Quack! Quack! It’s Back!

IT’S that time of the year again when, the morning after Thame Carnival, Thame & District Round Table takes to the river and stages its annual duck race.

The ducks are tipped into the river Thame ready to race. Image – Nick White 2014

The race is a giant floating lottery, with around 2,000 individually numbered rubber ducks literally dumped into the river from the bridge on the Old Long Crendon Road, ably assisted by the Thame crew of Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue and their high pressure hoses when possible.

If you’ve bought a ticket with a number that matches one of the first three ducks over the line, you win a prize, paid in John Lewis vouchers. All other proceeds from the ticket sales are donated to local causes.

On hand to make sure things don’t go smoothly is Captain Ducky, despite the best efforts of the volunteers of Thame Round Table! No one knows what contraption he will create to disrupt the flow of ducks this year but, it’s a safe bet it won’t make it to mess up the finish line…

This year’s duck race takes place on Sunday, June 12. The race starts on the old town bridge, which is accessed from the bottom of Priest End, behind St Mary’s church.
Gates open at 10.30am and the race will start at around 11.00am.

Tickets always sell well, so you may need to be ‘quack’ off the mark if you don’t want to miss out! Tickets are on sale at Thame Carnival, which is held the day before the race. There will also be some tickets on sale at the start line on the morning of the race, although in previous years the event has been known to sell out on the day, so it’s best to buy your tickets in advance if you can.