Nant Clydach and Rhondda Fawr (Heritage Park section) October 2010

Nant Clydach and Rhondda Fawr (Heritage park section)
So we had had a lot of rain and and heavy heads after the night before. But Sam and I decided it would be a waste to not get a paddle in. After getting up at around mid day we headed over to Up and Under to pick up a couple of big river runners as we only had play boats. I selected a Dagger Mamba and Sam a Liquid Logic Remix. After this we went to Sam’s to get all our kit and then drove up into the Valleys of South Wales in search of water.
Our first port of call was the Nant Clydach; a small ditch near Pontypridd. With heavy rain however this turns into an excellent class 4-5 1km long run of almost non stop rapids. Sam and I were both nervous on the way. After a summer of paddling in CIWWs friendly class 2-3 rapids this was going to be our first proper paddling in some time. Neither of us had paddled big boats in almost a year and the amount of rain suggested the river would be huge!
We arrived and were relievedd that the river was just at a good medium level. We hiked to the top (stopping breifly to inspect the notorious 'slot' rapid, which looked fine if very narrow!) and got in just above the first major rapid.
The rapids all kind of blend together on this river and I can't remember specific orders of anything. All I know is the whole section is over before you know it. The run finishes with a fantastic rock slide which looks massive when you look back upstream to see the other flying down it!
We had two runs of the Nant with no incident before jumping in the van and heading over to the Rhondda Heritage Park on the other side on Pontypridd to have a couple of blasts on the Rhondda Fawr.
This 500m section is a unique urban experience. We arrived and the river was in very high conditions requiring wlaking to the top rather than a series of ferry glides normally possible. We go to the top and got in just above the railway tunnel. There are three tunnels and we opted for the far right. The flow pics up rapidly through the tunnnel before dropping about four feet at the exit. Both of us eddied out quickly and decided to walk back up to do it again before running the rest of the rapids. After a second run we continued down. A big rock slide avoiding a large hole is the first rapids followed immedietely by a second big rapid. Sam eddied out and I carried on down stream. On the final large rapid I hit a wave slightly off angle which turned me sideway. Rather than turning back and charging at the huge hole infront of me I attempted to brace into and over it. In such a buoyant boat the result was inevetable. The hole took hold of me and put me into a vicious side surf, bouncing up and down I managed to claw my way to the edge of the hole and paddle out into an eddy. Phew!
Sam joined me a couple of mins later raving about an incredible wave upstream. We both hiked up and sure enough there was a good large wave with a nice shoulder on the left. However the far left was a powerful hole and reaching the wave required suring out across the hole in order to reach the clean wave. Sam went first and flushed quickly. I did the same. A couple more goes like this and Sam managed a 10-20 beating in the hole on the shoulder before popping off backwards. Now I should mention that a swim here almost certainly means your boat being washed away, hopefully to be found in Cardiff Bay the next day, and the boats we are using don't belong to us! I paddle in for one final run and immedietely catch a back edge and am thrown into a series of window shades, cartwheels and loops (all unintentional) in an eight foot boat! For 30 to 40 seconds I am tossed around like a rag doll in the huge but very shallow water. All I can think about is not swimming and losing Up and Under's boat (and possibly myself) to the raging torrent as my head and back is pumelled off the river bed and I gasp for breath! Eventually the boat is thrown into the air and free of the hole. I roll up and paddle into the eddy. By this point it is almost dark and a swim could have been very unpleasent.
I know had to tackle the hole that had given me a beating previously. This time I made sure I hit the shoulder as hard and straight as possible. Reaching over the top and pulling hard through the pile. Even then I felt the boat get pulled towards the centre. Just a gente rapid down to the road bridge and get out now. Phew!
A great afternoon and evenings paddle. By the time we got off the water it was well and truly dark!


Ross Tiley

Mellte- 5th April 2010

So we set off from Rheanna's at 7:00 in the morning heading to South Wales for some Tawe fun. We were to meet a friend of mine there who has paddled around South Wales for a long time and knows all the rivers like the back of his hand!

En route I got a call from him and he asked us to check levels on the Nedd Fechan and the Mellte. The Mellte was just bellow a 5 on the gauge, the minimum level he said it was worth running it on.

So we all shuttled to the top of the Mellte, Darren feeling the nerves as this was a new river to him and notorious for several must portage big falls!

