CHILDREN were often in danger when they played in and around Wolvercote Lakes, known as the Gullet.

The water brought risks at the best of times, but was probably more hazardous when it froze in winter.

Val Faulkner, who grew up in the village on the northern edge of Oxford, recalls: “Ice hockey matches sometimes took place.

“On one occasion, I was with my teenage brother Charlie when we saw a group of young lads trying to set alight some crisp, brown bulrushes protruding above the ice.

“Charlie hurried across to put the lads wise to the perils of lighting a fire above the ice. They soon scattered.

“There was an old punt moored in the Gullet at one time, and my young school-aged brothers, Dick and John, went for a ride in it, but not for long.

“Abel Warmington, to whom the punt belonged, appeared on the bank frantically waving them in, as the punt leaked.”

Mrs Faulkner, of Raymond Road, Bicester, remembers being in danger at Wolvercote Lakes herself on several occasions.

“There was a derelict bungalow which spanned the channel between the two lakes.

“I often explored there, a bit hazardous, as the water below could be seen through the rotting floorboards.”

Many children were discouraged from going to play around the lakes, and not just because of the dangers of drowning in the water.

Mrs Faulkner tells me: “We were told that a huge monster fish swam in the Gullet depths and that if we went near the bank, it would pounce on us.”

We were reminded of the Gullet by James Pratley, of Yarnton, who recalled that the area was packed with children and adults in winter playing ice hockey and skating.

Mrs Faulkner has enclosed a picture of Audrey Viner sitting on a snow bank on the frozen Gullet in the harsh winter of 1947, with other villagers in the background.

Any more memories of the Gullet to share with readers?

Write and let me know.