White Water Kayaking
The club runs trips to all over the UK with weekends in Scotland, Wales, Northumbria. We also go every year to the French Alps for a two week Alpine Paddling Holiday. We have also been to Nepal to paddle some of the worlds largest rivers.
UK Rivers are graded on a scale of 1 to 6
Grade 1 Moving water, unobstructed and without technical difficulties. There may be small waves and riffles to ‘challenge’ the paddler.
An example of a local rivers which could be considered Grade I would be The River Mersey trail
Grade 2 Waves, small stoppers and other minor obstructions to avoid. Eddies and cushion waves may be strong.
The River Goyt would be a good example of a Grade II river in the north west.
Grade 3 Waves, stoppers and technical difficulties are more severe. There may be drops and powerful constrictions. The main distinguishing factor of Grade III water is that the paddler will have to follow a recognisable route to avoid obstacles and hazards.
The Dee (serpent`s Tail) and Lower Tryweryn are two of the more famous Grade III rivers paddled by the club.
Grade 4 Severe waves, drops, stoppers and other obstructions. The route is not easily recognisable and will usually require careful inspection from the boat or bank.Grade 4 encompasses a wide range of rivers, from those with pool-drop rapids to those with extended continuous rapids; so there is a huge variation in difficulty. It is common to distinguish easier grade 4 rapids by grading them as 4- and harder rapids as 4+ [or in some cases, 3/4 or 4(5)].
For the more experienced paddlers the club leads trips to rivers like the Upper Tryweryn and Trout Beck which both contain Grade 4 water.
Grade 5 Extremely difficult rapids with precise and technically demanding routes to be followed. Stoppers, currents and waves will be powerful and inspection is essential. As a club our focus is on paddling whitewater up to Grade IV and we rarely publish details of trips on harder water. However, a small group of club paddlers may arrange private trips from time to time.
Grade 6 All of the above carried to extremes. Grade 6 usually means unrunnable rapids, which may just be possible in certain conditions. Understandably Liverpool Canoe Club does not run trips to Grade VI water.
Guidebooks & Online River Guides**
River Trips page from the old club website….