We got in after the 10min walk into the river, just below the first major fall (30 feet high onto a shallow rock bed) and ran down the easy grade 2 rapids that led up to the second major fall. This is a two stepped fall, again very shallow on landing and slightly higher than the first. We all got off and walked round to have a look at the 15 foot slot drop below it.

Darren and Elan decided not to run this, Elan has hurt his elbow on it previously and deemed it not worth the risk again. Barny, Rheanna and I decided paddle it. I went down to film their run and after what seemed like an age I decided to climb the cliff to the side of me to see if I could work out what was taking so long. I saw Rheanna paddle over the lip of the fall and in my rush to set up for filming slipped and fell 15 feet onto the slab rock below... OUCH! I quickly got back up and managed to catch the last of Barny running the drop and all of Rheanna's decent. Both their runs were fine but Rheanna got flipped upon hitting the bottom and had to roll back up. My turn now, and with a very sore bottom I made my way up to the top, slid into my boat and paddled into the slot, a split second later I was shot out the shoot and landed flat at the bottom in the plunge pool.

The river then has a few grade 2/3 rapids before, yep you guessed it, the third major fall. This one is runnable but didn't look particularly appealing given the low conditions. Elan ran a slot to the side and got pushed behind the curtain of water, losing his paddles in the process! A few seconds later he emerged having hand paddled through the waterfall from behind it! The rest of us portaged the fall... one for another day!

After this their is a lot less getting out of boats and walking involved. The gorge marks the start of a barrage of grade 3 rapid and boulder gardens.

The next rapid to scout involved a small drop through a stopper into an eddy, followed by a narrow slot, closely followed by a 7 foot fall onto a very shallow shelf. I ran down the first drop, followed by Barny and Darren. Barny then ran down the slot before Elan joined me, and then Darren followed Barny before Rheanna joined me and Elan in the eddy... got all that!? Well Darren got flipped in the slot and failed three rolls and swimming due to the force of the water pulling his paddle from one hand and not allowing him to set up a roll properly. A great self recovery saw Darren back in his boat before the final drop which everyone ran fine.

A few more grade 3 rapids and we reached a 10 foot, vertical weir with again, a very shallow landing. This was a must boof as landing vertically could easily break boats and ankles! Everyone ran this fine, each landing at the bottom with a satisfying boof sound (hence the onomatopoeic name!).

After more rapids we reached the gunpowder works or looping pool as it is also known. Everyone blasted through the powerful, deep stopped at the bottom and we continued down the last few rapids to the put out ready to quickly get the shuttle done and go on to do the Tawe.

Unfortunately when we reached Elan's car, we found two of the windows had been smashed in. Luckily no valuables were in the car and they didn't find Elan's wallet which was hidden away! The police were informed and insurance companies contacted and hopefully all will be sorted in due course!

All in a great trip despite an unfortunate ending!

Slovenia

Ive just got back, Im surfing tomorow, Its bed time!

Upper Dart - Feb 09

With heavy rain forecast for the southwest Martin, Nige S, Barny, and Rheanna form CSCC aswell as Mike and Tim from WYCC headed down for a run of the Tavy (after picking up a boat Tim had bought from Exeter services which looked like a kayakers convention), Unfortunately it had no water in it, no really none. So we headed in search of some water, luckily Martin is a human guidebook and soon found us a river we could float in.

The decision to do the Upper Dart was met with mixed reactions, Nigel looked plain scared (this didn't change much until the car park) Rheanna and Barny where excited whilst everyone else was somewhere in between. Martin reassured Nigel slightly by telling him that it was low so he would be fine whilst everyone else wound him up more.

The rapids started of fairly easily but soon got steeper and more powerful until the start of the 'Mad mile' was reached, Martin announcing this did nothing for Nigel's confidence! We paired up Nigel and Martin H, Rheanna and Mike whilst Barny and Tim led. The 'Mad mile' gave some excellent technical grade 4 with the rapids merging into one. Nigel began to relax and enjoy himself. This was short lived as a roar indicated we were aproaching Euthanasia falls. Everyone ran it down the right hand side of the island without too much carnage. Barny decided he wanted to run the actual falls. Whilst inspecting it appeared there was lots of water going over the falls, when Martin was asked about this he said 'yeh its a bit higher than I said but don't tell Nige' .Barny walked up and ran it as everyone watched, no problems.

