Where shall I go kayaking next? Chile, Nepal, Canada maybe. These are some of the big boys in the paddling world. But have you ever thought about spending some time boating in the UK? Whilst the UK is not a traditional paddling mecca, it does have some amazing rivers and a hugely growing kayaking scene. Team GB’s kayakers and canoeists have won 4 gold, 3 silver and 1 bronze medal over the past 2 Olympic games, really bringing the sport to the light. That equals the 8 medals that Team GB had one in all pre-London 2012 Olympics. In London 2012 freestyle kayaking made its first appearance as a crowd-pleaser. The 2011 ICF K1 freestyle champion James Bebbington led the line- giving freestyle-kayaking mainstream attention. In the same time frame, my local canoe club grew by 600% in members. Kayaking and canoeing is no longer an alternative hobby in the UK. It has become a mainstream water sport only second in popularity to swimming.

So, it’s worth looking into the UK, the next question is which rivers? Well, this is where I am going to help you with a list of Classic white-water rivers in the UK. This is based on my 15 years’ experience paddling UK rivers. Unfortunately, I haven’t kayaked in Northern Ireland so I will be sticking to rivers in England, Scotland, and Wales. In this first article, we’ll look at the River in England. 

Wales

Wales is very densely packed with some absolute gems- you could spend your whole trip here! Picking some classics will be hard and inevitably I’m going to miss some. River access in Wales is much the same to England however it does have some wonderful green and red markers at the put-ins. If the water level is on the green you can paddle, if it’s on the red you can’t. How simple is that?

North Wales

Afon Ogwen (Ogwen Bank Falls- Scout Hut Bridge)

Class: 4 (5) Time on water: 3 hours.

I honestly think this is the best river I’ve done at its class- maybe any class. If you don’t need a warmup you can shoot Ogwen Bank Falls at Class 5. But the main event for me was Fisherman’s Gorge. An amazing 2km continuous boulder garden which at higher levels becomes 4+. If you continue past Scout Hut Bridge you can finish in the Menai straits. This may seem like a lot of extra paddling, but I will never forget hitting the estuary with one of the best feelings I’ve had.

Afon Conwy

Class: 2-5 Time on water: 1-3 hours.

Like the Tees, I can’t pick just one section of this amazing river. There are 3 main sections, and they all have their credits. The upper is a fast class 3 with few eddies, the middle is absolutely beautiful with 2 harder class 5’s, and then there’s Fairy Glen. Fairy Falls was the first class 5 I ever ran so will also have a place in my heart. Make sure you pick up your lucky glen rock from the cave drop eddy. Note you must keep this in your PFD so don’t do what a friend of mine did and pick up a boulder! He has very little space in his PFD pocket now!

Afon Tryweryn

Class: 3-4 Time on water: N/A

 The Tryweryn is a river that is only as good as you make it. It’s dam released so a great option if the rain hasn’t come or for the summer months. There is a great café and changing facilities there too.

Afon Seiont (Pont Rhythallt Pylons to Caernarfon Castle)

Class: 3 Time on water: 2 hours.

Class 3. Even if you are a class 5 paddler the Seiont is still a gem. It has a few bigger drops but you can inspect them from your boat. You finish at Caernarfon Castle- yes a castle!

River Dee

Class: 2-3 (4) Time on water: 2 hours.

In high water flows it becomes the legendary Deebezi. In normal flows, it’s most peoples introduction to class 2/3 with Town Falls and Serpents Tail being the larger rapids. The former being under the main bridge in Llangollen where onlookers look in awe as you descend the rapids.

Video of Barny on the Conwy shredding:

South Wales

I haven’t paddled in South Wales as much as North. But the area is as densely packed with Gems as North Wales.

Afon Tawe (Glyntawe to Abercraf)

Class: 4-5 Time on water: 2-3 hours.

This is the classic section of the Tawe. It is a series of fun slides and a nice little waterfall drop. At higher levels, I’ve been told it starts to get towards class 5.

River Usk (Sennybridge to Brecon)

Class: 2-3 Time on water: 2-3 hours.

This is one of the first rivers I ran as a 13-year-old. Nearly 15 years later I was coaching people how to go over there first 1m drop. Personally, it is great at higher levels as it becomes very bouncy. However, lower levels offer a great opportunity for beginners.

Afon Tywi (Llyn Brianne Spillway-Junction Pool)

Class: 4 (5) Time on water: 2 hours.

So, this is another river I haven’t managed to run yet. Growing up though watching kayakers run the spillway inspired me to run the section of river below- and of course the spillway! Not that I would ever run the spillway being illegal and all…

*Please bear in mind this list only just scrapes the surface. The UK has over 68,000km of inland waterways. The Rain chasers App (England and Wales) is a great resource with live river levels.

Check out our top rivers in Scotland:

https://peakadventure.co/journal/best-uk-river-scotland-bucket-list-must-paddle-rivers/

Check out our top rivers in England:

https://peakadventure.co/journal/best-uk-river-england-bucket-list-must-paddle-rivers/

English Whitewater Guide Book (British Canoe Union Guidebook):

https://amzn.to/3cg78n8

The Welsh Rivers: The Complete Guidebook to Canoeing and Kayaking the Rivers of Wales:

https://amzn.to/3ep9EtO

Scottish White Water Paperback

https://amzn.to/3qFB6Gt

Other useful Links:

https://www.ukriversguidebook.co.uk/

Some links might be associated links. These links help support our Journal.