We had our first trek of the year this weekend – a canoe trip down the River Vyrnwy. Unfortunately, despite us having flood conditions only two weeks ago, the water level was a long way down which meant we had to line the boat down a lot on the upper reaches. It also meant we couldn’t run many of the rapid sections with two-up and a loaded canoe – there just wasn’t enough water over the rocks.
We were the only boat on the river and we only saw two anglers the whole trip. We rough camped overnight after about 20km which had taken us longer than planned because of the amount of lining. On the plus side it was a lovely day.
Day two was better; there was more water due to a couple of tributaries (the upper reaches are controlled by the Vyrnwy Dam which for some reason is keeping the level down close to minimum). It was also another bright and sunny day. We saw lots of wildlife (including mink) but, sadly, no otters
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We had to cut our trip short, about a third of the way into day 2, when my son slipped on the river bank and strained his groin; he was in a lot of pain so called up the cavalry to collect us.
Despite the water level and the injury, it was a great first trek of the year and a good reminder of some of the things we need to pay attention to (including fitness). We’re doing the Spey later in the year, so we need another couple of practice weekends before then
We were the only boat on the river and we only saw two anglers the whole trip. We rough camped overnight after about 20km which had taken us longer than planned because of the amount of lining. On the plus side it was a lovely day.
Day two was better; there was more water due to a couple of tributaries (the upper reaches are controlled by the Vyrnwy Dam which for some reason is keeping the level down close to minimum). It was also another bright and sunny day. We saw lots of wildlife (including mink) but, sadly, no otters
.We had to cut our trip short, about a third of the way into day 2, when my son slipped on the river bank and strained his groin; he was in a lot of pain so called up the cavalry to collect us.
Despite the water level and the injury, it was a great first trek of the year and a good reminder of some of the things we need to pay attention to (including fitness). We’re doing the Spey later in the year, so we need another couple of practice weekends before then
