Mystery Tours

Friday 30 October

Eight of us rocked up at the scout hut last Friday to disappear into the blackness - Niamh, Audrey, Emily, Sheena, Gwyl, Becks, Jen and our fearless leader, Simon. We decided to paddle open canoes and set off with paddles and poles to find a route through town which would take us to a pub. We paddled up the Thames and took a right down by Oxford and Cherwell Valley College, coming to a very shallow part which required all our skills to manouvre the boats using a combination of poles and will power. A few of us decided to step into the water to help our boats along but surprisingly it was really quite warm for an October evening.

We clambered up the weir, almost losing some paddles and limboed under a very low bridge, making friends with cobwebs and bird poo. Carrying on through town we made our way under Park End Street and Hythe Bridge Street eventually meeting up with the canal. We turned off before Tumbling Bay and made our way down to the Waterman's Arms for drinks, nibbles and a couple of games of pool.

- Jen

Thursday 29th October

Thanks for joining us on our night adveture to The George. I know we arrived late at The George and apologies to their staff for that. I have plenty of excuses but the main one is that we were late. A superb meal followed which I think was enjoyed by all. Helen and I were presented with gifts from all - thanks that was a really nice thought and we will both enjoy over time - no I wont drink it all at once.

The award for the most swims must go to Anthony and Graham for swimming on four occasions, so I was told, and their dad Dave not swimming once (he's getting good now). Eye - Eye Cap'n must go to Mike for receiving a nettle sting in the eye - we hope that's healed now. Those that didn't get their feet wet - I want to know how you did that. Simon - ooh where did they go at that junction and actually taking the right one. Howard and Harry "we didn't order this", half way through Helens and somebody else's meals. Penny for saying "no it's this one" when Helen and I were about to go on another short cut that would have taken another two hours. There must have been more but when leading the way, you don't see all. Any other haps or mishaps write them to the newsletter and I'm sure some may get published.

See pictures at www.glynncarter.co.uk

Friday 31st July

The Mystery Tour was well attended on Friday as Phil, Mick, Sheena, Ruth, Anthony, Graham (on special assignment), Helen and Glynn all mysteriously toured in a variety of boats. We had great fun even though Simon was away (thanks for the opportunity to run this trip Simon). Phil was a bit disappointed that he didn't need his climbing gear but - hey - you can't have everything. He was pleased, however, to have Graham in his canoe as the main motor!

- Glynn

Friday 24th July

After an ominous looking afternoon of heavy showers, some with thunder & lightning (very, very frightening), the weather perked up just in time for Simon's Friday mystery tour. Struggling to contain their excitement at the follies that lay ahead, Simon, Gwylim, Glynn, Helen, and Rich convened at the boat shed and set forth to explore one of Oxford's lesser known waterways - affectionately referred to by Simon as 'The Ditch' (And less affectionately referred to by Gwylim by several other names!) This being Rich's first Friday night outing, the prospect of unravelling the 'mystery' behind Simon's Friday night tours simply added to the sense of occasion!

And it wasn't long before the mystery began to unfold... Paddling upstream through The Gut, Gwyl made an assured right turn and we paddled confidently towards the bank and an apparently impenetrable bed of reeds fully expecting to glide effortlessly through in a Potter-esque-Platform 9¾-fashion... We didn't! We came to an abrupt halt as if we had just paddled into an impenetrable bed of reeds! In an eerie premonition of what was to come, paddle-work gave way to leg-work as we hauled our boats over the first of the many obstacles that lay in wait.

For the next short stretch, progress was reassuringly steady. And then we rounded a corner and came across an in-let to another, even smaller, ditch that, according to Simon, "wasn't here last time". This, in itself, being reason enough to explore, off we set. Some half an hour later, having negotiated obstacle after obstacle we discovered .... (drum roll!!) ... that it led nowhere!! We decided to carry the boats back to the main ditch and, in no time at all, were again working our way along the main ditch.

Over the next hour or so, we pushed canoing to the limit. Battling brambles and nettles, an assortment of increasingly unpleasant whiffs, fallen trees, lost paddles, tricky portages, and even a discarded tv, we slowly worked our way along the Ditch. Rarely has there been such a welcome sight as the Cherwell eased into view as we scaled the last couple of obstacles!

The paddle back to the boat-shed was relaxed and pleasantly uneventful. A short-hop later and we ended the evening as every evening should end; over a pint or two of ale. As we reflected on the evening's events, one mystery remains - why on earth do we do these things?!?!

- Rich

Friday 10th July

Three was company on Friday night as Niamh, Jon and Jen set off for a mystery tour in sea kayaks to The Fishes, via Osney Lock and Tumbling Bay. There was the threat of rain early on in the trip from the dark clouds overhead, but the evening stayed warm and dry.

This was Jen's first time as tour leader but that didn't mean it didn't tick all the boxes for a usual mystery tour. First, neither Niamh nor Jon had paddled the route before, meaning for them it was a mystery. Second, due to all the warm weather and the downpours, lots of the nettles and brambles at Tumbling Bay had grown impressively resulting in some bramble scratches and nettle stings. Third, we had some impressive nature encounters with incredibly tiny baby ducks, swans, ladybirds and giant spiders all sharing our trip with us (even if we didn't want them to). Finally, no trip would be complete without us bringing home some salvage, and we managed to find a series of small coloured balls on the stream between Tumbling Bay and The Fishes.

The least graceful exit of a kayak went to Jen, who managed to sink to her ankle in mud on the bank at The Fishes and had to wash a considerable amount of it off in the water before finding somewhere less boggy to land. After a couple of drinks, some chips and four packets of posh crisps (Sea salt and Somerset cider vinegar), we decided to head back, staying out of the way of the convoy of Salter's Steamers and the long gaggles of geese. A delightful paddle!

Friday 19th June

Eight of us ventured out on Friday evening for another mystery tour: Jon, Philip, Niamh, Gwylim,Liam, Helen, Jen and Simon. This time we took the stream next to University College Boat House which took us under Abingdon Road and past Hinksey Park, eventually meeting up with Seacourt Stream. We battled nettles, trees, reeds, hawthorn, wild roses and even some dodgy paddling but eventually made our way back on to the Thames to the Isis Tavern for some drinks. Gwyl, Simon and Liam decided to do some bridge hopping (climbing up onto bridges as the boats go underneath, running across the top of the bridge and climbing back down into the boat to paddle off). Only Gwyl managed to get himself stranded hanging off a bridge as his boat was paddled off by Jen! Jon did a brilliant job of hacking his way through some of the more stubborn obstacles - a fantastic evening!

Friday 12th June

Shaun, Gwylim, Simon, Liam, Philip, Emily and Jen all set out last Friday initially thinking about paddling up Mill Stream into town, parallel to the Oxford Canal, and then down to the Waterman's Arms. However, as the group made swift time to the canal they decided to extend the paddle and go down through Tumbling Bay and head for The Fishes. The Environment Agency has cleared a lot of the back waters so there were no fallen trees left to block our way, which was a little dull, but we all had a lovely drink as the sun went down and then made our way back draped in fairy lights.