A memorable day on the upper Tryweryn for many reasons. Probably the last “free” paddle for Wombourne Kayak Club before the charges are introduced in March. Ricki’s maiden voyage on a river in his new Bazooka and Dave’s first run on the Tryweryn in his Nomad. It was a 9 cumec release.
I think everyone was in agreement after the journeys there and back that we made the right choice of where to paddle. You couldn’t help but notice the number of fallen trees and devastation that had been caused by the winds lately, especially in North Wales. The rivers we passed or crossed over all had trees across that will be a hazard for some while yet.
So their was 11 of us in the group although Geoff wasn’t feeling too well and decided he’d be happy to film and take pictures.
We started above the “chipper” with a few of us grumbling about getting old, feeling stiff and feeling worn out before we start ( come to think of it we say this every week ! ). Rob and I justified the claims when we both had to roll within the first 10 minutes. Things got better as Ricki got to grips with his Bazooka and Mick and Nigel worked on their ferry gliding and surfing with marked improvement. Shane continues to improve rapidly and appeared to have an awesome day on the pre graveyard section with his ferrying and eddy hopping, superb Shane and captured on video by Geoff. A few of us ran the rest of the upper down to the cafe or raft get out. We finished the day off with a stop in Llangollen for a pint at the Corn Mill and watched a couple of paddlers breeze through with “Town Falls” just over 8 on the gauge. Thomas the tank engine on the railway across the river and a bag of chips to finish, what more could you want from a Saturday.