© 2010 Halifax Canoe Club Ltd, Greenups Mill, Wharf Street, Sowerby Bridge
Registered Company No 2612775
Cast of Paddlers: Cliff, Vicky, Keith, Simon, the dude, Samantha, Guy Fox Kelly,Tim.
“Hop in”, said Cliff “the river turns left here and then it swings right and then left again and so on”, and as the river meanders south, so did we. In many ways the all the rivers we visit on trips are the same – flat sections, weirs, twists, ripples, stoppers, rocks, beautiful scenery, ducks, herons , eddies, wave trains etc. but if you are like me, you can instantly picture each river you’ve ever ran and the subtle differences that make each trip so special.
And, without disappointment the river Wharfe served up the goods. Round this corner,
a pair of pure white geese on the river beach honking in conversation with some sheepish-
The river Wharfe winds its way through the North Yorkshire countryside past some
very pretty villages, incredible scenery, Bolton abbey and on down Wharfedale to
the sea. There are various different sections that can be paddled, but on this day
Cliff led us down the 6 or 7 miles from Burnsall to Barden. Everyone was on time,
with a mixture of bright and bleary eyes, 3 of our party only having joined the club
this April. There was a slight delay as Victoria had to detour to a haberdashery
to pay for some drapes, not wanting to face an outstanding curtain debt, but before
long we were bouncing up and down on those waves shouting ‘yee-
As we wound our way down, talk soon turned to the approaching renowned section of grade 3/4 drops known as Appletreewick. The river was high all the way down so there were plenty of places to play and many bubbly waves to enjoy, but would that bar our way when we reached the climax of the trip. However, first we had stop for lunch, which was the usual mix of slightly soggy sandwiches, hot coffee, and crushed packets of crisps. Samantha treated us all by passing round a bunch of delicious custard tarts, but I suspect she was trifling with our affections.
And so, up on the cliffs above Appletreewick we spent some time trying to identify
a navigable line down the descent. Considered where we would position the throw lines
and other safety, looked at the gnarly stopper from upstream and from below, and
a crippling indecision gripped the group. Thankfully we were saved by the true master
wordsmith Simon Spencer when we said “eh-
There was one last section of delicious bouncing waves to play on before we finished for the day and they were so big, and so much fun, we were all delighted when one paddler’s famous face of fear turned into the biggest grin of year.
Keith O’Hara
