The Dee - March 2019

Updated: Mar 9, 2022

Thursday, 28th March 2019

The Dee Written By Niamh Macken, Age 13 We had a large mixed ability group and low river levels, but also absolutely stunning weather for a winter’s day - we decided to run the Dee, in Llangollen, Wales.

There were many nervous faces at the start but the moment we started moving down the river, much of the tension lifted and everyone enjoyed playing, practising ferry gliding, eddying out and breaking into the flow.

A quick inspection revealed all to be good with the first feature (Serpent's Tail). We set up safety and watched demonstrations by Nathan, Fay and Kyle. With the right line this was a fun enjoyable rapid with lots of adrenaline at the end. Lucy had an amazing line for her first time down Serpent's Tail with Big Nathan leading her down backwards!

We then paddled down to JJ's and met up with Ryan who was helping Lynne and Naomi. After a quick break and lots of fun surfing we again headed downstream.

At Town Falls, we could see enough of the falls to pick a line. Dave made the first run so that he could offer some safety at the bottom, then everyone was guided down and had a great time! It was Russ’s first time down this rapid, he picked a great line and had a big smile at the end. Sadly we did have a small incident with our Former Chairman Anton, as he injured his shoulder and face coming down the off the side of the slab - however he was quickly rescued, managed with good care and was calmly dealt with. He is well on the road to recovery...

Everyone had a great day, lots of fun and the experienced paddlers were great. They did a good job organising things and looked after all of us.