River Dee Progression to White Water 14th Dec 24 We had two groups out on Saturday to paddle the River Dee from Llangollen Town to Ty Mawr Country Park. The river was on a good medium level and provided for some interesting waves. The recent floods had left debris and stranded tree trunks high on the bank. Most notably, two very large trees were now blocking the middle and left… Read More »River Dee Progression to White Water 14th Dec 24
Junior Rolling Competition 2024 Following the final junior pool session of the year last night at Broadgreen School Pool Alice and Marcus tied in first place with fantastic 9 Bar Rolls in 30 seconds. Clara and Marcus tie in first place for the paddle rolls with 10 in 30 seconds, better than most of the adults. Clara has just pipped Marcus in the hand-rolling competition with 10 hand rolls in… Read More »Junior Rolling Competition 2024
It is with great sadness that the club has this afternoon received news of the sudden passing of club member Gary Edwards. Gary was a well-liked member of the club, with a passion for his sea kayaking, and was giving up his time and energy to help members experience the adventure also. He was a recently qualified BCU sea kayak leader and pursuing his sea kayak coach award. Our thoughts… Read More »Gary Edwards – Sad news
Junior trip on the River Weaver 1.12.24 A beautiful, bright Sunday morning saw the junior club meet at the Runcorn Rowing Club for a paddle on the River Weaver. We set off towards the countryside, making good progress under the three big bridges. There were 12 paddlers with Rosie the dog balancing well on the back of Mandy’s SOT. Terry led the riddles, with everyone guessing and having a go,… Read More »Junior trip on the River Weaver 1.12.24
Rannoch Moor to Perth by Chris Bolton Part 5 We knew the picnic site at the power station was closed, so I walked down to check it out before taking the boats down the hill. While the car park was locked, a gap had been left deliberately and was big enough for canoes. After some lunch, we launched onto Loch Faskally, which still had significant flow from the power station… Read More »Rannoch Moor to Perth by Chris Bolton Part 5
Rannoch Moor to Perth by Chris Bolton Part 4 We found a landing spot just upstream of the fish ladder, on the North side of the dam. We’d expected to see signs of previous use, but it was quite overgrown. Our first task was to walk the portage and look at the river. This was not encouraging. There was very little water, and it was rocky. The trouble with the… Read More »Rannoch Moor to Perth by Chris Bolton Part 4
A Weekend in Barnard Castle by Chris Marsden Last weekend I took a trip to Barnard Castle. Not to get my eyes tested, I was a student taking part in a whitewater kayaking coach’s course. I was a bit nervous travelling up there as I didn’t know anybody else on the course. They were a great bunch from Durham Canoe Club. The instructor put us through our paces. We worked… Read More »A Weekend in Barnard Castle by Chris Marsden
Rannoch Moor to Perth by Chris Bolton Part 3 The best route is to turn left after the gate, up a short hill then down to a bridge and round to the far side of the stilling basin. If the dam was releasing, that would be the put-in, but it wasn’t worth even trying to paddle, so we trolleyed to the grade 4 section, which would have been impossible for… Read More »Rannoch Moor to Perth by Chris Bolton Part 3
Rannoch Moor to Perth by Chris Bolton Part 2 The entrance to the Garbh Ghaoir is well hidden and the first 800m is really still part of the loch. Lunch was taken before inspecting the first rapid – this was our first paddleable rapid, although still with less water in it than was ideal. The route down to the first drop (grade 3) went cleanly, and we broke out to… Read More »Rannoch Moor to Perth by Chris Bolton Part 2
