From the National Assembly of Wales website:
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Inquiry into Access to Inland Water
The Sustainability Committee agreed on 24 June 2009 to undertake an inquiry into Access to Inland Water in Wales.
You may be interested to note that the Assembly Bus will be visiting the following locations to gather video evidence as part of the Sustainability Committee’s inquiry into Access to Inland Water. At these sessions the Committee are keen to hear from organisations and people who have not previously given evidence to the Committee on this topic.
Friday 20 November – Gwydyr Hotel, Holyhead Road, Betws y Coed between 11.30 and 12.30
AMs present: Mick Bates and Brynle Williams
Friday 20 November – Queens Square, Wrexham between 16.00 and 17.00
AMs present:: Mick Bates and Lesley Griffiths
Saturday 21 November – Guild Hall Square, Carmarthen between 9.30 and 10.30
AM present: Mick Bates
Saturday 21 November – Welsh Assembly Government Office car park, Merthyr Tydfil between 14.00 and 15.00
AM present: Mike German
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This inquiry is a real chance for the paddling community to be heard, so spread the word, and if you can then come along to support the cause and make your voice heard.
To learn more about the access situation for canoeists and kayakers in Wales, click here, or on the image at the top of this post.
Although many would reel back in horror at the idea of spending a rainy November weekend camping in a field outside Newcastle, team Palm are made of tougher stuff. With a van full of warm clothes and a fleet of kayaks and Canoes, we headed to the historic town of Hexham for one of north England’s biggest paddling weekends.
Yours truly keeping it old skool, Warden Gorge.
Every Year the Tyne Tour attracts hundreds of kayakers from all over the UK, for two days of paddling and to enjoy the now legendary annual Ceilidh. Here are some pictures form the weekend, thanks to Paul Wilkinson.
Several shops and manufacturers temaed up to make a mini retail village.
Saturday night's Party and Ceilidh - Far more fun than you thought organised dancing could possibly be.
The demo fleet of Axioms were out having fun all weekend.
For many the rapids in Warden Gorge are the first taste of whitewater paddling.
A good spot to enjoy some soulful surfing and watch the carnage unfold in the rapids above.
Hello all
This weekend Matt Tidy and myself, along with a crowd of assorted heroes and villains of the padling world headed up to Fort William for the annual Wet West Paddlefest. Despite the dry weather, dam releases had been organized on both the Garry and Moriston Rivers, as well as a big saturday night party, and fter a truly epic drive up, we arrived in the small hours of saturday morning in time to get our heads down for a few hours before the fun began…
We awoke on Saturday to news that the Falls of Lora were running, so headed over to Loch Etive for a spot of playboating. The Falls of Lora is a tidal rapid that forms of on a falling tide as the water flows out to sea, creating a series of large and varied waves with potential for spectacular playboating. Having seen photos of the waves, but never been before, I was excited to find out if they lived up to their reputation, and I was not to be disappointed.
Loch Etive from the bridge.
Having come prepared for a weekend of river paddling Mat and I were not armed with playboats, however Mat’s new Axiom proved more than a match for the falls, and taking turns in this cartwheeling and surfing speed machine provided enough fun for both of us. There are some meaty whirlpools downstream of the main wave, and after seeing a few dizzy beatings, the extra volume of the Axiom over a full on playboat was secretly quite reassuring when negotiating them.
Matt tidy carving it p on the green…
And Cartwheelin’ in the foam.
As the tide began to drop and the waves slowly shrank, we decided that it was time to head over to the Garry for an afternoon blast, before grabbing a bite to eat and gearing up for the party. After a talk from Max Bilbow about his recent trip to Russia the party kicked off in earnest, with funky tunes laid down, and grooves being fully busted long into the Night. The Morning after arrived far too early as always, and brought with it the promise of a hearty release from the Moriston Dam.
As a Moriston virgin, I was excited to see what was in store, and despite having heard many stories of big downtime and the odd gnarly beatdown, I put my trust in Mat and Luke, blindly following their tails over the first horizon…
The first drop; Go left, then sit at the bottom and watch the wide eyes as those who went down the middle eventually resurface.
Charge left, and grind that shelf; Luke Farrington shows us how…
The upper sction of the Moriston is short and sweet, making it a classic spot for doing a few laps, and the huge number of people on the river made for crowded eddies and brilliant spectator sport…
The longest continuous section, with plenty of spots for potential carnage.
Matt Tidy brings the Axiom in for a perfect landing.
