Canolfan Tryweryn
Encyclopedia
Bala, Gwynedd
Bala is a market town and community in Gwynedd, Wales, and formerly an urban district of the historic county of Merionethshire. It lies at the north end of Bala Lake , 17 miles north-east of Dolgellau, with a population of 1,980...
in North Wales. It developed the first commercial white water rafting
Rafting
Rafting or white water rafting is a challenging recreational outdoor activity using an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other bodies of water. This is usually done on white water or different degrees of rough water, in order to thrill and excite the raft passengers. The development of this...
operation in the UK in 1986, and since then has grown to become the largest and most well-respected rafting organisation in the UK. The centre also run a number coaching courses for canoeing
Canoeing
Canoeing is an outdoor activity that involves a special kind of canoe.Open canoes may be 'poled' , sailed, 'lined and tracked' or even 'gunnel-bobbed'....
, kayaking
Kayaking
Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving across water. Kayaking and canoeing are also known as paddling. Kayaking is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle...
, play-boating, safety and rescue as well as running BCU
British Canoe Union
The British Canoe Union is a national governing body for canoeing in the United Kingdom, whose stated purpose is "Helping and Inspiring people to go canoeing”....
/WCA
Welsh Canoeing Association
Canoe Wales is the national governing body for canoeing and kayaking in Wales. It covers all branches of the sport from recreational activities to whitewater racing, slalom racing and wildwater racing; flatwater sprint racing and marathon racing; canoe sailing; canoe polo; surf kayaking and...
Star Awards with coaching and assessment.
The River Tryweryn
The Tryweryn is a river in north WalesWales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. It starts from Llyn Tryweryn in the Snowdonia National Park and after 19 km joins the river Dee
River Dee, Wales
The River Dee is a long river in the United Kingdom. It travels through Wales and England and also forms part of the border between the two countries....
at Bala
Bala, Gwynedd
Bala is a market town and community in Gwynedd, Wales, and formerly an urban district of the historic county of Merionethshire. It lies at the north end of Bala Lake , 17 miles north-east of Dolgellau, with a population of 1,980...
. It is one of the main tributaries of the Dee and has been dam
Dam
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...
med to form Llyn Celyn
Llyn Celyn
Llyn Celyn is a large reservoir constructed between 1960 and 1965 in the valley of the River Tryweryn in Gwynedd, North Wales. It measures roughly 2½ miles long by a mile wide, and has a maximum depth of...
. Water is stored in winter when flows are high, and released over the summer to maintain the flow in the Dee, meaning that the river often has suitable water levels for kayakers and rafters at time of year when natural rivers throughout Wales may be too low. Usually between 9 and 12 m³/s are released by the dam.
The whitewater
Whitewater
Whitewater is formed in a rapid, when a river's gradient increases enough to disturb its laminar flow and create turbulence, i.e. form a bubbly, or aerated and unstable current; the frothy water appears white...
rapids have been modified by placing boulders in strategic points along the course of the river to create eddys
Eddy (fluid dynamics)
In fluid dynamics, an eddy is the swirling of a fluid and the reverse current created when the fluid flows past an obstacle. The moving fluid creates a space devoid of downstream-flowing fluid on the downstream side of the object...
, drops and play spots.
Access to the centre is free of charge for canoeists and kayakers. Although commercial providers still have to pay.
The river is generally split into three sections: Top Site, Centre Section and the Lower Tryweryn.
Top Site
This constitutes the section of river leading from the setting basin below the Llyn CelynLlyn Celyn
Llyn Celyn is a large reservoir constructed between 1960 and 1965 in the valley of the River Tryweryn in Gwynedd, North Wales. It measures roughly 2½ miles long by a mile wide, and has a maximum depth of...
dam along to the chipper (a metal fish trap, so called because it resembles a chip-slicer). The chipper is actually a fish-trap. This section is a nice Grade II coming onto III, with a good play-hole (the "Top-Hole") and a playful weir. The section is often used for safety and rescue courses, as well as kayaking freestyle competitions
Playboating
Playboating is a discipline of whitewater kayaking or canoeing where the paddler performs various technical moves in one place , as opposed to downriver whitewater canoeing or kayaking where the objective is to travel the length of a section of river...
. Officially there is no raft or canoe access to this top section.
The Centre Section
This section (commonly known as the "Upper Tryweryn") is the main part of the Tryweryn, it runs for approximately 2 km from the chipper down to the Tyn Cornel camping site, and is a good Grade III. It contains most of the main features of the river (in order of occurrence):- The Graveyard
- The Ski Jump
- Fedwr Gog Falls (aka Miss Davis' Bridge, or 'Stone' bridge),
- Café Wave
- Fingers
- NRA (National Rivers AuthorityNational Rivers AuthorityThe National Rivers Authority was one of the forerunners of the Environment Agency of England and Wales, existing between 1989 and 1996. Before 1989 the regulation of the aquatic environment had largely been carried out by the ten Regional Water Authorities...
) Bridge - Chapel Falls
The Lower Tryweryn
Running the 4 km from the Tyn Cornel campsite down to Bala, this is a good Grade II bordering on Grade III section which finishes spectacularly at Bala Mill Falls (an easily portaged Grade IV rapid). This section is not managed like the upper Tryweryn, although the centre has been known to remove fallen trees and other obstructions/hazards quickly.See also
- Afon TrywerynAfon TrywerynFor the flooding of the Tryweryn Valley, see Llyn Celyn.The Tryweryn is a river in north Wales which starts at Llyn Tryweryn in the Snowdonia National Park and after joins the river Dee at Bala. It is one of the main tributaries of the Dee and has been dammed to form Llyn Celyn...
- Cardiff International White WaterCardiff International White WaterCardiff International White Water is an Olympic standard white water rafting centre based at the Cardiff International Sports Village in Cardiff Bay....
- RaftingRaftingRafting or white water rafting is a challenging recreational outdoor activity using an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other bodies of water. This is usually done on white water or different degrees of rough water, in order to thrill and excite the raft passengers. The development of this...
- British Canoe UnionBritish Canoe UnionThe British Canoe Union is a national governing body for canoeing in the United Kingdom, whose stated purpose is "Helping and Inspiring people to go canoeing”....
- Welsh Canoeing AssociationWelsh Canoeing AssociationCanoe Wales is the national governing body for canoeing and kayaking in Wales. It covers all branches of the sport from recreational activities to whitewater racing, slalom racing and wildwater racing; flatwater sprint racing and marathon racing; canoe sailing; canoe polo; surf kayaking and...
- International Scale of River DifficultyInternational Scale of River DifficultyThe International Scale of River Difficulty is a standardized scale used to rate the safety of a stretch of river, or a single rapid. The grade reflects the technical difficulty and skill level required associated with the section of river...