The river continued in the same way, steep and technical, until 'Surprise Surprise' this was a steep boulder garden with a nasty looking slot or sneak round the side. Everyone went for the sneak root and ended up at the bottom fine, Nigel didn't fancy it and decided to walk round which just left Martin. He took the same line but hit a rock below the surface which capsized him and trapped his paddles leaving him to be dragged paddleless down a boulder garden upside down. Needless to say he swam and looked very shaken at the bottom. The next thing was to retrieve his paddle, Mike clambered action man style to the paddle and we were soon on our way.

The River now eased off and we were soon in Newbridge to Nigels relief. See you next time.

Barny

Take your boat for a walk- 13th Feb 2010

A lack of rainfall, dire surf forecast and pure desperation to go boating lead Nigel, Barny and Rheanna to tackle Wiltshire's own: The Bybrook.

The trip began in Castle Combe, where the river started as it would tend to continue: flat and fairly shallow. The first obstacle was a horseshoe shaped narrow fall onto a shallow and undercut landing. After removing a large plank from the drop everyone ran it with no problems.

After this the river continued to wind through the valley before turning into what can only be described as: a nature reserve! As we paddled through we all felt a very strong feeling that we weren't welcome there. Continuing through the reserve we were greeted by a very unhappy landowner/Buddhist who basically told us to get off the river and get lost.

So we took our boats for a walk. After finding a place to get back in our boats the river started to widen out a bit, and become VERY tree blocked. The stubbornness, determination (and possible stupidity) lead us to battle through many blockages that would normally have been portaged. Eventually we gave up and took our boats for a walk again. MORE tree blockages followed as we approached another notable fall- a debris filled slot in what felt like someone’s back garden. After all running the fall fine, Nigel hit the big danger: a strainer across the river, with a reasonable flow behind it. The situation became serious quickly as he became pinned. Barny was in the best position to help and as quickly as the situation started, it was over.

More walking and tree dodging followed as we followed the river to Slaughterford, where we made the perhaps silly decision to continue. A short paddle lead us to a small technical shoot and under a very unwelcoming derelict mill. By this point we were exhausted and horrified by more tree blocks. The notable one being when Rheanna got pinned to one set of trees and after Big Nige's help to get free of these ended up spraydeck and paddle less under another set of branches. Leaving the only option to leave the boat.... on the Bybrook!

More walking lead us straight into an unhappy games-keeper, with a shot gun. He informed us that we should paddle through very quickly before the land owner saw us and went ballistic. After kindly informing us of this he went to get the land owner. On her arrival hissing and screaming we were left with no other option to end the trip here, or risk all violence that she could throw at us. She informed us that we should learn "THE LAW" before paddling there again. Definitely not a supporter of open access for kayakers in Britain.

A trip not to be repeated but definitely laughed about at a later date


Rheanna

Walkham / Tavy - February 09

Darren, David, Nigel S, Simon, Barny, Rheanna from CSCC hooked up with some paddlers from Wiltshire to do the Lower Walkham river which feeds into the river Tavy. The first boating was done sliding down a small snowy hill at the get in. The Walkham started flowing gently through a scenic valley but soon dropped into some small technical rapids.





These continued for a while untill the the first real grade 3 rapid was reached, it was a 'slot' where the river ran thorugh a small gap the size of a kayak. Darren ran it first very smoothly follwed by everyone else, giving Nige a chance to showcase his rolling skils. Darren enjoyed it so much he did it again!







After the slot flat water continued for a small way down to the Tavy, the rapids increased in volume making bouncy fun until the wier was reached, the wier had a tricky right angle line over a double drop. This made for some comedy lines!

Next came a small wier which created a fun stopper, the hardest part of surfing the stopper was dodging other kayakers!

Thanks everyone, Barny

Frome 17th Jan

David, Julia, Martin, Nige, Beth and Barny from CSCC got out on Sunday to catch some snowmelt on the local river Frome, It was at a very good level and the sun was shining! The Frome is flat with lots of wiers, the firm favourite was a wier which had a drop onto a slide onto another drop, great fun! We even entertained some walkers with cameras by doing it multiple times and even backwards. The zoom flume suprised most people providing a big bouncy wave train. Well done to Beth who finsihed the trip despite feeling under the weather.

Thanks to Martin and David for organising the trip.