Kayaking Mike Jones Rally

Dave - the young version

Nothing like a selfie when kayaking. And this is with a ‘normal’ non-digital camera – not a phone!

This is me on the River Dee just north of Llangollen.

The River Dee is an incredibly special river to me. The very first white water trip I took was a little way above where this photo was taken.

Since early 1979, there had been a special weekend of kayaking and canoeing on the River Dee in Llangollen.

It was called the Mike Jones Rally.

Mike was a kayaker and adventurer. Amongst others, he undertook expeditions to the Blue Nile, the Dudh Kosi (down Everest) and finally K2.

In 1978, while rescuing his friend from the depths of the Braldu River that runs off K2, he sadly drowned.

One of his fellow expedition members, Dave Mamby, set up the Mike Jones Rally and a charity in Mike’s name to raise money.

From a couple of hundred attendees in 1979, it grew to several thousand when it ended 10 years later.

I was privileged to be able to attend the last five Rallies.

It was the weekend everyone looked forward to. It was talked about all through the year and many times we would wave off our friends shouting ‘see you at the Jones!’.

The first year I went it was a trip organised by our kayak club and I had only been paddling a few weeks.

Not surprisingly I capsized 20 metres from where I got in and swam from just above the Chain Bridge Hotel right through the Serpent’s Tail - a fearsome rapid.

An undertaking on any day, but in December it was the coldest I have ever been – even to this day, I have never been colder!

On the Friday and Saturday nights, guest speakers presented in the Llangollen Town hall to a packed (literally standing room only) room.

The highlight was always the films. Brilliantly shot and of course they contained kayaking.

Everyone timed their exit to the second. As soon as the last syllable left the lips of the speaker, the door was opened, and the crowd departed. Straight to the pubs opposite. Not quick enough and you were at the back of a 100-deep queue!

Town Falls in 2022

We camped most years only resorting to renting a house for two nights on the last ever weekend.

As the event always ran in either November or December, it was frighteningly cold. Camping was for the brave and/or the drunk.

I remember one-year paddling with snow on the ground. To get from the car park down to the river we sledged our kayaks. One overzealous student sledged straight off the bank and into the river!

The paddling in the day was breath-taking and several times we paddled down from Tyn-y-Cefn to just below the bridge in Llangollen. A journey of about 13 miles. Made easier in high water by the flow of the river.

The trip down through the valley was relaxing and then finished with the rapids down into Llangollen. The hardest of which was Town Falls just above the bridge in town (see image above).

It always pulled a crowd, so swimming was not an option! Rescue divers were always there and kept busy most of the day.

Many university kayak clubs came to the event too. And they would take part in the daily races. The cardboard kayak race, the standing up race, inflatables and damsels in distress to name a few. It was insane.

The entrance fee for the event went to the charity and it was well worth it.

An incredible event. I recall Dave Mamby bowing out of running the event at the 10^th weekend. And boy did he know how to make an exit.

He made a short speech, put down the microphone, walked through the crowd and out the building - all to rapturous applause.

Nothing would replace that weekend.

Great times.

The River Dee - a special place in my heart

Paddling the Dee in 2022

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