Afon Conwy. Saturday 9th September 2017

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  • #4531
    Richard D
    Participant

    CONWY, PART A.
    Saturday arrived and Steve, Rob and myself were relying on John’s research to find us somewhere to paddle. Rain was forecast in North Wales around the Betws-Y-coed area which gave us the option of possibly running the Conwy. We met Rob at 9am at Dobbies and checked the levels at Cwmlanerch on the Conwy which was just trending upwards from 1.21 to 1.23. We also checked the level on the Alwen at Druid to give us a bit more information as it was in our direction. The level there had started rising from o.43 at 6.30am to 0.49 at 9am, which was good news. Around 10.30am en route we made a quick stop at the bridge over the Alwen ( a relief stop )and were pleased to see it running brown and rising quickly. By now it was raining heavily and so everything looked promising. We arrived at the A5 lay-by and two other vehicles were parked and obviously belonged to kayakers. We climbed the stile and walked down to the river to check the gauges. The water was about 1cm below the green tick, but obviously rising.
    CONWY, PART B.
    We walked back towards the lay-by only to see Rob driving off in the direction of home! Obviously the site of the river had caused the need to dash to the nearest public conveniences as he hadn’t got any spare underpants !
    Another VW camper arrived a a guy got out and asked what the level was like as it would give him some idea as to whether the Ogwen would be running.
    On a previous visit to the Conwy we had looked at the upper section from Ysbyty Ifan when the river was in flood and it was in the trees and looked quite treacherous. But on today’s level it may be a good time to run it. The other kayaker advised us to get changed and be ready to put on when we got there as he had previously had some hassle from a couple of the locals. We took his advice and began to get changed just and Rob returned feeling a little more comfortable.
    We dropped Rob’s car off at the get out where we met the paddlers from the other car owners in the A5 lay-by. They advised us of a tree down just before the second bridge which they said they managed to get over with one of them getting out of his boat and assisting the rest of the group over the bough by pulling them over the obstruction. We drove up to Ysbyty Ifan intent on putting on as swiftly as possible as the sign on the car park stated NO CANOEING. Nevertheless we had a slight delay as Rob’s Buoyancy Aid was still in the van and he was just about to put on. Two locals spotted us and came over to have words, pointing out access was across the road, where, for future reference there is a designated path on the downstream side of the bridge river right. We said it was our first time here and we weren’t too sure of the access but we would put on at the right spot next time. The one chap seemed happy enough with that and said “enjoy your paddle”.
    CONWY, PART C.
    So here we were on a new section of river with the water just lapping the green tick and John’s GO-Pro set up and running to record our new adventure. The Welsh Rivers Guide grades this section 3-4 and in many ways the upper section was similar to the Gam with an abundance of overhanging trees and little must make lines sneaking through and under branches. We ran a couple of rapids that were grade 2+ to 3 but had our eyes open for a section that according to Tim is known as Hargreaves Folly, up until here it had all been read and run but this particular rapid required inspection, so we all got out and had a look. Of the two lines we could see we chose the one to the left which ran more or less through the middle of the boulders. There was a tricky little run in towards a slot that required a boof and then a drop into a boiling frothy mess. We set up cover and I volunteered to be the Guinea Pig and run it first. I made it through and positioned myself in an eddy that was a great vantage point to watch the others come through. John came through next and took my position in the eddy as this was the perfect spot to film Rob and Steve on their runs. Rob was next, he bounced off a couple of rocks but successfully got through and landed in the boiling foam only to capsize ! But wait, his paddle blade came to the surface, he set up and up he came to loud cheers from the 3 of us watching. Superb, brilliant and all this captured on camera from John’s perfect viewing point. Steve was last through and having the advantage of watching everyone else’s mistakes placed his strokes perfectly, boofed off the slab and landed sweetly.
    So we carried on down river all jubilant and eager to see John’s video footage and Rob’s first proper whitewater roll.
    CONWY, PART D.
    So, we carried on down and passed under the A5 bridge and quickly checked the gauge which was now about 2 to 2.5 inches into the green tick. What more can I say other than it was the best paddle of the year so far and Rob paddled brilliantly doing the entire of the A5 section( including Bryn Bras Falls) without a problem, superb!
    We were now all eagerly awaiting John’s 4 part series of “Wombourne on the Conwy”. I hadn’t felt this excited about watching a film since ” Jungle Book” came out when I was a kid.
    Sadly it is not to be, John has somehow managed to loose the entire series by apparently pressing the wrong button on his camera or computer. Now had he said the camera got extremely wet and everything had been lost I could have believed it. But that’s another story !
    Sometimes you just wish that Geoff and Barry had been there.

    #4532
    Steve
    Participant

    Brilliant report Rich, you are definitely the ‘Bard of Wombourne’. Such a shame about that footage! 😂

    #4533
    Steve
    Participant

    Brilliant report Rich, you are definitely the ‘Bard of Wombourne’. Such a shame about that footage! 😂

    #4534
    Steve
    Participant

    Oops, it was good but not double good 😁

    #4535
    Tim
    Member

    Well done guys. Everyone came through unscathed. Its become a regular paddle and one I think we are becoming more knowledgeable and comfortable with. Good report Rich.

    #4536
    Geoff
    Participant

    Can we have some clarification on what is meant by stopping for a relief break and pleased to see it running brown…..!

    #4537
    Richard D
    Participant

    Yes Geoff. I was desperate for a piss and the water in the Alwen was obviously brown and peaty running off the hills, sorry for the confusion Seems like you got mixed up with Rob’s relief stop ! P.S When are you coming out with that Go Pro of yours again, desperately needed !

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