A tale of three Rivers by Jacki Jenkins

A tale of three Rivers by Jacki Jenkins

River Dee/Llangollen Grade 2/3 Kayaks

The long weekend began on October 9th with 4 of us meeting up at our favourite spot in Llangollen. We had our usual briefing and checked the water levels before entering the River Dee at TNR. The weather was warm, the sun was shining, but then all of a sudden a great big massive cloud appeared. The heavens opened and pelted us with rain just as we got on the water. Lucky us kayakers love water. We warm up with a few paddle strokes & stretches and practice a little ferry gliding to get a feel for the water and settle into our boats. 

One by one, each of us dropped down the first feature, with big grins and slightly different approaches. It’s great to go down first and watch their faces as they drop into the water. It’s also quite entertaining to see that no matter what Dom drops into, his big yellow boat becomes a submarine. 

We had a play about and caught as many eddies as we could before getting to the bottom wave, where we got out to paddle up the canal. We dropped back in at Horseshoe Falls after a natter on the canal.

There was a sense of ease on our paddle back; our group has developed great trust with one another, there is much encouragement and support without pressure to try anything out of your comfort zone.  We know when the time is right to try something new and push our growing abilities. Olwen, Dom, Ella, Jacki

River Wharfe/Skipton Grade 2/3 Kayaks

Saturday, October 10th started early with a drive to Barden Bridge Skipton to meet up with Dave & Fiona, who are currently practising to become White Water Coaches. Dom and I volunteered to be guinea pigs as we’re trying to stretch our paddling abilities and sharpen the skills to hopefully become future WW leaders. This was our first visit to the River Wharfe.

We got on the river after shuttling to an area near the back of Church Lane. Parking was decent, but if you decide to do this, use as few vehicles as possible. There’s a bit of a walk to the riverside; the path is easy to access and walk on. After a couple of hours of coaching, we decided to run the river. The levels were good and right for kayaking down the natural limestone formations. The River was cool and clear with a slight amber tint to it. It’s an easy grade 2 in most places with some great wave trains to look forward to.

There is a grade 3 section, Appletreewick Falls, which has an upper and lower part; scouting this before running is important. The upper section has a common line that is run more or less far right through a stopper, which can be run in low to medium water. This section can be portaged. The lower section is narrower with fewer options but very doable. This is a great river to run for improvers at the correct levels and knowledge. Dave & Fee Gentle, Dom, Jacki

River Eden/Lazonby Grade 2/4 Canoeing

Sunday, October 11th, back on the road for a two-hour drive to the beautiful River Eden. Today I feel tired; my kit is still wet from all the paddling over the last couple of days, and I put on a cold, damp helmet. But that thrill of the water just energises my soul, and on this day I was a mascot on the front of a tandem canoe with Dom at the helm. I never thought I would like canoeing, but I cannot express enough to you all to please give this a go.

Our team was brilliant, each of them offering hints and tips on how to paddle these what I call “huge” vessels. Keith and Mike were experts and reminded us of that well-used sentence, “What can possibly go wrong?” Nothing went wrong! We had great fun. Catching eddies, surfing, bouncy waves, avoiding rocks and tackling a grade 3 section. The River Eden was gorgeous, and again the right levels are needed to paddle here. It’s famous for its deep gorges of red sandstone and even features some rock carvings along the riverbanks, which was a great surprise.  Colin & Sue, Adya, Andy, Dom, Keith, Mike, John, Marco