Researching rivers like the llyfni

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  • January 6, 2015 at 10:09 am #3728
    Tim
    Member

    We all have different ways of researching new rivers. This is how I do it.
    I look through Chris Sladdens book about 20 times over the course of 8 years and romantically dream about paddling through the Everglades. I ask people in the pub who have run it before. What’s the Llyfni like Mike? “Great.” he replies. That’s good enough for me and so I decide I will run it one day. I then watch the river levels go up and down year after year on the computer working out how fast it goes up and how quickly it goes down.

    I then look at the OS map and work out where to get on and off, checking for public footpaths along the bank, public bridges points of egress etc if things go tits up. Google street view provides a great way of looking at places to park and views of the river at times. This is the tricky thing about the Llyfni…..there are hardly any footpaths or roads alongside it!

    Rivers Guidebook also provides a guide to UK rivers.
    The most useful tool for me though is to go onto Rivers Guidebook and look through all of the old posts that have been put up over the years. To do this go onto Community, Whitewater and Touring, Search and put in the word Llyfni.
    It appears that lots of people don’t like the river and that it shouldn’t be included in a guidebook! There is also an interesting story of a bus driver looking at a group getting on and moving his hand across his throat in a your going to die kind of motion.

    There was also useful information on where to park to miss out the everglades section to save time. This is where we parked in fact.

    Paddle Bubble is also a good place to look for the latest river hazards. Rainchasers also provides very short guide to a river.

    One thing I have learned about paddling though…………and that is go and find out for yourself!

    January 6, 2015 at 5:51 pm #3730
    Richard D
    Participant

    Totally agree Tim. I visited the Llyfnii, Seiont and Gwyrfai when Oliver was up at Bangor University and checked out the put ins and take outs at the time and marked them on the relevant OS map 115. So the next one in that area looks like being the Gwyrfai, but check out the fall per Kilometre (gradient 18m /kilometre) The Llyfni is 8m /kilometre and so too the Seiont. I think the Gwyrfai is another river Mike has run before which is an added bonus.
    Many rivers with poor write ups turn out to be far better than expected. Another example was last year’s first trip down the Alwen which from the write up you’d probably want to give it a miss. As it turned out we were all very impressed by this river and it left us all smiling. ( we reckon the river guide was written by a fisherman to keep us off it !! ) I’m sure there are many more hidden gems to find if we keep exploring.
    The Twyrch is on the agenda for many of us especially after a few of us have scouted it a couple of times now and cleared a few trees.
    The Welsh Rivers Book is excellent but let’s not forget it was written some considerable time ago and the updated version of 2012 still uses the old information and there are mistakes. Barry and I agree the picture on page 140 of the Afon Gam certainly does not seem to be the Gam we have run ! and the Conwy is on OS sheet 116 not 115.
    I absolutely agree with your last comment ” go and find out for yourself”.

    January 6, 2015 at 8:30 pm #3732
    Tim
    Member

    The alwen was a great river and we made the right decision starting lower down. A lot of people get on higher and have far too many trees to negotiate and are fed up by the time they get to the clearer best bits.

    We had the llyfni on a great level and it appears there used to be far more tree problems in the past immediately after the tunnel than we had. We had a great time and thats what counts.

    January 6, 2015 at 8:59 pm #3733
    Rob
    Participant

    The danger in the future is we’re going to inspect rivers from the armchair via go pro footage and pre internet skills will be forgotten. I started kayaking because it was an adventure. The only guide book was Terry storey’s , no mobile phones so the only way to know a river was to go and look.

    January 6, 2015 at 10:21 pm #3734
    Tim
    Member

    I havent got the time Rob! Before gopro and rainchasers I spent far too much fuel money driving around wales finding out a river was too high or too low. Im glad to be in this internet age. If I lived in Snowdon or on the banks of the dart I would agree with you.

    January 8, 2015 at 7:05 pm #3751
    Nigel
    Participant

    Hi Guy’s,
    I see valid points from both sides. When I am out on my travels if I know of a river near by or spot one, I often stop off a couple of places to view and even make a few notes. The good thing with the likes of Google Maps is it enables us to see lay-bys bridges, put in’s and take out possibilities, parking etc etc. Along with getting a general picture of the surroundings in our mind which I feel can be useful.
    Being part of a group of paddlers who look out for each other and work as a team is also very vital. Deciding who may lead an unknown section of water and who to position where within a group this along with deciding what to paddle depending on the experience and capabilities of the group and ensuring portages are available if members wish to walk round a particular feature.
    Going and finding out is a real buzz, the excitement of the unknown which is fine if this is a viable option.

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