jonny and Greg Searle, who both gained Olympic gold medals in the 1992 Barcelona games.

So excited were they in the run-up to the event, the Friends of Dukes Meadow and Thames 21 joined forces with volunteers from the Duke of Edinburgh's Award, Singapore Airlines and GE Capital to clean up the river foreshore along Dukes Meadows, upstream from Barnes Bridge.

Hounslow's Environmental Strategy Officer, Lucy Griffiths, welcomed the initiative, which is supported by the Council's Local Agenda 21 programme.

"This stretch of the river has been made famous by the annual Boat Race, but visitors to the area often forget that it is also home to a thriving community of local wildlife.

"When the river becomes clogged by the accumulation of litter and other debris, it poses a serious health hazard to the local wildlife, as well as making the area look untidy.

"It's very encouraging to see local community groups and businesses working together to improve the area, and hope this weekend's initiative will be as successful as previous river clean-ups."

To help you and your family while away the afternoon, a free event to mark the 150th anniversary of the Boat Race will be hosted by CIP at Duke's Meadows in Chiswick.

To entertain the children during the afternoon there will be a range of workshops and activities for children hosted by the CIP Play Team. To help adults ease any pre-race tensions there will be a range of complimentary therapists including masseurs and Reiki specialists on site, as well as a dose of light entertainment and refreshments.

The event will be held between 2-7pm at Duke's Meadows, Riverside Drive, Chiswick Riverside, Chiswick, on March 28.

Duke's Meadows is a large sports playing area running down to the Thames, with a modern playground, cricket field, football pitches, tennis courts, bowling green and car park, and offers the perfect place to watch the race from.

In 1923, 230 acres of land adjacent to the River Thames, were purchased from the Duke of Devonshire by Chiswick Council and included the area known as Duke's Meadows.

Popular with local people, it provides a pleasant environment along the river to walk, cycle or jog. The Meadows consist mainly of mown grass as the gardens laid out in the early days have now gone.

There is a riverside promenade, which has a bandstand and a pavilion to and from the promenade.