Canolfan Tryweryn is the National White Water Centre for Wales, and is based near Bala in north

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. In 1986, it developed the first commercial white water

rafting Rafting and whitewater rafting are recreational outdoor activities which use an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other body of water. This is often done on whitewater or different degrees of rough water. Dealing with risk is often a ...

operation in the UK. The centre is home to paddlesport National Governing Body Canoe Wales.

The River Tryweryn

The Tryweryn is a river in north

. It flows from Llyn Celyn in the

Snowdonia National Park Snowdonia, or Eryri (), is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in North Wales. It contains all 15 mountains in Wales Welsh 3000s, over 3000 feet high, including the country's highest, Snowdon (), which i ...

and after joins the river Dee at Bala. It is one of the main tributaries of the Dee and has been

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...

med to form

Llyn Celyn Llyn Celyn () is a reservoir constructed between 1960 and 1965 including the highly controversial Tryweryn flooding in the valley of the River Afon Tryweryn, Tryweryn in Gwynedd, Wales. This included the forcible removal of the Capel Celyn vil ...

. 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. The dam usually releases between . The

whitewater Whitewater forms in the context of rapids, in particular, when a river's Stream gradient, gradient changes enough to generate so much turbulence that air is trapped within the water. This forms an unstable current that foam, froths, making t ...

rapids have been modified by placing boulders in strategic points along the course of the river to create eddys, drops and play spots. Access to the centre requires payment for both commercial and non-commercial users. The river is generally split into three sections: Top Site, Centre Section and the Lower Tryweryn.

The Top Site

The Top Site (often called the ''Upper Upper Tryweryn'') is the section of river leading from the stilling basin below the

dam down to where the fish trap was located. The fish-trap – known as the ''chipper'' because it resembles a chip-slicer – was removed in November 2019. This section is a nice

Grade II In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

to Grade III, with a good play-hole (the "Top-Hole") and a playful

weir A weir or low-head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the water level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...

. The section is often used for safety and rescue courses, as well as kayaking freestyle competitions. 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 from the site of the chipper down to the Tyn Cornel camping site, and is a good Grade III. It contains most of the main white-water features of the river: * Graveyard * Ski Jump * Fedwr Gog Falls (aka Miss Davis' Bridge, or 'Stone' bridge), * Café Wave * Fingers * NRA (

National Rivers Authority The National Rivers Authority (NRA) 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 region ...

) Bridge * Chapel Falls

The Lower Tryweryn

Running the from the Tyn Cornel campsite down to Bala, this is a good

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.

References

External links