After several laps of the Moriston we headed back to the car for cake and medals, and to embark on the long drive south. This was my first trip up to Scotland for a few years now, and every time I go I tell myself that I should spend more time there. Matt’s staying up in the highlands for next weekend’s Etive race and I’m off back down south for some warm autumn weather and smooth dartmoor granite, but there are still many trips left to cross off on my Scotland list so watch this space…
I look forward to seeing the more southern bit of the paddling community in a week or two at the South West Canoe Show. If you’re interested go here: http://www.swcanoeshow.co.uk/
Cheers,
Nick
I’ve just returned from a trip to Iceland, which as the name might have suggested to a more observant traveller, can, at times, be quite cold.
I
Iceland - not just a name...
Having spent the large part of my summer working in Norway, there was a large part of me that was questioning why I don’t go to warm places. Within 24 hours in the country however, we’d already paddled a truly incredible river in one of the most stunning gorges I’ve seen, been welcomed by the unrivalled icelandic hospitality, and scouted our first park ‘n huck…
Man of steel Adam Dumolo punches through a hole – Jokulsa river
Scouting Reykjafoss from the lip
Having in previous years spent more hours than I can count watching Valhalla (the best* kayaking movie ever made, in case you were wondering), my trip to Iceland was something of a pilgrimage, and a chance to follow in the footsteps of boating heroes. It was, therefore, with the footage of an unlucky Seth Warren breaking his ankles playing in my head, and Valhalla’s pounding metal soundtrack playing in my ears that we set off around Europe’s most volcanic** island.
A sweet 9m stomach-in-mouth boof.
The Adam and Nick show: perfectly synchronised, Small Gothafoss.
If you ask the right people very nicely, you might acquire directions to this crack, which can be found hiding in the middle of an ancient, featureless lava field. If you find it, and can then find a safe way down 12m or so of vertical polished walls into the depths, you will be rewarded.
The Norse gods know how to run a good bath.
Sara James drops the big line on the classic Gothafoss. Why not send a collection hat around the crowd of tourists? It’ll pay for a victory ice cream…
On one of our outings we were lucky enough to paddle the Barka, another mysterious yet rewarding gem uncovered earlier this summer by the guys on Ben Brown’s trip (see his earlier iceland post).
Adam D on a clean looking 8m drop, Barka.
Tom P on a sweet double drop, Barka.
The stunning Gorge of the East Glacial river, Adam, Sara, and Myself enjoy the evening sunshine
All in all an amazing trip in a country which culturally, geologically, and grammatically exceeds all expectations. There is still as of yet a huge supply of unrun waterfalls and rivers waiting to be found, as well as a huge list of classic and not so classic whitewater ready and waiting. I can’t wait to go back.
A huge thanks to Mark and all of the guys at the rafting center in Varmalith, who sorted us out a treat.
I’m back in the UK for the winter now, and hoping for a wet one. I’m off to the Wet West Paddle Fest this weekend so hope to see lots of people there…
Big love, and safe hucking
Nick
*In my opinion, which happens to be correct, in my opinion.
**I couldn’t find a scale for volcanic-ness, but I’m pretty sure it would be.
Photos from Sara James and Nick Horwood
Jam in Sjoa, and the funky new Sweet Wanderer
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Hello all, I’m now back in residence on the banks of the beautiful Sjoa, with high water and beautiful weather, having just arrived after traveling up from the south for a week in Voss, the waterfall capital of Europe.
Hanging out on the banks of the Otra
The annual Voss Ekstremsportveko is a huge festival attracting thousands of athletes and spectators from all over the world for an incredible week of showing off at various dangerous and spectacular activities. From BASE jumping through longboarding to Kayaking, Mountain Biking and Skiing, the week has it all. We were of course there for the kayaking, and high water levels combined with unseasonably hot weather made for good times all round.
Lowri Davies on a meaty meltdown move, Raundalselvi
Much of the week was spent paddling on the Brandseth, one of Norway’s most beautiful rivers, and home to the downhill race, Ekstremsportveko’s biggest kayaking event. Water the colour of Bombay Sapphire, clean enough to drink flows down waterfalls, slides, and some tricky combo moves to create a kayaker’s paradise, albeit one with several possibilities for a beating.
Lowri and Paula. It's rare that a baby blue mamba is camouflaged.
