About the Event

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History of the Tyne Tour

The Tyne Tour began in 1980, originally as the Mike Jones Rally

Dr Mike Jones was an iconic figure in the world of canoeing; he is credited with many first descents by kayak, including most famously that of Everest in 1976. He died in 1978 on the Bradlu River in Pakistan while trying to save a companion.

Mike Jones

Mike was a great supporter of recreational white water paddling at a time when the only means to access white water was through the competetive disciplines of slalom and river racing. The Mike Jones Rally started as a recreational canoe touring event that was held annually on the River Dee in North Wales.

Mike Jones

After ten years on the Dee, it was moved to the Tyne, where it has been supported by the local Riparian Owners and local canoe clubs.

Hexham Canoe Club and friends welcome you to our part of the paddling world, for Europe’s largest mass participation canoeing event

The Tyne tour is hosted at Hexham in Northumberland over the course of the first week in November. Taking in a stretch of the river Tyne renouned for its outstanding beauty, running down from the small village of Barrasford then on down through Warden Gorge. Finally finishing in the market town of Hexham, this 7 mile section brings smiles to the faces of both experienced and novice paddlers alike.

As a result of a major review into the purpose and organisation of the Tyne Tour we relaunched it for 2014 as the Tyne Tour Festival. This brought with it some changes to the event from previous years, of course there were also the usual things that bring members of the paddling community back to the River Tyne year on year.

A high number of attendees that completed our survey agreed that moving the entertainment to Tyne Green was a positive, there will now be a 1 day or 2 day paddle pass and early bird combined pass discount. Free Hot vegetable soup with roll available for all paddlers when you get off the water (Saturday only).

The weekend offers something for all levels of paddlers including races, guided trips, trade stands and coaching. You may just want to enjoy the social side of the event giving a chance to meet other paddlers or old friends with a ceilidh helping the fun to run on until the early hours of the morning.

There is something for everyone.

We are looking to adding to the event to offer attendees the type of event they want, as a result we setup an online survey for 2014 attendees to complete and the results were positive with regards to the format changes.

If you have any good ideas or can help provide something new to the event please feel free to drop us an email and we will try to improve the event further.


Tyne Green, Hexham, NE46 3SG

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