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A Cumbrian rivers whitewater and Lake District kayaking review from Flow Kayaks team paddler Tom Robson.
Before this year, my kayaking was largely concentrated in Dartmoor and Exmoor with a bit of time spent in south Wales. This academic year I found myself based in Lancaster, experiencing all the rivers in that area of the country for the first time. I’ve had so many great experiences so far and I thought I should do a quick review of the rivers and kayaking in the Lake District and Cumbria. Firstly a disclaimer, I have only been kayaking the North West for one season and am nowhere near to having kayaked all there is to offer. Secondly, this is not a guide, this is just my quick opinion of the rivers I have run, if you're looking for more of a guide, check out the guidebook. Hopefully this is a bit of fun so let's go.
River Leven
5/5
The River Leven is awesome! It is reliable and gives us some whitewater kayaking in the lake district when the rain gods don’t show up. Being fed by Windermere, the river runs for days without rain and is best described as plain fun. Fun grade 3 rapids are separated by small flat bits to pick up the pieces if things don’t go to plan. There is one notable grade 4 on this section and a janky weir that can be run but is technical and requires a lot of confidence, only for very experienced paddlers. There are countless videos on YouTube about this river if you wanna check it out!
River Lune
4/5
Classic kayaking in Cumbria. The river holds water well and is a great beginner/ play run. The river is fun grade 2 with some short grade 3 sections to spice it up. At lower levels, it makes the perfect beginner trip, and at higher levels, it is slice boat heaven. At medium to low levels, most of the interest is where the river narrows in ‘mini gorges’. There are some wider parts at the start that get scrapey when low but are worth it for the sections below. A fun, forgiving run!
River Kent
?/5
For me, this river is a weird one. While the main section is considered grade 4, it doesn’t feel like it at lower levels. The river drops and then stays at low flows for a long while, which doesn’t make for the best experience. While the main rapids still have water in them, everything else becomes very scrapey. Even the rapids that do have water in just don’t feel very satisfying. However, catch this river at medium to high flows and it totally changes. The rapids become more pushy and deserve to be grade 4, the river just becomes so much more fun. When high, the more significant features have an exciting big volume feel which isn’t so common in this part of the country. When the river is medium to high, a solid 5/5. However when it’s low, just 3/5. At the right levels, this is definitely a lake district kayaking classic to tick off!
River Mint
2/5
This is a fast and narrow river around the Kendal area. It seems to run for a fair while after rain. It has an alpine vibe, not many flat bits with small eddies. For this reason, I found running the river with larger groups overwhelming. Trees are often an issue and in my experience, the river is often full of rubbish. Adding this to the fact that there are only really 3 good rapids and an ok weir, I would say this river is only worth doing as a second river of the day but not the main event!
River Sprint
4/5
In many ways a similar river to the mint, being narrow with an alpine feel. However, I would say it is definitely a grade harder, with a few technical grade 4s and many fun grade 3s. While I’ve only done this river at lower flows, the fun rapids made up for the occasional scrapey sections between. The only thing stopping this from being a 5/5 is the trees. When running this river, you have to be extra vigilant for trees, I can only imagine this becomes more of a hazard at higher flows. It’s fun, alpine style kayaking in the Lake District but please watch out for the trees!
River Clough
5/5
I love this river, it does need recent rain to be worthwhile but definitely a lot of fun. It is constant fun from top to bottom with the highlight being an awesome gorge. The gorge is a blast with lots of eddies and fun moves at medium flows and is easily lapped. The larger, pushy features on the river run rather smoothly and there are only a few scary-looking weirs to walk around. At medium-low flows I would lean towards the river being easy grade 4 however when it gets high, the river becomes a lot more intense and the holes get munchy so run with great care!
River Rawthey
4/5
This is about the section down from Sedbergh as I have yet to run the upper section(I can’t wait!). The first time I did this lower section, the river was in flood and it was so much fun. The wave trains were big, especially for England, and the surf waves were awesome. If this river is in flood I cannot recommend it enough, the harder rapid on this section is really impressive and so much fun to run. At lower flows, the river calms down a bit and becomes a really fun grade 3 run with 1 bigger rapid making it a good club run. Just watch out for the horrible weir right after the put on.
River Crake
3/5
The main thing I remember from this river is tree dodging. I have only run it once but trees were certainly an issue at the start however, the river is simple enough to make the trees manageable. There are some low bridges but nothing that can’t be handled with care. That being said, this is definitely not one to run when high, trees and bridges would be a nightmare. The paddling is easy with only 1 or 2 simple grade 3 rapids but the area is beautiful and I'm sure the river would make a fun beginners trip!
Skelwith Force
Found on the river Brathay, this park and huck has easy access and is easy to lap. I’ve been here a few times now and it’s always great fun with a bunch of mates. It is a great place to really work on your boof without the fear of hurting your back, however, the shape of it offers a bit more of a challenge than just a straight lip. Shortly after is a small stopper with a lot of power making it great for pop outs and other tricks. As it’s just 1 feature, giving it a rating is difficult, but trust me when I say it’s well worth checking out if you have the time!
Halton, River Lune
2/5
While not technically in Cumbria, it’s my local spot at Uni and not far from Cumbria so I can’t not put it down. Most of the time this section is on a medium or low and holds here for ages. At this level, it's short and a bit dull. It makes a great training ground for beginners, but going on a trip will always be more fun in my opinion. However, you have to come here when it's high. Take the full slice and go for such a fun surf. Some of the waves on this section are clean and great for carving while others are big and bouncy. If you have time at the end of the day and there's lots of water, you won’t regret coming here.
For now, that’s all the rivers I’ve run in this area but there are still loads more to be run. Hopefully, this can give you an idea of what rivers to read up about and what you can expect on the water. Stay safe and have fun!
Photos from Lancaster Uni CC
Article by Tom Robson