Good flows made for a fast and exciting race, with good representation from the UK. A bad start on my part knocked me out of the finals and down to position 22 out of 80 competitors, however given the standard of competition and time only for a single practise run I was happy enough. A mention must go to Lowri Davies and Liz Bell who paddled to 2nd & 3rd place in the women’s race, after Norwegian machine Mariann Saether, who as always beat a significant proportion of the male field. In the Men’s race the slalom paddlers cleaned up again, with Italian Michele Ramazza winning on average, despite a blisteringly fast final run from Kiwi Sam Sutton.
Lowri Davies on the final drop of the competition run.
Towards the end of the week, News started drifting through that the elusive Teigdal was flowing, a rare treat indeed , and home to arguably the best paddleable waterfall combo in the world, the infamous Double Drop. Having psyched myself up for this waterfall every year but never found the right flow, I decided this was too good an option to miss, and after a big day’s boating Ric ‘the northern bullet’ Moxon and I headed over for an evenings hucking…
Yours truly. It's not often you get to boof from 22m above your landing pool. Photo: Will Clark
The drop consists of a 9-10m mandatory boof into a tiny (it’s smaller than it looks) pool, before plunging directly over another 12-13m drop with one or two rocky ledges waiting to punish any mistakes. You cannot see the halfway pool until you are right on the lip and it therefore feels a lot like boofing off the edge of the world. Ric Moxon went first, charging hard as ever, and after breaking his paddles across his deck on the first landing, pulled off a sweet two handed stroke over the lip of the second. Gnarly.
Northern bullet Ric Moxon: This guy's a big deal. Just ask him. Photo: Will Clark
I was up next, and feeling quite lonely by now in the eddy at the top. I pulled out of the eddy into the sunshine, took one last glance at the view, and prepared to fly. my first landing was soft, and within two strokes I was out of the mist and in freefall again. I landed more vertically than I had planned, resurfaced in the base of the fall, and another broken paddle later I hand rolled up in the pool feeling a little dazed, but buzzing nonetheless.
Nick & Ric: "Sick Line" (in ze german accent of course)
I’m now settling down once again to life in the Sjoa valley, and have been enjoying the classic Aamot and Store Ula runs, so stay posted for more pics to come. Anybody heading out this way over the summer, come and stop by the Kayak camp for a paddle and a cup of tea. There have been exciting new changes and some renovations this year, and with the Ula race making a comeback, the Sjoa festival is looking to be a good one.
Cheers, see you there,
Nick
Arkangel Chemical Weapons Facility (Aka. Verzasca Dam)
Hello there, so I’ve just returned from a beautiful week in the Italian and Swiss Alps. After spending a day on the middle section of the Verzasca, we stopped off for lunch on its unfeasibly large dam, before heading to the rarely run Loana and Basso for an epic day’s hiking, kayaking, and some gnarly portaging (see Tim’s post).
Your truly in a cheeky flair move on the Middle Verzasca
Simon Boofin' on the Basso
Having previously only experienced Valsesia during the monsoon, it was a revelation to arrive there in glorious sunshine. Although levels were still slightly too high for many of the steeper runs, we spent a thoroughly civilised few days enjoying the high water, relaxing in the valley’s gelateries, and arguing over how to pronounce stracciatella. Fot those stilll unsure, it’s pronounced ‘Stracciatella’.
Matt Tidy plugging hard on the upper Gronda
Relaxing at the bottom of the Gronda racecourse
Dropping in on the Sorba Slides at 'man levels'
Tim in the meat. Sirloin I believe.
The Mastallone river is not considered by many to be one of the classic runs in the area, however when the water is high and the sun is shining it makes for a grand day out, offering some fun bouldery rapids, an incredible pristine gorge, and if you head a little further up the Valley a cheeky Park ‘n’ Huck on it’s lesser trib the Landwasser. On this occasion we were lucky enough to catch a fish.
Jared Meehan and Jim Cummings: Park 'n' Fish 'n' Huck.
Simon on the Landwasser drop.
Dave Carrol from above.
On my last day in Valsesia, Simon and I entered the Valsesia River Contest downriver sprint, which due to high water on the Sermenza was to be held on the Sesia at Piccolo Canada rapid. The sun shone, we paddled hard, and despite a moderately controversial choice of line on my part, Simon and I won first and second places respectively in the ‘International’ catergory.
The Sesia in high water
Yours truly, sporting the victory bling. Solid Silver.
All in all a cracking week in one of the world’s greatest paddling destinations, and a sweet warm up to what looks to be an incredible season. I’m now back in the UK, preparing for further adventures in France and then Norway. I can’t wait.
Safe paddling, see you on the water!
Nick
