Property firm raises £5,000 with 65km kayak for mental health

A PROPERTY business in Henley has raised £5,000 for a mental health charity following an 11-hour kayaking challenge.

Seventeen staff members from XP Property in Hart Street and its sister companies travelled from Abingdon to Henley, finishing at the Angel on the Bridge pub in Thames Side.

The group set off on the 65km journey at 6am, rowing non-stop and swapping paddlers throughout the day, arriving at the pub at 5pm.

It is the second time the company has taken on the challenge in aid of Mind, a mental health charity, choosing this time to fundraise for the Oxfordshire banch.

Jack Jiggens, the co-director of the firm, said that the cause was one that was very close to the company and its staff, including his business partner Ben Richards who lost his mother, Debbie, following a mental health crisis two years ago.

The group’s challenge raised £4,280 for the charity and Mr Richards will donate £720 of his own money to top up the amount to £5,000.

Mr Jiggens, who grew up in Shiplake and now lives in Ancastle Green, Henley, said: “We have worked on property in Abingdon and our main office is here in Hart Street so we thought we would travel between the two.

“Because we wanted to keep it social as well as active, we used two two-seater kayaks and the teams were evenly split between guys and girls.

“It was a crazy adventure. It took 11 hours because of the locks along the Thames and we had to go through 13 locks in total. We drank about 50 bottles of water of water and ate lots of calories and food along the way.”

The group was accompanied by a support boat from Henwood & Dean boat builders in Hambleden, driven by Tony Knights.

The property company was joined by staff from XP Surveys, Central Suites and Aura Architecture & Interiors, which are other companies owned and run by Mr Jiggens and Mr Richards.

Mr Jiggens said: “None of us are experienced kayakers which made it interesting. We were all completely green to it but luckily it was easy to pick up, if not a little tedious.

“I put on a brave face as the team fed off each other’s energy and enthusiasm and we also had great weather.” Mr Jiggens said that he enjoyed the quieter stretches near Abingdon, between Culham and Clifton locks.

He said: “There were actually cows walking in the water and the steam was coming off the river as the sun rose. It was very rural and quiet — it felt like a movie.”

Mr Jiggens said his other favourite moment was celebrating with a drink at the pub at the end. He added: “Everyone came in on Monday saying that they were sore.”

Mr Richards, who lives in St Albans, said: “It was a fantastic day and the sun was out and shining and friends and family came out to support. My wife and my three-year-old came along to cheer daddy on.

“We even had some interns that worked with use over the summer come back to join us.” Mr Richards said the group played music on speakers to help them through the afternoon stint.

He said: “I have not kayaked much before at all, we did the same thing last year but the only other times I have kayaked was in New Zealand when I was on holiday.

“Once you get into a rhythm it certainly makes it easier but my shoulders hurt for about a week afterwards.

“Come 1pm or 2pm everyone is flagging a bit. It starts off fun and there a bit of a dip after lunch so we needed a bit of music playing.

“But it was great, it couldn’t have been a nicer day and it was great to get everyone together and raise an awesome amount.”