Introductory/Easy Venues
Suitable for first race experience. Limited experience in a WWR is necessary. Rapids are typically straightforward with easy rescue.
Langham Farm
Small sprint/slalom course. Some simple rock groins and a slightly tricky turn through a bridge. Good vantage points across the whole course. Suitable for introductory races.
Goyt
Suitable for beginners, simple rapids and small falls.
Taff
Great intermediates race in south Wales. Higher water levels give good wave chains.
Severn (Ironbridge)
A good race to start on. Best section of whitewater is based around Ironbridge, near Telford – home to the start of the industrial revolution. Jackfield rapids provides the most interest. Easy to recce from on the water, and safety is easy to provide.
Pinkston WW Course
A short artificial course, suitable for beginners and intermediates.
Lune
The Lune has a number of sections that are suitable for WWR. The more technical sections are use by the GB team for training in the winter, and the gorge sections (including the strid) are only suitable for intermediate/advanced paddlers.
Aire
Map reference for club site is SE120380, there is like a footbridge across the river below the road bridge and it also has a square blob next to the bridge. Start is usually opposite cemetary, Grid Reference SE100400 Finish is usually at the club site but can be where the canal goes over the river…
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Tay
The Tay is a classic wildwater racing venue. A very wide river it produces highly European style whitewater at high water levels, with very long wavelengths. There are twi distinct racing sections, one based around Grandtully – the other at Stanley further downstream. Grandtully Section The main rapid is at Grandtully, this is a popular…
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Washburn
A short race with bags of small chop and plenty of resistance to pull on.The secret is to use plenty of rotation from the lower back and hips and concentrate on your boat speed. Adapt to keep it running.Essentially there are only 2 moves, the 2nd and 3rd weirs, but bends toward the end of…
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Nene (whitewater course)
The whitewater course at Northampton on the river Nene is a fully pumped artificial facility. It is only suitable for wavehoppers due to one of the drops being harsh on the back end. It is a great course to try out wildwater racing, either in a normal whitewater boat or a wavehopper.
North Tyne
A favourite for introduction to wildwater racing and more experienced paddlers. A classic race with a number of easier rapids in the early sections, followed by the more difficult gorge section to finish. Often twinned with the Tees as part of the Tour de North.
Leven
A short (6 minutes) section of whitewater fed by Windermere in the Lake District. A series of drops and rapids. This was the site of the “Leven Test” a time trial where the results were adjusted for weather and water conditions. Competitors would be awarded Gold, Silver or Bronze “Dipper” badges depending on their adjusted…
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Avon (Stratford)
The Avon race at Stratford is curently advertised as Grade 1/2. Well,that was true in the winter when we recced it, but come April it’s basically flat water with a dead easy 5ft weir and some interesting swirly bits at the bottom. It’s an ideal entry level race and safe as houses for first timers.…
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Derwent (Matlock)
This is a very popular regional race that provides a long but interesting course. The start is located adjacent to the car park of the Square and Compass at Darley Bridge north of Matlock and finishes down stream immediately below the slalom course at Matlock Bath. The course length is 7 km. The Derwent has…
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Irwell (Burrs Centre)
The Irwell at Burrs is a good introductory race, with full bank access. The nearby Mersey follows it up as a training venue with slighty easier water but a longer course. Both these race courses can be paddled at practically any level, even if there has not been recent rain. The Irwell comes up and…
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Nith
The River Nith flows east from the hills of South Ayrshire, then south through the towns of New Cumnock, Sanquhar, Thornhill and Dumfries, some 64km to the Solway Firth. Much of the river is of slack water with occasional falls of Grade I, mainly in the lower section. However, for a stretch of about 12km…
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Trent (HPP Whitewater Course)
An artificial whitewater course on the Trent at Nottingham. A sprint course and ausefule resource for whitewater paddling in the summer months when natural whitewater is scarce in the country. The bottom “Daleks” section is suitable for beginners, the main course is suitable for intermediate paddlers. Risk of injury and boat damage is low in…
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Trent (Stone)
The Stone River Race Course is located on the upper Trent at Stone in Staffordshire. It is held on a 3.5km stretch of the river between the Darlaston Inn (located on roundabout at junction of A34 and A51) and Stafford and Stone Canoe Club (located just off the A34 by the shell garage roundabout in…
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Tryweryn
The Tryweryn is a great resource for Wildwater racing as it is one of the very few quality rivers that are available through the summer period. The upper site and lower (usually referred to middle section) part of the river are very different in character. The top site is steep, quality international standard water, below…
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Mersey
The Mersey is a useful training river, as it carries a reasonable flow at almost all times, and there are no access difficulties. For introducing novices, it makes a good combination with the Irwell at Burrs, which is shorter and has better bank access. The Mersey follows it up with slighty easier water but a…
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Dove
A Regional Classic race run from from Tutbury to Marston Weir. In 2003 it took Peter Keron 10min 27sec, whilst the slowest junior completed the race in just over 20 min. It is a staightforward course but when shallow you need to look ahead for lines which avoid beaches. The last 200m or so is…
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Dart
NEWBRIDGE (SX712708). Between Newbridge and Holne Bridge the Dart makes a large loop just over three miles long which gives this section its common name. It is a good grade 3 at normal winter levels. Numerous natural drops together with some remoteness mean that this section is not suitable for novices. Access at Newbridge is…
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Dee
River Dee is one of the classic WWR division A races, the Serpents Tail and Town falls being the highlights. Downstream of the put in waves take you under a road bridge and past the Chain Bridge Hotel towards the famous Serpent’s Tail. In high water the approach to this is impressive, with ‘play’ stoppers…
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Usk
A Racing classic. The river Usk rises in the mountains of south Wales to the west of Brecon. It flows generally west to east past Sennybridge, Brecon, Crickhowell an Abergavenny, then turns south before Raglan to enter the Severn estuary at Newport. The river rises and falls faster than the larger nearby river Wye, big…
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River Guides
Easy/Introduction Suitable for first race experience. Limited experience in a WWR is necessary. Rapids are typically straightforward with easy rescue. Intermediate Rivers requiring more understanding of whitewater and control of the WWR in rough conditions. Intermediate/Advanced Rivers require more understanding of whitewater and more accomplished skills in a WWR boat. Lower levels are typically intermediate,…
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Next Race
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Barrow 5
February 6 -
Barrow 6
March 6 -
Treignac, France – World Cups 1-2-3
May 22 - May 24 -
Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina – Worldcup 4-5-6
June 4 - June 6 -
Leon, Spain – European Championships
August 12 - August 15 -
Solkan, Slovenia – Junior and U23 Wildwater Canoeing World Championships
August 25 - August 28 -
Divoka Voda Venue, Bratislava, SVK – Sprint World Championships
September 21 - September 26
Contact Us
Contact us by email secretary@wildwater.org.uk