Canoeing on the rivers of South Wales

We are lucky in Wales to have so many rivers suitable for canoeing and we have our fair share in south Wales. I use the term canoeing to cover both canoeing in open boats - Canadian type canoes - and kayaks. Being a kayaker myself, I am used to thinking about the suitability of rivers for kayaking rather than open-boating. Again my preference is for whitewater kayaking rather than touring on fairly placid water but I hope the following will be of some interest to all types of canoeists.

Unfortunately, the fact that we have rivers suitable for canoeing does not mean that all those rivers can be canoed upon without problem. Problems walkers face in gaining access to the open countryside are not of the same order of difficulty as gaining access to rivers. Of the 200 or so rivers in Wales only around 10 can be paddled upon because of the existence of a legal right or the existence of some sort of fairly formal or established access agreement. On a number of other rivers nobody usually causes any problems but on many rivers canoeists are frequently hassled by fishermen or landowners insisting that they will not allow canoeists to practise their sport.

Fortunately for touring open-boaters, one of the rivers where one has a legal right to canoe is the River Wye below Hay-on-Wye and there is also a permissive access agreement from Glasbury to Hay. The Glasbury to Hay stretch is Grade 1 water and makes a lovely trip for beginners. Open boats can be hired in Glasbury and the trip can be extended to Whitney for a nice day out. Ross-on-Wye to Monmouth is another favoured stretch. This includes the famous Grade 2 rapid below Symonds Yat East where boats can be hired from the Wye Dean Canoe Centre.

Over in west Wales, I am aware that touring open-boating frequently takes place on Afon Teifi, though the access situation is not generally good there, and a company called Heritage Canoes (tel: 01559 371235) has recently been advertising trips.

Anyone with an interest in canoeing in Wales needs to be referred to an excellent book which was published in 1998 and which has already become an essential piece of equipment for Welsh canoeists. "The Welsh Rivers" by Chris Sladden (ISBN 0-95 16147-2-X, price £15.95, available from "UpandUnder", Cowbridge Rd., Cardiff) aims to be a comprehensive guidebook to canoeing and kayaking the rivers of Wales. The descriptions of rivers, which include difficulty grading and grid references of access and egress points, are accompanied by sketch maps. The book does not deal with the legality of canoeing on the rivers. The Welsh Canoeing Association (tel 01678 521199; www.welsh-canoeing.org.uk) can provide advice on that topic, including advice on the situation as regards individual rivers.

Popular stretches of rivers for Cardiff based kayakers include: on the River Usk, from Sennybridge to Aberbrân, and from Tal-y-bont to Llangynidr or Crickhowell, the first stretch being the easier of the two but both are generally graded 2-3; on the Taff, from Upper Boat to Radyr Weir (Grade 1-2) or from Quakers Yard to Trefforest (Grade 2 -3); on the Rhondda Fawr, from above Porth down to Hopkinstown or Trefforest (Grade 3-4).

If you do not understand what the grades mean you should not even think about going on these rivers: you need training! You would be welcome at the Dragon Paddlers Canoe Club (tel: 029 20625064)

Hywel Jones

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