THE WORLD Pooh Sticks Championships – which takes place near Witney – was this week named as one of Britain's 12 "brilliant but bonkers" competitions.

But the competition is just one of Oxfordshire's many quirky traditions which are strange enough to rival Gloucestershire's cheese rolling and Bideford's Big Sheep Grand National, which also made this week's list compiled by holidaylettings.co.uk

Reporter Pete Hughes considers just some of the weirdest weekends in the county. What's yours? Let us know 

Pooh Sticks

Travel website holidaylettings said this was a competition that was "so popular and so quirky, it had to make their list".

Organisers at Oxford Spiers Rotary Club, said they were delighted to be named.

The competition, which is now held on Witney's Langel Common, sees competitors drop brightly-coloured sticks off one side of a bridge over the River Windrush and race them to the other side.

The game was invented by Winnie the Pooh author AA Milne, who first played it with his son Christopher Robin in the Hundred Acre Wood made famous in the stories.

The World Championships are now a tribute to all things Winnie the Pooh, and organiser Lesley Adams said their popularity could be largely put down to the world's favourite cuddly bear.

She said: "Winnie the Pooh is just so popular and I think it's all down to the original stories – those lovely quotes that AA Milne wrote, they are so appealing to people of all ages."

Abingdon bun throwing

Abingdon has marked major Royal occasions by throwing buns off the town's county hall ever since the 1761 coronation of King George III.

This year, about 4,500 buns were thrown in 12 minutes at a celebration for the Queen's 90th birthday.

Abingdon also boasts a bizarre Mock Mayor election each year stage by local Morris dancers.

May Morning on Magdalen Bridge

The traditional event to mark the coming of spring has taken place on May 1 for more than 500 years and this year fell on a Sunday.

After the choristers of Magdalen College choir sing Hymnus Eucharisticus from the college's Great Tower at 6am the college's bells ring for about 20 minutes.

In relatively recent years, students used the occasion to jump off the bridge into the River Cherwell, but police have discouraged this since 12 people were badly injured jumping into the shallow river in 2005.

Chalking Uffington's White Horse

The re-chalking of the 3,000-year-old horse to keep it gleaming white dates back centuries, but was banned in 1857 after an estimated 30,000 visitors and travellers turned up at White Horse Hill and authorities struggled to move many of them on.

These days, the National Trust, which looks after the hill, invites volunteers to help and provides equipment and instruction.

Bampton Shirt Race

Vikings, fishermen and Where's Wally? all took part in this year's Bampton Shirt Race.

The race is organised by The Society for the Preservation of Ancient Junketing – a charity set up to help the elderly in Bampton.

Money is collected along the way as villagers stump up the cash for the charity which organises the race, that has been running for more than 60 years.

The annual Swan Upping, Aunt Sally games, the Bodicote Duck Races and Beating the Bounds in Oxford are among our county's other quirky traditions.